The 'Organization of African Unity' ('OAU') or 'Organisation de l'Unité Africaine' ('OUA') was established on
May 25,
1963. It was disbanded July 9, 2002 by its last
chairperson,
South African
Thabo Mbeki and replaced by the '
African Union'.
Its intended purpose was to promote the unity and solidarity of the
African States and act as a collective voice for the continent. This was important to secure Africa's long-term economic and political future. Years of colonialism had weakened it in both respects.
The OAU was also dedicated to the eradication of
colonialism, as there was still a number of states that hadn't yet won their independence. South Africa and Angola were two such countries. A Liberation Committee was established to aid independence movements and look after the interests of already-liberated states. The OAU also aimed to stay neutral in terms of global politics, which would prevent them from being controlled once more by outside forces -- an especial danger with the Cold War.
The OAU had other aims, too, though:
★ Ensure that all Africans enjoyed human rights.
★ Raise the living standards of all Africans.
★ Settle arguments and disputes between members -- not through fighting but rather peaceful, diplomatic negotiation.
Soon after achieving independence, a number of African states expressed a growing desire for more unity within the continent. Not everyone was agreed on how this unity should be achieved. Two opinionated groups emerged in this respect:
★ '
The Casablanca bloc', led by Nkrumah of Ghana, wanted a federation of all African countries. Aside from Ghana, it comprised also Algeria, Guinea, Morocco, Egypt Mali and Libya.
★ '
The Monrovian bloc', led by Senghor of Senegal, felt that unity should be achieved gradually, through economic cooperation. It did not support the idea of a political federation. Its other members were Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia and most of the French-speaking nations.
The dispute was resolved when Ethiopian emperor '
Haile Selassie I' invited both groups to
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, where the OAU's headquarters were established. The Charter of the Organisation was signed by 32 independent African states, among them members of the
Casablanca Group, founded in 1961 and composed of "progressive states". At the time of its disbanding, 53 out of the 54
states in Africa were members;
Morocco left on
November 12, '
1984' following the admission of the
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the government of
Western Sahara. in '
1982'.
The organisation was widely derided as a bureaucratic "talking shop" with little power. It struggled to enforce its decisions, and its lacking an army made intervention exceedingly difficult. Civil wars in Nigeria and Angola continued unabated for years.
The policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states did not help either. Thus, when human rights were violated, as in Uganda under
Idi Amin in the 'seventies, the OAU was powerless to stop them.
The OAU was praised, however, by
Ghanaian former
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan for bringing Africans together. Nevertheless, in its 39 years of existence critics argue that the OAU did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the Absolutist kings and "Dictators' Club"
[1] or "Dictator's Trade Union"
[2].
The OAU was successful in some respects. Many of its members were members of the UN, too, and they stood together within the latter organisation to safeguard the African interests -- especially in respect of lingering colonialism.
Total unity was difficult to achieve, however, as the OAU was largely divided. The French colonies, still dependant on France, formed their own group, and there was a further split between those groups which supported the USA and those which supported the USSR in the
Cold War of ideologies. The pro-Socialist faction was led by Kwame Nkrumah; Houphouet-Biogny of the Ivory Coast led the pro-capitalists. Because of these divisions, it was difficult for the OAU to take action against states involved in internal conflict because it could rarely reach an agreement on what was to be done.
The OAU played a pivotal role in eradicating colonialism. It gave weapons, training and military bases to colonised nations. Groups such as the ANC and PAC, fighting apartheid, and ZANU and ZAPU, fighting for the independence of Rhodesia, were much aided in their endeavours by the OAU. African harbours were closed to the South African government, and South African planes were prohibited from flying over the rest of the continent. The UN was convinced to expel South Africa from bodies such as the World Health Organisation.
The OAU also worked with the UN to ease the refugee problem. It set up the African Development Bank for economic projects to make Africa financially stronger. Although most African countries eventually won their independence, however, it was still very difficult for them to remain totally independent from their former colonisers. They often still relied on them for economic aid, which generally came attached with strings: loans had to be paid back at a high interest rate, and goods had to be sold at especially low rates. Help was sometimes provided in the form of technology and workers. While useful, this was not necessarily in the former colonies' best interests.
Autonomous specialised agencies working under the auspices of the OAU were:
★
Pan-African Telecommunications Union (PATU)
★
Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU)
★
Pan-African News Agency (PANA)
★
Union of African National Television and Radio Organisations (URTNA)
★
Union of African Railways (UAR)
★
Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU)
★
Supreme Council for Sports in Africa
List of Secretaries-general of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and African Union (AU) Chairs of the Commission
List of Chairs of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) & African Union (AU)
OAU Summits
It includes ordinary and extraordinary summits.
★
Addis Ababa (
Ethiopia) : 22-
25 May 1961.
★
Cairo(
Egypt) : 17-
21 July 1964.
★
Accra (
Ghana) : 21-
26 October 1965.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 5-
9 November 1966.
★
Kinshasa (
Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire) : 11-
14 September 1967.
★ Algiers (Algeria) : 13-
16 September 1968.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 6-
10 September 1969.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 1-
3 September 1970.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 21-
23 June 1971.
★
Rabat (
Morocco) : 12-
15 June 1972.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 27-
28 May 1973.
★
Kampala (
Uganda) :
28 July. -
1 August 1975.
★
Port Louis (
Mauritius) : 2-
6 July 1976.
★
Libreville (
Gabon) : 2-
5 July 1977.
★
Khartoum (
Sudan) : 18-
22 July 1978.
★
Monrovia (
Liberia) : 17-
20 July 1979.
★
Freetown (
Sierra Leone) : 1-
4 July 1980.
★
Nairobi (
Kenya) : 24-
27 June.1981.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 6-
12 June 1983.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 12-
15 November 1984.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 18-
20 July 1985.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 28-
30 July 1986.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 27-
29 July.1987.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Extraordinary Summit : Oct. 1987 .
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 25-
28 May 1988.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 24-
26 July 1989.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 9-
11 July 1990.
★
Abuja (
Nigeria) : 3-
5 July 1991.
★
Dakar (
Senegal) :
29 June. -
1 July 1992.
★ Cairo (Egypt) : 28-
30 June 1993.
★
Tunis (
Tunisia) : 13-
15 June 1994.
★ Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) : 26-
28 June 1995.
★
Yaoundé (
Cameroon) : 8-
10 June 1996.
★
Harare (
Zimbabwe) : 2-
4 June 1997.
★
Ouagadougou (
Burkina Faso) : 8-
10 June 1998.
★
Algiers (
Algeria) : 12-
14 July 1999.
★
Sirt (
Libya), Extraordinary Summit : 6-
9 September 1999.
★
Lomé (
Togo) : 10-
12 July 2000.
★
Lusaka (
Zambia) : 9-
11 July 2001, It is the last summit of OAU.
OAU members by date of admission (53 states)
★ '
25 May 1963 :'
:Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Léopoldville).
[1] Dahomey,
[2] Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast,
[3] Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
[4] Mali, Mauritania,
[5] Morocco,
[6] Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, The Sudan, Tanganyika,
[7] Togo,
[8] Tunisia, Uganda, Upper Volta,
[9] Zanzibar
7
★ '
13 December 1963 :'
:
Kenya
★ '
13 July 1964 :'
:Malawi
★ '
16 December 1964 :'
:Zambia
★ 'Oct 1965 : '
:The Gambia
★ '
31 October 1966 :'
:Botswana, Lesotho
★ 'Aug 1968 :'
:Mauritius
★ '
24 September 1968 :'
:Swaziland
★ '
12 October 1968 :'
:Equatorial Guinea
★ '
19 November 1973 :'
:Guinea-Bissau
★ '
11 February 1975 :'
:Angola
★ '
18 July 1975 :'
:Cape Verde, Comoros, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe
★ '
29 June 1976 :'
:Seychelles
★ '
27 June 1977 :'
:Djibouti
★ 'Jun 1980 :'
:Zimbabwe
★ '
22 February 1982 :'
:Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara)
★ 'Jun 1990 :'
:Namibia
★ '
24 May 1993 :'
:Eritrea
★ '
6 June 1994 :'
:South Africa
Notes
1. 1966-71 and from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa); 1971-97 Zaire.
2. From 1975 Benin.
3. From 1985 Côte d'Ivoire.
4. Suspended Dec 2001 - 10 July 2003.
5. Suspended 4 August 2005.
6. Withdrew 12 November 1984.
7. Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was renamed Tanzania 1 November 1964.
8. Suspended from 25 February 2005.
9. From 1984 Burkina Faso.
References
★ "OAU After Twenty Years"; Pub. Praeger; ISBN 0-03-062473-8; (May 1984)
★ "Africa's First Peacekeeping Operation: The OAU in Chad, 1981-1982" by Terry M. Mays, Pub. Praeger; ISBN 0-275-97606-8; (
April 30 2002)
★ "African Exodus: Refugee Crisis, Human Rights, & the 1969 OAU Convention" by Chaloka Beyani, Chris Stringer, Pub. Lawyers Committee for Human Rights; ISBN 0-934143-73-0; (July 1995)
★
Report on the
Rwandan Genocide in 2000.
See also
★
Casablanca Group
★
Pan-Africanism
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