Life in the African Union
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The African Union (AU) is a
continental union A continental union is a regional organization which facilitates pan-continental integration. Continental unions vary from collaborative intergovernmental organizations, to supranational politico- economic unions. Continental unions are a relativ ...
consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the
Sirte Declaration The Sirte Declaration was the resolution adopted by the Organisation of African Unity on 9 September 1999, at the fourth Extraordinary Session of the OAU Assembly of African Heads of State and Government held at Sirte, Libya. The Declaration ann ...
in
Sirte, Libya Sirte (; ar, سِرْت, ), also spelled Sirt, Surt, Sert or Syrte, is a city in Libya. It is located south of the Gulf of Sirte, between Tripoli and Benghazi. It is famously known for its battles, ethnic groups, and loyalty to Muammar Gadd ...
, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the
Assembly of the African Union 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 other bodies are the Pan-African Parlia ...
, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the
African Union Commission The Commission of the African Union acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union (and is somewhat analogous to the European Commission). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of ...
, is based in Addis Ababa. The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria, while the largest urban agglomeration is
Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. The African Union has more than 1.3 billion people and an area of around and includes popular world landmarks, such as the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
and the Nile. The primary working languages are Arabic, English,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, Portuguese, Spanish, and
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...
. Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the
Peace and Security Council The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the African Union in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the United Nations Security Council. The PSC is also the main pillar of the African Peace and Security ...
and 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 ...
.


Overview

The objectives of the AU are the following: # To achieve greater unity, cohesion and solidarity between the African countries and African nations. # To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States. # To accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent. # To promote and defend
African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples. # To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. # To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent. # To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance. # To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments. # To establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations. # To promote
sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies. # To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the
living standards Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
of African people. # To coordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union. # To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology. # To work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the
Assembly of the African Union 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 other bodies are the Pan-African Parlia ...
, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The Assembly is chaired by Félix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The AU also has a representative body, 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 ...
, which consists of 265 members elected by the national legislatures of the AU member states. Its president is
Roger Nkodo Dang Roger Nkodo Dang (born 6 November 1963) is a Cameroonian politician. He became President of the Pan-African Parliament in 2015. On 27 May 2015, he obtained 85 votes to be elected as the successor to former president Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi. Dang i ...
. Other political institutions of the AU include: * the
Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...
, made up of
foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
s, which prepares decisions for the Assembly; * the Permanent Representatives Committee, made up of the ambassadors to Addis Ababa of AU member states; and * the
Economic, Social, and Cultural Council The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) is an advisory body of the African Union designed to give civil society organizations (CSOs) a voice within the AU institutions and decision-making processes. ECOSOCC is made up of civil socie ...
(ECOSOCC), a civil society consultative body. The
AU Commission Au, AU, au or a.u. may refer to: Science and technology Computing * .au, the internet country code for Australia * Au file format, Sun Microsystems' audio format * Audio Units, a system level plug-in architecture from Apple Computer * Adobe Audi ...
, the secretariat to the political structures, is chaired by
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...
of South Africa. On 15 July 2012, Dlamini-Zuma won a tightly contested vote to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, replacing Jean Ping of Gabon. Other AU structures are hosted by different member states: * the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is based in
Banjul Banjul (,"Banjul"
(US) and
), officially the City of Ba ...
, the Gambia; and * the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and
APRM The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the African Union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism. It was founded in 2003. The mandate of the APRM is to encourage confor ...
Secretariats and 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 ...
are in Midrand, South Africa. The AU's first military intervention in a member state was the May 2003 deployment of a peacekeeping force of soldiers from South Africa, Ethiopia, and Mozambique to
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
to oversee the implementation of the various agreements. AU troops were also deployed in the
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
for peacekeeping during the Darfur Conflict, before the mission was handed over to the United Nations on 1 January 2008 via UNAMID. The AU has also sent a peacekeeping mission to Somalia, consisting of troops from Uganda and Burundi. The AU has adopted a number of important new documents establishing norms at continental level, to supplement those already in force when it was created. These include the
African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption The African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) was adopted in Maputo on 11 July 2003 to fight rampant political corruption on the African continent. It represents regional consensus on what African states should do in ...
(2003), the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and its associated Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance.


History

The historical foundations of the African Union originated in the First Congress of Independence African States, held in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
, Ghana, from 15 to 22 April 1958. The conference aimed at forming the Africa Day, to mark the liberation movement each year concerning the willingness of the African people to free themselves from foreign dictatorship, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was established on 25 May 1963, and the African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the "Dictators' Club". The idea of creating the AU was revived in the mid-1990s under the leadership of Libyan head of state
Muammar al-Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
: the heads of state and government of the OAU issued the
Sirte Declaration The Sirte Declaration was the resolution adopted by the Organisation of African Unity on 9 September 1999, at the fourth Extraordinary Session of the OAU Assembly of African Heads of State and Government held at Sirte, Libya. The Declaration ann ...
(named after Sirte, in Libya) on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of an African Union. The Declaration was followed by summits at Lomé in 2000, when the Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted, and at
Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
in 2001, when the plan for the implementation of the African Union was adopted. During the same period, the initiative for the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), was also established. The African Union was launched in Durban on 9 July 2002, by its first chairperson, Former south African head of state Thabo Mbeki, at the first session of the Assembly of the African Union. The second session of the Assembly was in Maputo in 2003, and the third session in Addis Ababa on 6 July 2004. Since 2010, the African Union eyes the establishment of a joint African space agency. Barack Obama was the first-ever sitting United States president to speak in front of the African Union in Addis Ababa, on 29 July 2015. With his speech, he encouraged the world to increase economic ties via investments and trade with the continent, and lauded the progresses made in education, infrastructure and economy. But he also criticised a lack of democracy and leaders who refuse to step down, discrimination against minorities (including LGBT people, religious groups and ethnicities) and corruption. He suggested an intensified democratisation and free trade, to significantly increase living quality for Africans.


Treaties


Geography

Member states of the African Union cover almost the entirety of continental Africa, except for several territories held by Spain ( Ceuta,
Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
, and
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (; ) is a Spanish exclave and rocky tied island, in the western Mediterranean Sea, connected to the Moroccan shore by a sandy isthmus. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthmus. The tied island was name ...
). In addition, European countries have dependencies among the offshore islands of Africa: Spain (the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and the islands of the
plazas de soberanía The ''plazas de soberanía'' (, lit. "strongholds of sovereignty") is a term describing a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term ...
); France ( Mayotte,
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
, and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean); Portugal (the Azores,
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
, and the Savage Islands); and the United Kingdom ( Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha). Consequently, the geography of the African Union is wildly diverse, including the world's largest hot desert (the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
), huge jungles and savannas, and the world's longest river (the Nile). The AU has an area of , with of coastline. The vast majority of this area is on continental Africa, while the only significant territories off the mainland are the island of Madagascar (the world's largest microcontinent and fourth-largest island) and the Sinai Peninsula (geographically a part of Asia), accounting for slightly less than 2% of the total area.


Demographics


Population

The total population of the African Union, , is estimated at more than 1.25 billion, with a growth rate of more than 2.5% p.a.


Languages

The official languages of the African Union are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish,
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...
, and "any other African language". The primary working languages of the African Union are English and French. To a lesser extent Portuguese and Arabic are used. The Constitutive Act, for example, is written in English, French and Arabic, while the protocol amending the Constitutive Act is written in English, French and Portuguese. As of 2020, the AU website is available in its entirety in English, partially in French and minimally in Arabic. Portuguese and Swahili versions were added as "coming soon" (''em breve'') in April 2019. According to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, A protocol amending the Constitutive Act was adopted in 2003 and as of April 2020 has been ratified by 30 of the 37 member states needed for a two-thirds majority. It would change the above wording to, Founded in 2001 under the auspices of the AU, the African Academy of Languages promotes the usage and perpetuation of African languages among African people. In 2004 Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique addressed the assembly in Swahili, but had to translate his words himself. The AU declared 2006 the Year of African Languages. 2006 also marked Ghana's 55th anniversary since it founded the
Bureau of Ghana Languages The Bureau of Ghana Languages is an agency of the government of Ghana that focuses on Ghanaian languages, including publication of materials in them. It was founded in 1951, originally as the Vernacular Literature Bureau, and later given its cu ...
originally known as Gold Coast Vernacular Literature Bureau.


Member states

All
UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...
based in Africa and on African islands are members of the AU, as is the
partially recognized state A number of polities have declared independence and sought diplomatic recognition from the international community as sovereign states, but have not been universally recognised as such. These entities often have ''de facto'' control of their ...
of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco, which claims sovereignty over the Western Sahara, withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity in 1984 due to the admission of the SADR as a member. On 30 January 2017, the AU readmitted Morocco as a member state.
Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...
's 2005 application to join the AU is still pending. Mali was suspended from the African Union on 19 August 2020 following a military coup. On 9 October, the
Peace and Security Council The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the African Union in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the United Nations Security Council. The PSC is also the main pillar of the African Peace and Security ...
of the African Union lifted the suspension imposed on Mali, citing progress made to return to democracy. The country was again suspended on 1 June 2021, following its second military coup within nine months. Guinea's membership was also suspended by the African Union on 10 September 2021, after a military coup deposed the country's President Alpha Condé. Sudan's membership was suspended by the African Union on 27 October 2021, after a military coup deposed the civilian government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Burkina Faso's membership was suspended by the African Union in the aftermath of a military coup on 31 January 2022.


Members

* * * * * (suspended) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (suspended) * * * * * * * * * (suspended) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (suspended) * * * * * *


Observers

* * * * *


Politics

The African Union has a number of official bodies: ;
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 ...
(PAP): To become the highest legislative body of the African Union. The seat of the PAP is at Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. The Parliament is composed of 265 elected representatives from all 55 AU states, and intended to provide popular and civil-society participation in the processes of democratic governance. Its president is
Roger Nkodo Dang Roger Nkodo Dang (born 6 November 1963) is a Cameroonian politician. He became President of the Pan-African Parliament in 2015. On 27 May 2015, he obtained 85 votes to be elected as the successor to former president Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi. Dang i ...
, of Cameroon. ;
Assembly of the African Union 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 other bodies are the Pan-African Parlia ...
: Composed of heads of state and heads of government of AU states, the Assembly is currently the supreme governing body of the African Union. It is gradually devolving some of its decision-making powers to the Pan-African Parliament. It meets once a year and makes its decisions by consensus or by a two-thirds majority. The current chair of the AU is President Macky Sall, President of Senegal. ; African Union Commission (or Authority) : The secretariat of the African Union, composed of ten commissioners and supporting staff and headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In a similar fashion to its
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
counterpart, the European Commission, it is responsible for the administration and coordination of the AU's activities and meetings. ; Court of Justice of the African Union: The Constitutive Act provides for a Court of Justice to rule on disputes over interpretation of AU treaties. A protocol to set up this Court of Justice was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2009. It was, however, superseded by a protocol creating an African Court of Justice and Human Rights, which will incorporate the already established
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights ...
(see below) and have two chambers: one for general legal matters and one for rulings on the human rights treaties. ;
Executive Council Executive Council may refer to: Government * Executive Council (Commonwealth countries), a constitutional organ that exercises executive power and advises the governor * Executive Council of Bern, the government of the Swiss canton of Bern * Ex ...
: Composed of ministers designated by the governments of member states. It decides on matters such as foreign trade, social security, food, agriculture and communications, is accountable to the Assembly, and prepares material for the Assembly to discuss and approve. It is chaired by Shawn Makuyana of Zimbabwe (2015– ). ; Permanent Representatives' Committee: Consisting of nominated permanent representatives of member states, the Committee prepares the work for the Executive Council, similar to the role of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union. ;
Peace and Security Council The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the African Union in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the United Nations Security Council. The PSC is also the main pillar of the African Peace and Security ...
(PSC): Proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001 and established in 2004 under a protocol to the Constitutive Act adopted by the AU Assembly in July 2002. The protocol defines the PSC as a collective security and early-warning arrangement to facilitate timely and effective response to conflict and crisis situations in Africa. Other responsibilities conferred to the PSC by the protocol include prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, post-conflict peace building and developing common defence policies. The PSC has fifteen members elected on a regional basis by the Assembly. Similar in intent and operation to the United Nations Security Council. ;
Economic, Social and Cultural Council The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) is an advisory body of the African Union designed to give civil society organizations (CSOs) a voice within the AU institutions and decision-making processes. ECOSOCC is made up of civil societ ...
:An advisory organ composed of professional and civic representatives, similar to the European Economic and Social Committee. The chair of ECOSOCC, elected in 2008, is Cameroonian lawyer
Akere Muna Akere Tabeng Muna (born 18 August 1952) is a Cameroonian lawyer who is currently the Chairman of the International Anti-Corruption Conference Council. He is also the Sanctions Commissioner of the African Development Bank Group and a Member of the ...
of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU). ; Specialised Technical Committees: Both the Abuja Treaty and the Constitutive Act provide for Specialised Technical Committees to be established made up of African ministers to advise the Assembly. In practice, they have never been set up. The ten proposed themes are: Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters; Monetary and Financial Affairs; Trade, Customs, and Immigration; Industry, Science and Technology; Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Transport, Communications, and Tourism; Health; Labour, and Social Affairs; Education, Culture, and Human Resources. ; Financial institutions *
African Central Bank The African Central Bank (ACB) is one of the original five financial institutions and specialized agencies of the African Union. Over time, it will take over responsibilities of the African Monetary Fund. Its proposed headquarter is in Abuja (N ...
Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...
, Nigeria *
African Investment Bank The African Investment Bank (AIB) is one of three financial institutions of the African Union (AU) along with the African Monetary Fund and the African Central Bank. It will be headquartered in Tripoli, Libya.M. Mkwezalamba CAMEF II 2006 Backgrou ...
Tripoli, Libya * African Monetary FundYaoundé, Cameroon These institutions have not yet been established; however, the Steering Committees working on their founding have been constituted. Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency (the Afro). ; Health: The
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a public health agency of the African Union to support the public health initiatives of member states and strengthen the capacity of their health institutions to deal with dis ...
(Africa CDC), founded in 2016 and launched in 2017. Its Headquarters are in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. ; Human rights: The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in existence since 1986, is established under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Charter) rather than the Constitutive Act of the African Union. It is the premier African human rights body, with responsibility for monitoring and promoting compliance with the African Charter. The
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, also known simply as the African Court, is an international court established by member states of the African Union (AU) to implement provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights ...
was established in 2006 to supplement the work of the commission, following the entry into force of a protocol to the African Charter providing for its creation. It is planned that the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights will be merged with the Court of Justice of the African Union (see above). ; African Energy Commission


Governance

The principal topic for debate at the July 2007 AU summit held in
Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
, Ghana, was the creation of a Union Government, with the aim of moving towards a
United States of Africa The United States of Africa is a hypothetical concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem " Hail, United Stat ...
. A study on the
Union Government The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
was adopted in late 2006, and proposes various options for "completing" the African Union project. There are divisions among African states on the proposals, with some (notably Libya) following a maximalist view leading to a common government with an AU army; and others (especially the southern African states) supporting rather a strengthening of the existing structures, with some reforms to deal with administrative and political challenges in making the AU Commission and other bodies truly effective. Following a heated debate in Accra, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government agreed in the form of a declaration to review the state of affairs of the AU with a view to determining its readiness towards a Union Government. In particular, the Assembly agreed to: * Accelerate the economic and political integration of the African continent, including the formation of a Union Government of Africa; * Conduct an audit of the institutions and organs of the AU; review the relationship between the AU and the RECs; find ways to strengthen the AU and elaborate a timeframe to establish a Union Government of Africa. The declaration lastly noted the "importance of involving the African peoples, including Africans in the Diaspora, in the processes leading to the formation of the Union Government." Following this decision, a panel of eminent persons was set up to conduct the "audit review". The review team began its work on 1 September 2007. The review was presented to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at the January 2008 summit in Addis Ababa. No final decision was taken on the recommendations, however, and a committee of ten heads of state was appointed to consider the review and report back to the July 2008 summit to be held in Egypt. At the July 2008 summit, a decision was once again deferred, for a "final" debate at the January 2009 summit to be held in Addis Ababa.


Role of African Union

One of the key debates in relation to the achievement of greater continental integration is the relative priority that should be given to integration of the continent as a unit in itself or to integration of the sub-regions. The 1980
Lagos Plan of Action for the Development of Africa The Lagos Plan of Action (officially the Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa, 1980–2000) was an Organisation of African Unity-backed plan to increase Africa's self-sufficiency. The plan aimed to minimize Africa's links ...
and the 1991 treaty to establish the African Economic Community (also referred to as the Abuja Treaty), proposed the creation of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the basis for African integration, with a timetable for regional and then continental integration to follow. Currently, there are eight RECs recognised by the AU, each established under a separate regional treaty. They are: * the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) * the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whic ...
(COMESA) * the
Community of Sahel-Saharan States A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
(CEN-SAD) * the East African Community (EAC) * the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) * the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) * the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) * the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) The membership of many of the communities overlaps, and their rationalisation has been under discussion for several years—and formed the theme of the 2006 Banjul summit. At the July 2007 Accra summit the Assembly finally decided to adopt a Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. This protocol is intended to facilitate the harmonisation of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja Treaty and Lagos Plan of Action time frames.


Selection of the chairperson

In 2006, the AU decided to create a Committee "to consider the implementation of a rotation system between the regions" in relation to the presidency. Controversy arose at the 2006 summit when Sudan announced its candidacy for the AU's chairmanship, as a representative of the East African region. Several member states refused to support Sudan because of tensions over
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
(see also below). Sudan ultimately withdrew its candidacy and President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
was elected to a one-year term. At the January 2007 summit, Sassou-Nguesso was replaced by President
John Agyekum Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been sp ...
of Ghana, despite another attempt by Sudan to gain the chair. The year 2007 was the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, a symbolic moment for the country to hold the chair of the AU—and to host the mid-year summit at which the proposed Union Government was also discussed. In January 2008, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania took over as chair, representing the East African region and thus apparently ending Sudan's attempt to become chair—at least till the rotation returned to East Africa. The current chair is Macky Sall, President of Senegal, whose term began on February 5, 2022.


List of chairpersons


Headquarters

The main administrative capital of the African Union is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the African Union Commission is headquartered. A new headquarters complex, the
AU Conference Center and Office Complex The AU Conference Center and Office Complex (AUCC) is a building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the headquarters of the African Union and plays host to the biannual AU summits. It also serves as a conference center for African and diaspora bus ...
(AUCC), was inaugurated on 28 January 2012, during the 18th AU summit.Press release No 13 / 18th AU Summit
Inauguration of the new African Union Conference Center
. Directorate of Information and Communication.
African Union Commission The Commission of the African Union acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the African Union (and is somewhat analogous to the European Commission). It consists of a number of Commissioners dealing with different areas of ...
(28 January 2012).
The complex was built by China State Construction Engineering Corporation as a gift from the Chinese government, and accommodates, among other facilities, a 2,500-seat plenary hall and a 20-story office tower. The tower is 99.9 meters high to signify the date 9 September 1999, when the Organisation of African Unity voted to become the African Union. The building cost US$200 million to construct.


Espionage accusations

On 26 January 2018, five years after the completion of the building of the AU Headquarters, the French newspaper '' Le Monde'' published an article stating that the Chinese government had heavily bugged the building, installing listening devices in the walls and furniture and setting up the computer system to copy data to servers in Shanghai daily. The Chinese government denied that they bugged the building, stating that the accusations were "utterly groundless and ridiculous." Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn rejected the French media report. Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission, said the allegations in the ''Le Monde''s report were false. "These are totally false allegations and I believe that we are completely disregarding them." The African Union replaced its Chinese-supplied servers and started encrypting its communications following the event.


African Union summits


Migration

In 2018, the African Union adopted the Free Movement Protocol. This protocol allows for free movement of people between countries that are part of the African Union. Article 14 of the Protocol to the treaty establishing the African economic community relating to the free movement of persons, right of residence, and the right of establishment discusses the free movement of workers. The African Union also has a Migration Policy Framework for Africa (MPFA). Forced displacement of people and groups has also been an area of focus for the AU—over thirty states have ratified the Kampala Convention, the only continental treaty focusing on internally displaced persons in the world. Beginning in 2016, the African Union introduced continent-wide passports.


Foreign relations

The individual member states of the African Union coordinate foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their own international relations on a state-by-state basis. The AU represents the interests of African peoples at large in intergovernmental organisations (IGOs); for instance, it is a
permanent observer Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...
at the United Nations General Assembly. Both the African Union and the United Nations work in tandem to address issues of common concerns in various areas. The African Union Mission to the United Nations aspires to serve as a bridge between the two organizations. Membership of the AU overlaps with other IGOs, and occasionally, these third-party organisations and the AU will coordinate on matters of public policy. The African Union maintains special diplomatic representation with the United States and the European Union.


Africa–Caribbean relations

Many Caribbean nations have sought to deepen ties with the continent of Africa. The African Union-bloc has referred to the Caribbean as the potential "Sixth Region" of the African Union. Some Caribbean states have already moved to join Africa institutions including Barbados which became a member of the African Export Import Bank. And the Caribbean Development Bank signing a cooperation strategic partnership agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB)


Africa–China relations

One of the leading economic partners of the continent has been the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Forum on China–Africa Cooperation is the main multi-lateral coordination mechanism between the African countries and China. Since joining FOCAC in 2012, the African Union has increasingly played a coordinating role, although each African country in FOCAC continues to represent itself individually.


Africa–EU relations

For the European Commission, the European Union's relationship with Africa is a key priority. The future Africa-EU partnership vision of the European Commission and the European External Action Service is outlined in the Joint Communication "Towards a Comprehensive Strategy with Africa". It proposes partnering on: * Green Transition and Energy Access * Digital Transformation * Sustainable Growth and Jobs * Peace, Security and Governance * Migration and Mobility On 2 December 2020, five Africa-Europe Foundation Strategy Groups were established in the areas of Health, Digital, Agriculture and Sustainable Food Systems, Sustainable energy and Transport and Connectivity. It was done together with a consortium comprising Friends of Europe, Mo Ibrahim Foundation and IPEMED. In regards to strengthening resilience, peace, security and governance, the African Union and the European Union recognize that resilience, peace, security and governance are all closely linked. Peace and security are important elements for sustainable development, prosperity and resilience of societies. For ensuring peace and security, it had worked out the African Peace Facility. This has been itself replaced in 2021 by the European Peace Facility. The AU and EU are also partnering on promoting sustainable resources management, environmental resilience, and
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing Greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of greenhouse gases or Carbon sink, removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caus ...
The Africa Adaptation Initiative is also being supported by the European Union.


Africa–Russia relations

Russia hosted the first Africa-Russia heads-of-state summit on October 23-24 2019, Representatives from all 54 African states, including 43 heads-of-state or government, attended the summit. The second summit is expected to be held this year, though the date and venue of the summit are not yet determined.


Africa–Turkey relations

Turkey–Africa relations have gained substantial momentum since the declaration of Turkey as a strategic partner of the continent by the African Union in January 2008. Since 2008, various major summits and meetings have been taking place between Turkey and AU. The first summit was The Turkey–Africa Cooperation summit, Istanbul in August 2008. As of 2020, Turkey has embassies in 42 countries and commercial counselors in 26 countries on the Africa continent. Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines also flies to 35 destinations on the continent.


Africa–United States relations

In 2017, Donald Trump, President of the United States, issued an executive order to ban citizens from seven countries with suspected links to terrorism from entering the United States. Three of these are African countries, and members of the AU. During the 28th African Union Summit in Ethiopia, African leaders criticised the ban as they expressed their growing concerns for the future of the African economy under President Trump's leadership and subsequent policies.


Economy

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was created among 54 of the 55 AU nations, with trade commencing as of 1 January 2021. The AU's future goals include a customs union, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency (see African Monetary Union), thereby establishing economic and monetary union.


Indicators

The following table shows various data for AU member states, including area, population, economic output and income inequality, as well as various indices, including human development, viability of the state, perception of corruption, economic freedom, state of peace, freedom of the press and democratic level. a External data from 2016. b External data from 2015. c External data from 2014. d AU total used for indicators 1 through 3; AU weighted average used for indicator 4; AU unweighted average used for indicators 5 through 12.


Culture


Symbols

The emblem of the African Union consists of a gold ribbon bearing small interlocking red rings, from which palm leaves shoot up around an outer gold circle and an inner green circle, within which is a gold representation of Africa. The red interlinked rings stand for African solidarity and the blood shed for the liberation of Africa; the palm leaves, for peace; the gold, for Africa's wealth and bright future; the green, for African hopes and aspirations. To symbolise African unity, the silhouette of Africa is drawn without internal borders. The African Union adopted its new flag at its 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government taking place in Addis Ababa 2010. During the 8th African Union Summit which took place in Addis Ababa on 29 and 30 January 2007, the Heads of State and Government decided to launch a competition for the selection of a new flag for the Union. They prescribed a green background for the flag symbolising hope of Africa and stars to represent Member States. Pursuant to this decision, the African Union Commission (AUC) organised a competition for the selection of a new flag for the African Union. The AUC received a total of 106 entries proposed by citizens of 19 African countries and 2 from the Diaspora. The proposals were then examined by a panel of experts put in place by the African Union Commission and selected from the five African regions for short listing according to the main directions given by the Heads of State and Government. At the 13th Ordinary Session of the Assembly, the Heads of State and Government examined the report of the Panel and selected one among all the proposals. The flag is now part of the paraphernalia of the African Union and replaces the old one. The old
flag of the African Union The current flag of the African Union was adopted at its 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, which took place in Addis Ababa on 31 January 2010. History During the 8th African Union Summit which took place in ...
bears a broad green horizontal stripe, a narrow band of gold, the emblem of the African Union at the centre of a broad white stripe, another narrow gold band and a final broad green stripe. Again, the green and gold symbolise Africa's hopes and aspirations as well as its wealth and bright future, and the white represents the purity of Africa's desire for friends throughout the world. The flag has led to the creation of the " national colours" of Africa of gold and green (sometimes together with white). These colours are visible in one way or another in the flags of many African nations. Together the colours green, gold, and red constitute the
Pan-African colours Pan-African colours is a term that may refer to two different sets of colours: * Green, yellow and red, the colours of the flag of Ethiopia, have come to represent the pan-Africanist ideology due to the country's history of having avoided being ...
. The African Union has adopted the anthem " Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together".


Celebration

Africa Day, formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day, is an annual commemoration regarding the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), on 25 May 1963, and occurring on the same date of the month each year. Other celebrations include the following: * The Fez Festival of World Sacred Music: a week-long celebration for harmony between cultures with dancing, Moroccan music, art exhibitions and films. * The Knysna Oyster festival: held in Knysna and focused around sport, food and their oyster heritage. *
Lake of Stars Festival Lake of Stars Festival is an annual three-day international festival held on the shores of Lake Malawi, the third largest lake in Africa. The first festival took place in 2004 and attracts over 4,000 attendees with musical acts drawn mainly from Af ...
: three-day celebration that takes place in Lake Malawi, showcasing African music and welcoming people from around the world. *
Fête du Vodoun Traditional Day or Fête du Vodoun (literally Vodoun Festival, also known as Traditional Religions Day) is a public holiday in Benin that celebrates the nation's history surrounding the West African religion of Vodoun. The celebration is held annua ...
: also known as the Ouidah Voodoo Festival. It is centred around their rituals on voodoo temples, with entertainment that includes horse races and traditional drum performances. *
Umhlanga (ceremony) Umhlanga , or Reed Dance ceremony, is an annual Swazi event. In Eswatini, tens of thousands of unmarried and childless Swazi girls and women travel from the various chiefdoms to the Ludzidzini Royal Village to participate in the eight-day even ...
: is mainly a private event for young women but on the sixth and seventh days the traditions are done publicly. * Marsabit Lake Turkana Cultural Festival: held in Kenya and celebrates harmony amongst tribes with their culture, singing, dancing and traditional costumes. *
Enkutatash Enkutatash ( Ge'ez: እንቁጣጣሽ) is a public holiday in coincidence of New Year in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It occurs on Meskerem 1 on the Ethiopian calendar, which is 11 September (or, during a leap year, 12 September) according to the Grego ...
is the word for the Ethiopian New Year in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. It occurs on 11 September in the Gregorian Calendar; except for the year preceding a leap year, when it occurs on 12 September.


Current issues

The AU faces many challenges, including health issues such as combating malaria and the
AIDS/HIV Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
epidemic; political issues such as confronting undemocratic regimes and mediating in the many civil wars; economic issues such as improving the
standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available, generally applied to a society or location, rather than to an individual. Standard of living is relevant because it is considered to contribute to an individual's quality ...
of millions of impoverished, uneducated Africans; ecological issues such as dealing with recurring famines,
desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...
, and lack of ecological
sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
; as well as the legal issues regarding Western Sahara.


Health


AIDS in Africa

The AU has been active in addressing the AIDS pandemic in Africa. In 2001, the AU established AIDS Watch Africa to coordinate and mobilise a continent-wide response.
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
, especially southern and eastern Africa, is the most affected area in the world. Though this region is home to only 6.2% of the world's population, it is also home to half of the world's population infected with HIV. While the measurement of HIV prevalence rates has proved methodologically challenging, more than 20% of the sexually active population of many countries of southern Africa may be infected, with South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe all expected to have a decrease in life expectancy by an average of 6.5 years. The pandemic has had massive implications for the economy of the continent, reducing economic growth rates by 2–4% across Africa. In July 2007, the AU endorsed two new initiatives to combat the AIDS crisis, including a push to recruit, train and integrate two million community health workers into the continent's healthcare systems. In January 2012, the African Union Assembly requested that the African Union Commission would work out "a roadmap of shared responsibility to draw on African efforts for a viable health funding with support of traditional and emerging partners to address AIDS dependency response." Once created, the roadmap (as it is officially known) provided a group of solutions that would enhance the shared responsibility and global solidarity for
AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, TB, and Malaria responses in Africa by 2015. The roadmap was organised into three pillars: diversified financing, access to medicines, and enhanced health governance. The roadmap held stakeholders accountable for the realisation of these solutions between 2012 and 2015. The first pillar, diversified financing, ensures that countries begin to develop a country specific financial sustainability plans with clear targets, and identify and maximise opportunities to diversify funding sources in order to increase the domestic resource allocation to AIDS and other diseases. The second pillar, access to affordable and quality-assured medicines, tries to promote and facilitate investing in leading medicine hub manufacturers in Africa, accelerate and strengthen medicine regulatory harmonisation, and create legislation that would help to protect the knowledge of the researchers who develop these life-saving medicines. The third pillar, enhanced leadership and governance, tries to invest in programs that support people and communities to prevent HIV and ensure that leadership at all levels is mobilised to implement the roadmap. There are several organisations that will ensure the smooth implementation of the roadmap, including NEPAD, UNAIDS, WHO, and several other UN partners.


COVID-19 pandemic

By February 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa had resulted in 3.6 million confirmed cases and 89,000 related deaths, and only 25% of African countries have adequate plans for vaccination, according to the
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is a public health agency of the African Union to support the public health initiatives of member states and strengthen the capacity of their health institutions to deal with dis ...
(Africa CDC). The pandemic has also devastated economies around the world, including in Africa.


Corruption

Daniel Batidam, an anti-corruption advisory board member of the African Union, resigned after stating that the organisation had "multiple irregularities" and that "issues have come up over and over again" regarding corruption. The African Union quickly accepted his resignation, with Batidam saying that it was a sign that mismanagement towards corruption will "continue with business as usual". In a story published on 12 March 2020, AU staff alleged that Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat was guilty of corruption and cronyism, as well as running of a "mafia-style cartel" that operates with impunity. The allegations were contained in a memo leaked to the South African '' Mail & Guardian''. This followed
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
allegations raised in late 2018.


Libya

In 2011, when the conflict in Libya began, the African Union was initially criticised for doing little to prevent the conflict's escalation. Additionally, the AU hesitated to take a side. It was unclear whether the AU supported the Libyan regime or the rebels. This occurred as several human right violations were perpetrated against members of the Libyan regime. It was later realised that the AU's hesitation was due to its lack of capacity and its inability to engage in democratic reform. The AU attempted to mediate in the early stages of the
2011 Libyan civil war The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...
, forming an ''ad hoc'' committee of five presidents ( Congolese President
Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer. He became president of the Republic of the Congo in 1997. He served a previous term as president from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as p ...
, Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré,
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
n President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, South African President
Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni) to broker a truce. However, the beginning of the NATO-led
military intervention Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a diffe ...
in March 2011 prevented the committee from traveling to Libya to meet with Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
. As a body, the AU sharply dissented from the United Nations Security Council's decision to create a no-fly zone over Libya, though a few member states, such as Botswana, Gabon, Zambia, and others expressed support for
the resolution ''The Glass Passenger'' is the second studio album by American rock band Jack's Mannequin. Frontman Andrew McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in mid-2005 following the recording of their debut album ''Everything in Transit' ...
. As a result of Gaddafi's defeat at the Battle of Tripoli (the war's deciding battle), in August 2011, the
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
voted to recognise the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of the country, pending elections. The council has been recognised by several AU member states, including two
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
members. However, the AU
Peace and Security Council The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the African Union in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the United Nations Security Council. The PSC is also the main pillar of the African Peace and Security ...
voted on 26 August 2011 not to recognise it, insisting on a ceasefire and on the formation of a national unity government by both sides. A number of AU member states led by Ethiopia, Nigeria, and
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
requested that the AU recognise the NTC as Libya's interim governing authority, and several other AU member states have recognised the NTC regardless of the Peace and Security Council's decision. However, AU member states Algeria and Zimbabwe have indicated they will not recognise the NTC, and South Africa has expressed reservations as well. On 20 September 2011, the African Union officially recognised the National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of Libya. In post-Gaddafi Libya, the African Union believes it still has an important responsibility to the country despite its failure to contribute to the conflict when it originated. Although the African Union is there to keep peace, it is not a long-term solution. The goal, as stated by the AU, is to establish a Libyan government that is sustainable to ensuring peace in Libya. To achieve some level of peace in Libya, the AU has to moderate peace talks which are aimed at achieving compromises and power sharing accommodations as well.


Military


Togo

In response to the death of
Gnassingbé Eyadéma Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. Eyadéma participated i ...
, President of Togo, on 5 February 2005, AU leaders described the appointment of his son, Faure Gnassingbé, to the presidency to have been a military coup. Togo's constitution calls for the speaker of parliament to succeed the president in the event of his death. By law, the parliament speaker must call national elections to choose a new president within sixty days. The AU's protest forced Gnassingbé to hold elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected president on 4 May 2005.


Mauritania

On 3 August 2005, a coup in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to hold elections within two years. These were held in early 2007, the first time that the country had held elections that were generally agreed to be of an acceptable standard. Following the elections, Mauritania's membership of the AU was restored. However, on 6 August 2008, a fresh coup overthrew the government elected in 2007. The AU once again suspended Mauritania from the continental body. The suspension was once again lifted in 2009 after the military junta agreed with the opposition to organise elections.


Mali

In March 2012, a military coup was staged in Mali, when an alliance of Touareg and Islamist forces conquered the north, resulting in a coming to power of the Islamists. This resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Malian soldiers and the loss of control over their camps and positions. After a military intervention with help from French troops, the region was in control of the Malian army. To reinstall local authorities, the AU helped to form a caretaker government, supporting it and holding presidential elections in Mali in July 2013.Bernadette Schulz, Ruth Langer
"Peace missions – The long haul"
, D+C, 27 August 2013.
In 2013, a summit for the African Union was held and it was decided that the African Union was going to enlarge their military presence in Mali. The AU decided to do this because of increasing tensions between al-Qaeda forces and the Mali army. There have been several rebel groups that are vying for control of parts of Mali. These rebel groups include the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLNA), Ganda Koy, Ganda Izo, Ansar ad-Din, and
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). AU forces have been tasked with counterinsurgency missions in Mali as well as governing presidential elections to ensure as smooth a transition of power as possible.


2021 hotspots

A disputed election in December 2020 has led to intensification of the Central African Republic Civil War, displacing 200,000 people. United Nations peacekeepers, including soldiers from Russia and Rwanda, have kept the rebels out of Bangui, but rebels control much of the rest of the country. The AU has not sent peacekeepers to the areas because of a lack of agreement on how to handle the situation: Chad and Congo-Brazzaville support the rebels and France, Congo-Kinshasa has links to Russia; Rwanda and Angola support the government. The Tigray War in Ethiopia has left millions in need of humanitarian aid. Eritrean troops are said to be supporting the Ethiopian government, and there have been border conflicts with Sudan. The relationship between Sudan and Ethiopia is further complicated by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project, which also directly affects Egypt.


Regional conflicts and peacekeeping

One of the objectives of the AU is to "promote peace, security, and stability on the continent". Among its principles is "Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly". The primary body charged with implementing these objectives and principles is the Peace and Security Council. The PSC has the power, among other things, to authorise peace support missions, to impose sanctions in case of unconstitutional change of government, and to "take initiatives and action it deems appropriate" in response to potential or actual conflicts. The PSC is a decision-making body in its own right, and its decisions are binding on member states. Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act, repeated in article 4 of the Protocol to the Constitutive Act on the PSC, also recognises the right of the Union to intervene in a member state in circumstances of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Any decision to intervene in a member state under article 4 of the Constitutive Act will be made by the Assembly on the recommendation of the PSC. Since it first met in 2004, the PSC has been active in relation to the crises in Darfur, Comoros, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast and other countries. It has adopted resolutions creating the AU peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Darfur, and imposing sanctions against persons undermining peace and security (such as travel bans and asset freezes against the leaders of the rebellion in Comoros). The council is in the process of overseeing the establishment of a "standby force" to serve as a permanent African peacekeeping force. Institute for Security Studies, South Africa, March 2008. The founding treaty of the AU also called for the establishment of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), including the
African Standby Force The African Standby Force (ASF) ( French: ''Force africaine en attente'') is an international, continental African, and multidisciplinary peacekeeping force with military, police and civilian contingents that acts under the direction of the African ...
(ASF), which is to be deployed in emergencies. That means, in cases of genocide or other serious human-rights violations, an ASF mission can be launched even against the wishes of the government of the country concerned, as long as it is approved by the AU General Assembly. In the past AU peacekeeping missions, the concept was not yet applied, forces had to be mobilised from member states. The AU is planning on putting the concept into practise by 2015 at the earliest.


Darfur, Sudan

In response to the ongoing Darfur conflict in Sudan, the AU has deployed 7,000 peacekeepers, many from Rwanda and Nigeria, to
Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
. While a donor's conference in Addis Ababa in 2005 helped raise funds to sustain the peacekeepers through that year and into 2006, in July 2006 the AU said it would pull out at the end of September when its mandate expires. Critics of the AU peacekeepers, including Dr. Eric Reeves, have said these forces are largely ineffective due to lack of funds, personnel, and expertise. Monitoring an area roughly the size of France has made it even more difficult to sustain an effective mission. In June 2006, the United States Congress appropriated US$173 million for the AU force. Some, such as the Genocide Intervention Network, have called for UN or NATO intervention to augment and/or replace the AU peacekeepers. The UN has considered deploying a force, though it would not likely enter the country until at least October 2007. The under-funded and badly equipped AU mission was set to expire on 31 December 2006 but was extended to 30 June 2007 and merged with the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur in October 2007. In July 2009 the African Union ceased cooperation with the International Criminal Court, refusing to recognise the international arrest warrant it had issued against Sudan's leader, Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted in 2008 for war crimes. The AU struggled to have a strategic role in the independence talks and the reconciliation process of South Sudan, due to overwhelming interests of African and non-African powers, its influence is still limited and not consistent.


Somalia

From the early 1990s up until 2000, Somalia was without a functioning central government. A peace agreement aimed at ending the civil war that broke out following the collapse of the
Siad Barre Mohamed Siad Barre ( so, Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Osmanya script: ; ar, محمد سياد بري; c. 1910 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali head of state and general who served as the 3rd president of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 199 ...
regime was signed in 2006 after many years of peace talks. However, the new government was almost immediately threatened by further violence. In February 2007, the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU) worked together to establish the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The purpose of AMISOM was to create a foundation that would hopefully provide aid to some of Somalia's most vulnerable and keep the peace in the region. They are tasked with everything from protecting federal institutions to facilitating humanitarian relief operations. Much of the AU's opposition comes from an Islamic extremist group named al-Shabaab. To temporarily shore up the government's military base, starting in March 2007, AU soldiers began arriving in Mogadishu as part of a peacekeeping force that was intended by the AU to eventually be 8,000 strong. Eritrea recalled its ambassadors to the African Union on 20 November 2009 after the African Union called on the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on them due to their alleged support of Somali Islamists attempting to topple the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, the internationally recognised government of Somalia which holds Somalia's seat on the African Union. On 22 December 2009, the United Nations Security Council passed UNSCR 1907, which imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea, travel bans on Eritrean leaders, and asset freezes on Eritrean officials. Eritrea strongly criticised the resolution. In January 2011, Eritrea reestablished their mission to the AU in Addis Ababa. In the fall of 2011, AMISOM forces, along with Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, launched a set of offensive attacks on the al-Shabaab. In these attacks,
AMISOM The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It was mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implem ...
forces were able to reclaim key cities including the Somali capital of Mogadishu. In September 2013, political scientist Ethan Bueno de Mesquita argued that with the help of
AMISOM The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It was mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implem ...
forces, they had made it "nearly impossible for al-Shabaab to hold territory even in its former strongholds in southern Somalia". Although much progress has been made towards peace in the region, it should still be noted that African Union forces' still get attacked regularly. Despite
AMISOM The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It was mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implem ...
being effective, it is vastly underfunded and many forces lack the resources required. Funding for humanitarian relief and the formation of armies tends to be vastly undercut.


Anjouan, Comoros

A successful 2008 invasion of Anjouan by AU and
Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...
forces to stop self-declared president Mohamed Bacar, whose 2007 re-election was declared illegal. Prior to the invasion, France helped transport Tanzanian troops but their position in the disagreement was questioned when a French police helicopter was suspected of attempting to sneak Bacar into French exile. The first wave of troops landed on Anjouan Bay on 25 March and soon took over the airfield in Ouani, ultimately aiming to locate and remove Bacar from office. On the same day, the airport, capital, and second city were overrun and the presidential palace was deserted. Bacar escaped and sought asylum in France. The Comoros government demanded his return, in order to determine his fate. Many of Bacar's main supporters were arrested by the end of March, including
Caabi El-Yachroutu Mohamed Caabi El-Yachroutu Mohamed (born 1949) is a Comorian politician. He was the country's Vice-President from May 2002 until 27 February 2006, when he resigned in order to participate in the upcoming election for a new Union president. He was elimina ...
and Ibrahim Halidi. Bacar's asylum request was rejected on 15 May, as France agreed to cooperate with the Comoran government's demand. At the 29 June elections,
Moussa Toybou Moussa Toybou (born 28 November 1962) is the President of the autonomous island of Anjouan in the Union of the Comoros. Toybou won the June 2008 Anjouan presidential election, which was held to replace Mohamed Bacar following the March 2008 invas ...
won the presidency.


Chagos Islands dispute

The sovereignty of the
Chagos Archipelago The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives archi ...
in the Indian Ocean is disputed between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. In February 2019, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory opinion stating that the UK must transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius. On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos archipelago "forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius." The African Union urged the United Kingdom to comply with a UN resolution calling for it to withdraw from the Chagos Islands. The UK does not recognise Mauritius' sovereignty claim over the Chagos Archipelago.


See also

* Africa Adaptation Initiative *
African Century African century is the belief or hope that the 21st century will bring peace, prosperity and cultural revival to Africa. Among those who have spoken of an African century are South African politicians Thabo Mbeki and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chevr ...
* African Peer Review Mechanism *
African Renaissance The African Renaissance is the concept that the African people shall overcome the current challenges confronting the continent and achieve cultural, scientific, and economic renewal. This concept was first articulated by Cheikh Anta Diop in a serie ...
*
African Unification Front The African Unification Front (AUF) is an organisation aiming to promote the political, social and economic union of Africa. History AUF was formed in August 1996. The AUF advocates for transformation of Africa into a federation, with the Pan A ...
*
Africanisation Africanization or Africanisation (lit., making something African) has been applied in various contexts, notably in geographic and personal naming and in the composition of the civil service via processes such as indigenization. Africanization ...
* Central Asian Union * East African Federation *
Ezulwini agreement The Ezulwini Consensus is a position on international relations and reform of the United Nations, agreed by the African Union. It calls for a more representative and democratic United Nations Security Council, Security Council, in which Africa, like ...
*
Friends of the African Union Friends of the African Union (FAU) is an economic, social, humanitarian, charitable, educational and civil society organization founded to work for the benefit of the African Union and the African diaspora in their host countries. FAU has develop ...
* Indigenous peoples of Africa * List of country groupings * List of multilateral free-trade agreements * Prevention of environmental migration *
United States of Africa The United States of Africa is a hypothetical concept of a federation of some or all of the 54 sovereign states and two disputed states on the continent of Africa. The concept takes its origin from Marcus Garvey's 1924 poem " Hail, United Stat ...


Explanatory notes


Citations


General and cited references


''Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union: A Guide to AU Structures and Processes''
AfriMAP and Oxfam GB, 2010.
''Towards a People Driven African Union: Current Challenges and New Opportunities''
AfriMAP, AFRODAD and Oxfam GB, January 2007. * *
Bibliography on the AU at the Peace Palace Library


External links

*
African Union Mission in the United Nations

1st African Union Summit July 2002
in Durban, South Africa, website created by SA government
Southern Africa Regional Poverty Network
Page on the AU and NEPAD – many useful links

Background on Union Government debate
BBC Profile: African Union
*
Africa: 50 years of independence
Radio France Internationale in English
"The broken dream of African unity, Jean-Karim Fall"
Radio France Internationale in English {{Authority control 2001 establishments in Africa Organizations established in 2001 Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organisations based in Addis Ababa Pan-African organizations United Nations General Assembly observers