The Biden administration is hosting a summit this week that brings together leaders of 49 African countries, as well as heads of the African Union, to collaborate on key policy across climate change, security and trade.
Vice President Harris opened the three-day summit on Tuesday at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, where she discussed the African diaspora and young African leaders.
President Biden is expected to join the summit on Wednesday and deliver remarks on the U.S.-Africa Business Forum.
While a significant majority of African nations joined the summit this week, five were not invited.
A senior White House official this week said four of those countries — Guinea, Sudan, Mali and Burkina Faso — have changed their governments unconstitutionally and were suspended from the African Union.
Here are the five African nations that weren’t invited to Biden’s summit:
Guinea
The ruling government in Guinea was seized by a military junta in September 2021 and is now led by Col. Mamady Doumbouya.
The military junta overthrew President Alpha Condé, who had won a controversial third term for office despite term limits, which he claimed did not apply to him.
Doumbouya agreed in October to hold new elections in about two years.
Sudan
Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan toppled the government in October 2021, taking power during the northeast African nation’s transition to a democracy after three decades of authoritarian rule.
Sudan’s military leadership announced this month the first phase of an agreement to transition to a democracy, but some political groups have rejected the framework, and discussions are ongoing.
Millions of people in Sudan are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, a crisis that grew worse after the coup. Civilian demonstrators also frequently clash with security forces.
Mali
Col. Assimi Goïta seized power in Mali two years ago after leading a coup against the government.
He failed to transition the West African country into new democratic elections and has become a pariah to the international world.
Mali also recently rejected help from French humanitarian groups, affecting hundreds of thousands of Malians who are in need of emergency food and medical assistance.
Earlier this year, France, which had fought Islamic terrorist groups for nine years in Mali, completed a withdrawal of troops from the country.
Russian mercenaries in Mali have also been accused of murdering civilians in a growing concern for world leaders.
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso, located in West Africa, is in a dire humanitarian situation after suffering from two coups in less than nine months.
Troops in September ousted the ruling military leader, Lt. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who had won control of the country through a January coup.
A militia leader appointed to replace him said Damiba had not done enough to control violence in Burkina Faso.
More than 3,200 people have died in the African country from January to September, and nearly 5 million are in need of emergency assistance.
Some women and children have been eating leaves and salt for weeks, the United Nations said in October.
Eritrea
The U.S. does not have formal ties with Eritrea, a country located in the Horn of Africa in the eastern region of the continent, so the nation’s leaders were not invited.
Eritrea has also been providing military support to neighboring Ethiopia, which is in the midst of a civil war against an opposing political faction in the region of Tigray.
Eritrean troops are accused of the kidnapping, looting and murder of civilians in Tigray, and the U.S. has called for the Eritrean soldiers to withdraw from the conflict.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.