The 'African Union' ('AU') is an
supranational union consisting of fifty-three
African
states. Established in 2001, the AU was formed as a successor to the amalgamated
African Economic Community (AEC) and the
Organization of African Unity (OAU). Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency and a single integrated defense force, as well as other institutions of state, including a cabinet for the AU Head of State. The purpose of the union is to help secure Africa's
democracy,
human rights, and a
sustainable economy, especially by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and creating an effective common market.
Overview
The decision making body in the AU is the
AU Assembly of Heads of State, currently chaired by President Kufuor of Ghana, elected at the 8th ordinary meeting of the Assembly in January 2007. Its secretariat is the
AU Commission, whose first chair is
Alpha Oumar Konare, of Mali, due to be replaced at the 9th AU summit to be held in Accra, Ghana, in July 2007.
Other institutions of the AU include the Executive Council, made up of foreign ministers; the Permanent Representatives Committee, made up of the ambassadors to Addis Ababa of AU member states; the
Pan African Parliament; and the Economic Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), a civil society consultative body (see further below).
The AU covers the entire continent except for
Morocco, which opposes the membership of
Western Sahara as the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. However, Morocco has a special status within the AU and benefits from the services available to all AU states from the institutions of the AU, such as the
African Development Bank. Moroccan delegates also participate at important AU functions, and negotiations continue to try to resolve the conflict with the
Polisario Front in
Tindouf,
Algeria and
parts of Western Sahara.
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 to oversee the implementation of the various agreements. AU troops are also deployed in
Sudan for peacekeeping in the
Darfur conflict. The AU also has pledged to send peacekeepers to
Somalia, of which the peacekeepers from
Uganda have already reached Somalia.
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 Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003) and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), as well as the
New Partnership for Africa's Development and its associated Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance.
[2]
History of the African Union
The historical foundations of the African Union originated in the
Union of African States, an early
confederation that was established by
Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was established on
May 25,
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".
[3]
The idea of creating the AU was revived in the mid-1990s under the leadership of Libyan head of state
Muammar al-Qaddafi: the heads of state and government of the OAU issued the
Sirte Declaration (named after Sirte, in Libya) on
September 9,
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 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
July 9,
2002, by its first president, South African
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
July 6,
2004.
Membership
Main articles: Enlargement of the African Union
Map of the African Union.
; Current members
; Former members
left the AU's predecessor (the Organization of African Unity) in 1984; ''See below''.
Morocco's withdrawal
The only African state that is not a member of the African Union is
Morocco, which left the AU's predecessor, the
Organization of African Unity (OAU), in 1984, when many of the other member states supported the
Sahrawi nationalist Polisario Front's
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
[4][5] Morocco's ally,
Zaire, similarly opposed the OAU's admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and the
Mobutu regime boycotted the organisation from
1984 to
1986.
[6] Some countries have since retracted their support for the Sahrawi Republic.
[7]
Summits
Organs of the AU
The African Union has a number of official bodies:
;
Pan-African Parliament (PAP) : To become the highest legislative body of the African Union. The seat of the PAP is at
Midrand,
South Africa. The Parliament is composed of 265 elected representatives from all fifty-three AU states, and intended to provide popular and civil-society participation in the processes of democratic governance. The current President of the Pan African Parliament is
Gertrude Mongella of
Tanzania.
;
Assembly of the African Union : 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 Chairman of the Assembly is
John Kufuor, president of
Ghana.
;
African Union Commission : 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 counterpart, the
European Commission, it is responsible for the administration and co-ordination of the AU's activities and meetings.
;
African Court of Justice : To rule on
human rights abuses in Africa. The court will consist of eleven judges elected by the Assembly.
Kenya and
Uganda have expressed interest in hosting the court.
;
Executive Council: Composed of ministers designated by the governments of members 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.
;
Permanent Representatives' Committee: Consisting of nominated permanent representatives of member states, the Committee prepares the work for the Executive Council. (European Union equivalent: the
Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER).
;
Peace and Security Council : Proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001. It has fifteen members responsible for monitoring and intervening in conflicts, with an African force at its disposal. Similar in intent and operation to the
United Nations Security Council.
;
Economic, Social and Cultural Council: An advisory organ composed of professional and civic representatives, similar to the European
Economic and Social Committee. The interim chair of ECOSOCC is Nobel prizewinner
Wangari Maathai of
Kenya.
;
Specialised Technical Committees: These address Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters; Monetary and Financial Affairs; Trade, Customs, and Immigration Matters; 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,
African Investment Bank,
African Monetary Fund.
; Human Rights institutions: The
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is not established under the Constitutive Act of the African Union, but is a key African continental organ, with responsibility for monitoring compliance with the
African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Charter). The
African Court 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 likely that the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights will be merged with the African Court of Justice: a protocol providing for merger of the two bodies is under discussion and likely to be adopted during 2007.
Role of the Diaspora
The Constitutive Act of the AU declares that it shall "invite and encourage the full participation of the
African diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union". The African Union Government has defined the African diaspora as "consisting of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union".
[10]
Current issues
The AU faces many challenges, including health issues such as combating
malaria and the
AIDS/
HIV epidemic; political issues such as confronting
undemocratic regimes and mediating in the many
civil wars; economic issues such as improving the
standard of living of millions of
impoverished, uneducated Africans; ecological issues such as dealing with recurring
famines,
desertification, and lack of ecological
sustainability; as well as the
legal issue of the still-unfinished
decolonisation of
Western Sahara.
Union Government
The principal topic for debate at the July 2007 AU summit will be the creation of a Union Government, with the aim of moving towards a United States of Africa. This has been suggested by the President of Libya, as recently as June of 2007. A study on the Union Government 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 following a maximalist view leading to a common government with an AU army; and other 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.
[11]
Choosing the Chair of the Union
Controversy arose at the 2006 summit when Sudan announced a candidate for the AU's chairmanship. Five member states threatened to withdraw support for a Sudanese candidate because of tensions over
Darfur (see also below). Sudan ultimately withdrew its candidacy and
Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the
Republic of the Congo was elected to a one-year term. At the January 2007 summit, Sassou-Nguesso was replaced by President Kufuor of Ghana, despite another attempt by Sudan to gain the chair. 2007 is the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, a symbolic moment for the country to hold the chair of the AU.
Zimbabwe
The political crisis in
Zimbabwe has been debated both by the African Union and in particular by the
Southern African Development Community. At African Union level, the situation in Zimbabwe has been a controversial focus of discussions in the Executive Council of the activity reports of the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in which human rights abuses in Zimbabwe have been a leading subject since the early 2000s.
===
AIDS in Africa ===
One of the most serious issues to face Africa is not a dispute between nations, but rather the rapid spread of
HIV and the
AIDS pandemic.
Sub-Saharan Africa, especially southern Africa, is by far the worst affected area in the world, and as the infection is now starting to claim lives by the millions. 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 effects on South Africa, which composes 30% of the AU's economy, threatens to significantly stunt GDP growth, and thus internal and external trade for the continent.
Interventions in support of democracy
Togo
In response to the death of
Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of
Togo, on
February 5,
2005, AU leaders described the naming of his son
Faure Gnassingbé the successor as a
military coup.
[12] 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
May 4,
2005.
Mauritania
On
August 3,
2005 a coup occurred in
Mauritania that 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.
Regional conflicts and military interventions
Darfur, Sudan
Main articles: African Union Mission in Sudan,
AMIS
In response to the ongoing
Darfur conflict in
Sudan, the AU has deployed 7,000 peacekeepers, many from
Rwanda and
Nigeria, to
Darfur. 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.
[13] 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
United Nations (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 of 2007.
[14] The under-funded and badly equipped AU mission was set to expire on
December 31,
2006 but has been extended to
June 30,
2007 and will merge with the
United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur.
Somalia
Main articles: AMISOM
Somalia has been effectively without a government since the early 1990s. A peace agreement aimed at ending the
Somali Civil War that broke out following the fall of the regime of Siad Barre, was finally signed in 2006 after many years of peace talks. However, the new government was almost immediately threatened by further violence. On
March 6 2007, Ugandan AU soldiers arrived in
Mogadishu as part of a peacekeeping force that is intended by the AU to eventually be 8,000 strong.
Burundi,
Nigeria,
Malawi and
Ghana are also expected to contribute, but have yet to do so.
[15] Somaliland, in the north of Somalia, effectively operates as an independent country, though neither the AU nor any other international organisation has recognised it.
Elsewhere
Current conflicts also include the
Casamance Conflict in
Senegal; the
Niger Delta Conflict in Southern
Nigeria; the
Ivorian Civil War; and the multi-national conflict known as the
Central African War. There is still political fall-out from the the
Second Congo War, the
North-South Conflict in Sudan and the Ugandan conflict with the
Lord's Resistance Army.
Economy
Main articles: Economy of the African Union
Languages
Main articles: Languages of the African Union
The African Union promotes the use of
African languages wherever possible in its official work. Its other working languages are
Arabic,
English,
French, and
Portuguese, although many other languages are used officially by some member states (e.g.
Spanish is co-official with French in
Equatorial Guinea.) Supplemental protocols to the African Union have made
Swahili an official language of the African Union. Founded in 2001, the
African Academy of Languages promotes the usage and perpetuation of African languages amongst African people.
Geography
Main articles: Geography of the African Union
Foreign relations
Main articles: Foreign relations of the African Union
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
flag of the African Union 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.
The African Union has adopted a new anthem, ''
Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together'', and has the chorus ''O sons and daughters of Africa, flesh of the sun and flesh of the sky, Let us make Africa the tree of life''.
References
1. http://www.africamasterweb.com/AuAnthem.html
2. AU treaties available at: http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/Documents/Treaties/treaties.htm
3. African Union replaces dictators' club, BBC, 8 July 2002
4. BBC News (July 8 2001) - "OAU considers Morocco readmission" (accessed July 9, 2006).
5. Arabic News (July 9 2002) - "South African paper says Morocco should be one of the AU and NEPAD leaders" (Accessed July 9, 2006)
6. ''Zaire: A Country Study'', "Relations with North Africa" (accessed May 18, 2007)
7. [http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/politics/togo_confirms_to_au/view Togo confirms to AU withdrawal of recognition of SADR (accessed July 9, 2006).
8. African Union Summit Opens
9. Union Government of Africa: Only by name?
10. ''Pan-Africanism and the African Union'', Dallas L. Browne.
11. For further discussion of this proposal see http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/
12. AU denounces Togo 'military coup'
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5124608.stm
14. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9089.doc.htm
15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/2115736.stm
★ The New African Initiative and the African Union: A Preliminary Assessment and Documentation by Henning Melber, Publisher: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet,
★ "The African Union, NEPAD and Human Rights: The Missing Agenda" ''Human Rights Quarterly'' Vol.26, No.4, November 2004.
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