Attention seekers push for AU action on Ukraine trafficking saga

Zimbabwean civil society organisations and security analysts have urged leaders attending this week's African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to urgently confront what they describe as the deceptive recruitment and trafficking of African citizens into Ukraine's war with Russia.

The calls come amid mounting reports that African men have been lured to Ukraine and Russia with promises of civilian employment, only to be coerced into military service, while young African women have allegedly been recruited under false pretences to manufacture military drones used in the conflict.

Civil society organisations said the issue strikes at the core of the AU's human rights commitments under Agenda 2063 and should be escalated to the highest political level during the summit, which runs from February 11 to 15.

"This is a continental crisis hiding in plain sight," said labour expert Pasipanodya Mufaro. "African citizens are being deceived, transported and exposed to grave danger in a foreign war, yet there has been no coordinated African response. The AU cannot afford to stay silent."

According to reports, African men from dozens of countries were recruited through misleading job offers that promised high salaries, safe working conditions or fast-track residency. Many allegedly only realised upon arrival that they were expected to fight on the frontlines in Ukraine, where casualties among foreign recruits have been reported.

Security analysts warned that the practice amounts to a modern form of human trafficking and undermines Africa's long-standing opposition to mercenarism. They noted that such recruitment contravenes the 1977 Organisation of African Unity Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa, which obliges member states to prevent their citizens from being drawn into foreign armed conflicts.

Beyond combat roles, civil society groups have raised alarm over the recruitment of young African women into Russia's military-industrial sector. Since 2023, women aged between 18 and 22 have reportedly been targeted through social media and local intermediaries with promises of work-study opportunities, only to find themselves assembling military drones in facilities linked to Russia's war effort.

"This directly contradicts the AU's stated commitment to women's empowerment and protection from exploitation," Mufaro said. "African women are being placed in dangerous, militarised environments without informed consent. That should alarm every leader attending the summit."

Analysts said the issue is closely linked to broader challenges already under discussion at the AU summit, including youth unemployment, irregular migration and insecurity. High levels of joblessness and limited economic opportunities, they argue, have left many young Africans vulnerable to deceptive recruitment schemes.

"The drivers are African, but the exploitation is external," said a regional security analyst who declined to be named. "Unless governments address both the recruiters and the conditions that make young people desperate for opportunities abroad, these schemes will continue."

Civil society organisations have called on AU member states to use the summit to strengthen intelligence-sharing, tighten regulation of recruitment agencies and issue public warnings about deceptive overseas employment linked to armed conflicts. They also want any review of AU conventions on mercenarism to explicitly address the recruitment of African nationals into wars outside the continent.

Human rights advocate Effie Ncube said the situation was deeply troubling and required urgent continental action.

"It is important that the African Union considers what is happening in the Ukrainian-Russian war vis-à-vis the young Africans being recruited from across the continent, often without knowing they are going into war," Ncube said. "Many are dying without understanding the conflict they have been pushed into, a very brutal and distant war that has nothing to do with them."

Ncube added that the war has divided African states, arguing that the AU is well placed to act as a mediator. "The African Union is better positioned to mediate because we are not supplying weapons to either side," she said.

Journalist Khumbulani Malinga also urged AU leaders to prioritise the safety of African citizens.

"As leaders discuss peace, security and development, they must remember that Africans are being quietly pulled into a distant war through lies and exploitation," Malinga said. "Raising this issue at the AU summit is not optional — it is a test of the Union's credibility."