The African Unification Front (AUF) is an organisation aiming to promote the

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

union of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

History

AUF was formed in August 1996. The AUF advocates for transformation of Africa into a federation, with 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 ...

as the highest government, overseeing key institutions including a single currency, and one all-African army. The AUF promoted the creation of 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 ...

in the mid-1990s and continues to advocate for an end to

neocolonialism Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to ...

. It has also been active in campaigns against abuses by the diamond industry, weapons traders, and unfair

terms of trade The terms of trade (TOT) is the relative price of exports in terms of imports and is defined as the ratio of export prices to import prices. It can be interpreted as the amount of import goods an economy can purchase per unit of export goods. An ...

in the

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

industry.

Organization

The AUF National Committee is the body that elects the AUF president. The AUF Executive Committee is the body that implements policies and oversees the day-to-day administration of the AUF. AUF has been responsible for initiating and organizing several strategies, including the AUF's Fairtrade Coffee Campaign that pushed for reforms in the coffee industry. The AUF, also known as the African Front, consists of a worldwide network of supporters, who believe that Africa must be unified into a

federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

as a means of securing peace and an end to wars and

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

. Although most members of the AUF are Africans, membership is open to non-Africans.

Past leaders

Other past AUF leaders have been Fesseha Demessae who served as Deputy Secretary General and Director of Cultural Affairs, and former vice-president Mongezi Sefika wa Nkomo. Kirimi Kaberia was the first president of the AUF. Mouhamed Taofic Youssouf served briefly as AUF president, after Kirimi Kaberia accepted a posting as deputy ambassador for Kenya in Washington DC, USA.

In the PAP

Following the creation of the

, the AUF became the first All-African (continental) political party. Several PAP members are also members and supporters of the AUF. AUF members who have served in the Pan African Parliament include Dr. Amani Walid Kabourou from Tanzania, Chrispin Mwitila Shumina from Zambia, and Loyce Bwambale from Uganda. Other influential supporters of the AUF include John Atta-Mills the president of Ghana, Alhaji Yahaya Ndu who is also a member of the AUF National Committee and the president of the African Renaissance Party in Nigeria, Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh, head of the Sierra Leone People's Democratic League (PDL), and Dr. Miria Matembe, formerly chair of the Pan African Parliament's Rules Committee and a close ally of AU President Gertrude Mongella.

Symbols

The Maure is used as the AUF's

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

. The head is blindfolded representing the impartiality of justice, and the knot is tied into a stylized Adinkra symbol for omnipotence ( Gye Nyame).

References

External links

Organisation's website
{{Pan-Africanism African Union Pan-African organizations Pan-Africanist organizations in Africa Politics of Africa Transnational political parties