The Assembly of the African Union, which is formally known as the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government (AU-AHSG), is one of several decision-making bodies within the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

. The other bodies are the

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

; the Executive Council, consisting of foreign ministers of the AU members states; and the

African Union Commission The African Union Commission (AUC) acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union. It is headed by a chairperson and consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of policy. The African ...

. The Assembly of the African Union consists of the 55 heads of state and government of the member countries. The Assembly meets once a year. The

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Assembly presides the annual African Union Summit as well as the Pan-African Parliament during the election and swearing in of the President of the Pan-African Parliament.

History

The Assembly came into existence on 25 May 1963, as part of the ratification of

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

(OAU). Initially the Assembly consisted of 32 independent members, the heads of state of the African states that had achieved independence by 1963. Until 2001, the governing constitution of the Assembly was the OAU Charter. The Assembly is now subject to the Union Act that created the

Functions

The Assembly has nine basic functions: # Set policies of the Union. # Decide on what action to take after consideration of reports and recommendations from the other organs of the Union. # Consider membership requests into the Union. # Create bodies for the Union. # Monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the Union as well ensure compliance by all Member States. # Create a budget of the Union. # Provide direction to the Executive Council on conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace. # Select judges for and withdraw judges of the Court of Justice. # Appoint the Chairman of the Commission, Commissioners of the Commission, all respective deputies and determine how long they will serve and what duties they will perform.

Decisions

The Assembly shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States of the Union. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority. Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Assembly. The Assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the Union.

Members

The AU Assembly of the Heads of State and Government consists of the 55 heads of state and government of the member countries. The Assembly meets once a year at the AU Summit. The current Chairman of the Assembly is President

Moussa Faki Moussa Faki Mahamat ('', ''; born 21 June 1960) is a Chadian politician and diplomat who was the Chairperson of the African Union Commission from 2017 to 2025. Previously he was Prime Minister of Chad from 24 June 2003 to 4 February 2005 and Min ...

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. The current members of the AU-AHSG are:

External links

* {{African Union Organs of the African Union

History

Functions

Decisions

Members

See also

External links