Dakar, Senegal — African governments have quietly revived discussion of whether the continent’s colonial-era borders should stay inviolable, as the African Union’s 2025 diplomatic theme—“Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”—pushes historical grievances onto current inter-state agendas. Official statements indicate that several member states raised the border question during closed sessions of last week’s AU Permanent Representatives Committee, pointing to long-standing anomalies such as the al-Fashaga farmland claimed by both Sudan and Ethiopia and the division of ethnic groups in the Lake Chad basin. No formal motion was tabled, but sources close to the talks said a working group may be asked to review “options for peaceful, bilateral boundary adjustments” before the mid-year AU summit.
The renewed conversation follows a public call from UN Secretary — General António Guterres on 30 May for “comprehensive partnerships to redress colonialism. ” Independent observers note that while Guterres focused on financial reparations, his phrasing has encouraged some capitals to link reparations to the structural legacies of 1885 Berlin Conference map lines. European diplomats responded cautiously.
A communiqué circulated by the chair of the EU-Africa dialogue acknowledged “moral responsibility for past wrongs” yet warned that reopening frontiers could “destabilise fragile multi-ethnic states. ” France, Germany and Portugal reiterated offers to fund cross-border development instead of treaty revisions, according to regional officials. Academic assessments supplied to the AU cite recent precedents—India and Bangladesh exchanged 160 enclaves in 2015, and Belgium and the Netherlands finalised a river-border swap in 2018—as evidence that voluntary territorial exchanges need not trigger wider conflict.
Supporters argue that limited, reciprocal land transfers could remove flash — points without revisiting every colonial line. Security analysts warn the debate remains sensitive. Cameroon, Nigeria and Ethiopia each face armed movements that invoke historical borders; governments fear any signal that frontiers are negotiable could embolden secessionist voices.
“The conversation is academic for now,” a senior AU official noted, “but the taboo on discussing borders is eroding. ” Officials have not yet released a timeline for the proposed working group, and member states have given no public commitment to amend existing boundaries. Further details are expected after the AU Executive Council meets in February.
*Additional reporting by ImNews | Sources consulted: 5*
