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The African Union is committed to Strengthening a people centered Union through active communication of the programmes of the African Union, the branding of the Union and participation of Member States and other stakeholders in defining and implementing the African agenda.

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Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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Morocco's triumphant return to the African Union after a thirty-three-year break marked the culmination of a lengthy and intense diplomatic offensive designed to expand its circle of African allies to key nations in regions far from its historic sphere of influence in the Sahel, as well as in West and Central Africa. Now that the Kingdom has successfully barged into the African fold, its diplomatic realpolitik and strategic behavior will be put to the test in an institution where its traditional political adversaries-Algeria and, since 2004, South Africa-are determined to stymie its ambitions.

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Morocco has varied interests but is focused on two main deliverables: wooing a new breed of moderate and pragmatic African leaders with promises of win-win economic and security benefits; ¹ and leveraging its rising economic weight to expand political support for its claim over the Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that Morocco has always considered an integral part of its territory. These two goals are intertwined as partnerships built on assertive pragmatism facilitate mutually beneficial cooperation, which creates conditions for political entente. The recent political rapprochement between King Mohammed VI of Morocco and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda reflects this new diplomatic organizing principle, of political alliances undergirded by dynamic and pragmatic insights that trump the ideological dogmas of prior eras. This thinking outside old constraining blinders is also steering the process of normalization with Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Zambia.

The re-orientation of Moroccan foreign policy towards regions long considered unfamiliar or unfriendly terrain required the Kingdom to untangle its own censuring parameters that have constrained its diplomatic options to countries supportive of its rule over the Western Sahara. Since Morocco withdrew from the Organization of African Unity-which became the African Union in 2002-in 1984 over the seating of the self-proclaimed Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), it has taken a hardline position on what it deems its inviolable sovereign rights. Over the past three decades, the question of the Western Sahara has been a litmus test for Moroccan-African relations. Rabat nurtured its allies in Francophone Africa, deploying all the conventional economic, cultural, and security tools to consolidate its circle of friends and thwart the machinations of its adversaries, who have attempted to isolate it from every regional and international grouping.

The diplomatic dividends of this strategy were on dramatic display in July 2016 at the 27th African Union (AU) Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, when twenty-eight African countries penned a letter to the AU calling for the suspension of the SADR's membership. ² The irony of this diplomatic show of force, however, is that although Morocco enjoys majority support within the AU, the body has in recent years become a major diplomatic thorn in the country's side. Taking advantage of the disorganization of Morocco's allies within the AU, its adversaries have transformed the organization and its various mechanisms into advocacy entities for the SADR within the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and other international institutions. Morocco also found itself deliberately excluded from AU-led platforms for peace and security in the Sahel Sahara, a region where the Kingdom has important security, economic, and cultural interests. ³

For decades, Morocco has sought to maintain influence in the African Union while opting for the empty chair. Yet in recent years, it has become clear that an empty chair ceded the strategic advantage to its adversary. The only recourse became to reverse decades of state doctrine, the cornerstone of which was to expel what Morocco calls a "phantom" state, the SADR, from the only organization that recognizes it in the world. The decision to join a body that contains the SADR as a member required significant political courage and strategic foresight, even if Morocco will not cease its efforts to put an end to what it considers an oddity of international politics.

The return of Morocco to the AU is bound to shake up the organization, as the country is determined to oppose all actions, policies, and strategies it deems inimical to its vital interests. It is exactly such a prospect that drove its adversaries, namely Algeria and South Africa, to go to great lengths to try to block its return to the African fold. The fact that they were outfoxed by Morocco's all-out offensive is a testament to the Kingdom's solid support within the AU, and a harbinger for the diplomatic battles to come over the Western Sahara question and the perennial Moroccan-Algerian tension over regional leadership in the Sahel Sahara region.

Morocco's immediate goal is to nudge the AU towards neutrality, and then to gradually garner support for a win-win political solution to the Western Sahara dispute. ⁴ With its new style of assertive diplomacy tempered by pragmatism, the Kingdom does not want the dispute to affect its drive for expanding the market for its products and firms in Africa. Morocco's primary concern has always been the fear of being penned in by a ring of encirclements stretching from its closed eastern border with Algeria to its volatile northern border with Spain. ⁵ Its complicated relationship with Mauritania to the south made alignment with sub-Saharan Africa an absolute necessity in Morocco's anti-encirclement diplomacy. With the ascent of King Mohammed VI to the throne in July 1999, Morocco imbued these strategic partnerships with significant economic value, beyond prior security considerations, as well as the traditional close personal relationships of leaders. The Kingdom's recent pivot to Anglophone Africa and its push to rejoin the AU are driven by the same specter of geo-strategic encirclement. Morocco's trade relations with the EU have become entangled in court rulings and legal considerations over the Western Sahara. ⁶ The imperative for the Kingdom to reduce its dependence on the European market and rebalance towards Africa's fastest growing economies has never been greater. ⁷

Morocco enjoys significant comparative advantage over its regional competitors, making it already the first investor in West Africa and the second largest in the continent. Its advanced firms (including banking, insurance, and telecommunications), industrial companies (mainly phosphates), ⁸ increasingly sophisticated manufacturing (aerospace, electronics, and cars) and rising capabilities in renewable energy ⁹ position it to play a leading role in advancing King Mohammed VI's cherished goal of solidarity-based, South-South cooperation. ¹⁰ In this vein, the country recently launched major initiatives to power agricultural sustainability and improve food security through the building of mega fertilizer plants adapted to local soils in several African countries, most notably Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria-three countries Morocco had long shunned for their support of the Polisario Front. Another ambitious and strategic South-South partnership is the recent agreement between Morocco and Nigeria to build a transcontinental gas pipeline designed to power Africa.

Now that Morocco has flexed its diplomatic and economic muscle to regain its seat at the African Union, the Kingdom faces a new context where it must defend its core interests while at the same time proving that it is a responsible stakeholder whose membership benefits the AU, rather than deepens the divides of the continent. Only time will tell if Morocco's guiding mantra of assertive pragmatism in diplomacy will usher in a new era of mutually beneficial development and cooperation for the African continent.

Notes
¹ Youssef Ait Akdim, "Offensive Diplomatique et Économique de Mohammed VI en Afrique de l'Est," Le Monde, Oct. 21, 2016, http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2016/10/21/offensive-diplomatique-et-economique-de-mohammed-vi-en-afrique-de-l-est_5018134_3212.html.
² Franck Kuwonu, "Morocco Flexed Economic Muscles and Returned to the AU," Africa Renewal, http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2016-march-2017/morocco-flexed-economic-muscles-and-returned-au.
³ Julien Daemers, "Maghreb-Sahel Security Cooperation: From Mirage to Reality," in Re-Mapping the Sahel: Transnational Security Challenges and International Responses, dir. Cristina Barrios and Tobias Koepf, no. 19 (June 2014): 51-58.
⁴ Jacques Roussellier, "Morocco Brings the Western Sahara Issue Back to the AU," Sada, Jan. 31, 2017, http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/67850.
⁵ Bakary Sambe, "Le Maroc au Sud du Sahara, une Stratégie d'Influence à l'Heure des Mutations Géopolitiques," in Le Maghreb et son Sud, vers des Liens Renouvelés, ed. Alain Antil and Mansouria Mokhéfi, (Paris: CNRS, 2013).
⁶ Luigi Lonardo, "The EU's 'Diplomatic Accident' with Morocco Shows the Perils of Judge-Led Foreign Policy," March 7, 2016, http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2016/03/07/the-eus-diplomatic-accident-with-morocco-shows-the-perils-of-judge-led-foreign-policy/.
⁷ Ned Pagliarulo, "EDA: Morocco Overly Dependent on Trade with Europe," Global Risk Insights, Dec. 1, 2014, http://globalriskinsights.com/2014/12/eda-morocco-overly-dependent-on-trade-with-europe/.
⁸ Ghalia Kadiri, "Le Maroc Mise sur la Diplomatie du Phosphate pour Étendre son Influence en Afrique," Le Monde, Dec. 28, 2016, http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2016/12/20/le-maroc-mise-sur-la-diplomatie-du-phosphate-pour-etendre-son-influence-en-afrique_5051859_3212.html.
⁹ Celeste Hicks, "Morocco Lights the Way for Africa on Renewable Energy," The Guardian, Nov. 17, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/nov/17/cop22-host-morocco-lights-way-africa-renewable-energy-2020.
¹⁰ Terence McNamee, Greg Mills, and Peter Pham, "Morocco Wrong-Foots Its African Critics," Daily Maverick, Feb. 1, 2017, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-02-01-op-ed-morocco-wrong-foots-its-african-critics/.

This article was originally published by the Social Science Research Council.

About the Middle East Program

The Carnegie Middle East Program combines in-depth local knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to examine economic, sociopolitical, and strategic interests in the Arab world. Through detailed country studies and the exploration of key crosscutting themes, the Carnegie Middle East Program, in coordination with the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, provides analysis and recommendations in both English and Arabic that are deeply informed by knowledge and views from the region. The program has special expertise in political reform and Islamist participation in pluralistic politics.

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Morocco and the African Union: Back into the Fold

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Morocco's triumphant return to the African Union after a thirty-three-year break marked the culmination of a lengthy and intense diplomatic offensive designed to expand its circle of African allies to key nations in regions far from its historic sphere of influence in the Sahel, as well as in West and Central Africa.

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The PSC (Peace and security council) has been accused of reacting too slow and not investing enough in peacekeeping missions

Africa has good enough food and land to fully support pop. with food but still spend 50 billion on importing food

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Addis Ababa Ethiopias capitaland headquarters of the AU

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Why Morocco opted out of the African Union 

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Why Morocco opted out of the African Union 

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Why did the African Union readmit Morocco after its 33 years in the cold? - African Arguments

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Morocco's readmission to the AU came on the back of a multi-faceted strategy to gain favour on the continent, particularly among West and Francophone countries. Morocco's return to the African Union after a 33-year absence is being greeted with joy at home where it is seen as a diplomatic triumph that will help the country to regain its position as a leader on the continent.

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"Strategic framework for transforming the continent over the next 50 years. It builds on and seeks to accelerate implementation of past and existing continental initiatives for growth and development."

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Gaps in accountability, immunity for African heads of state, and threats from extremist groups are a few of the topics covered in this Q&A with Aisha Abdullahi, the African Union (AU) commissioner for the Department of Political Affairs, where she discusses what roles the African Union, the regional economic communities, and civil society have.

John Hirsch, senior adviser at the International Peace Institute, conducted the interview.
The African Union has adopted a number of normative frameworks that enshrine the values of accountable and democratic governance. Yet there seems to be an implementation deficit, a gap, regarding these norms in many African countries. So, how does the African Union hope to bridge this gap?
It's true. We have a lot of normative instruments, and every day we churn out new ones-during the last summit, my department alone had two new instruments adopted by the union.

But we see these just as a first step. When we get our member states to sign and ratify, it shouldn't just end there. The implementation for us is key.

For 51 years now, Africa had had this continental organization, which was known as the OAU and which has now become the AU. Last year, during the 50th anniversary, we didn't just celebrate-we used the period to look at ourselves, how well we are doing. Yes, we have done very well in terms of decolonization; yes, we have taken steps to promote our unity and integration. But still, the continent is faced with a lot of serious governance deficits and, consequently, our leaders during the 50th anniversary made a declaration, which was signed by all the 54 African leaders-it's like a renewed commitment. And also, the theme for the year was pan-Africanism and African Renaissance. We used the whole year, until May 2014, to do activities and ignite the flame of pan-Africanism, but also to discuss seriously the African Renaissance.

And what came out of that is what we call the Agenda 2063 document. It's still a work in progress because we don't want the document to just be a government-promoted or a government-designed agenda, but something that's owned by the people. So it's going through a lot of consultations, through a lot of reviews by all the stakeholders, civil society, the private sector, think tanks. Everybody has to contribute to the agenda so that at the end there would be ownership. So this is how we intend to make sure that our leaders also are complying.

Most of our instruments have implementation mechanisms in them. For example, the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance stipulated that after two years of its coming into force there shall be what we call state reporting. The document came into force in 2012, so from 2014 to date, we are working on the implementation, and we are trying to ensure this state reporting.

When we sat with all our member states, what we came to realize is that yes, they have signed, they have ratified, but they need to be assisted technically on how to implement the requirements of this instrument. And that's now what we are working on.
The African Union declared 2012 the year of shared values. How can the African Union help shape a collective path for all African citizens, particularly at a time when there seems to be a deep disconnect between citizens and governments in the African Union and regional economic communities?
There may be some degree of disconnect, but I would say that it's not a deep disconnect. Increasingly, the African citizenry is having its voice heard unlike what we had before. It's not perfect yet, but we are getting there. And whatever we do now as a union, we don't just involve our regional economic communities, but all the organs of the union, like the pan-African Parliament, which represents the voice of the people. We also have the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights in Banjul, where people go and speak out and take on governments.

We have African courts, whose jurisdiction has now been expanded to also cover other cases, including corruption cases. So this is the way the union is going, and we shall get there to bridge that gap of that disconnect.

We also have ECOSOC-that's the civil society organ of the union. It's getting increasingly active; and we do this also with our citizens in the diaspora, and we have many of them all over the world.
The African Union recently approved a provision at the African Court of Justice and Human Rights which grants immunity to sitting heads of state and senior government officials for crimes against humanity and the other crimes that are spelled out in Article 4H of the constitutive act-war crimes, and genocide. Is this a step back in your view in the fight against impunity on the continent? What are your thoughts on this?
The issue of immunity for sitting serving leaders is not unique to the African continent. Most countries grant immunity to their serving leaders. It's not peculiar to us.

But on the other hand, as we do this, we also try to promote accountability among our leaders. Increasingly, our parliaments are having a louder say in governance. We're increasingly promoting decentralization and local governance. So these are all bits to bridge the gap.

But I don't see it as something that is a step backwards. It's more like the norm with most countries and places in the world. It's not peculiar to the African continent.
The African continent has seen a rise in the threat of extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and Cameroon, and al-Shabaab in East Africa. How can the African Union address and mitigate the growth of radicalism and the appeal to young men in particular and address the root problems such as bad governance and poverty that seem to underlie the appeal of these radical groups?
About two weeks ago, the African Union had a summit of the Peace and Security Council at the level of heads of state, and the theme was counterterrorism. The outcome of that meeting clearly indicates that for Africa to counter terrorism, it has to be a multidimensional, multi-sectoral approach. Africa has to address the root causes of conflict and crisis, promoting good governance, ensuring gender and youth empowerment, promoting inclusivity, and addressing the issues of human rights.

For us to really counter terrorism on the African continent, we have to also tackle the issue of unemployment. Over 65 percent of the African population is below the age of 35. These youths mostly do not have jobs and they need to go to school, and when we make them go to school and they come out, it should be a meaningful education, and not just for them to queue up for government jobs or civil service, but also to promote the quality of leadership on the continent.

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Africa's Challenges and the Role of the African Union: Q&A with Aisha Abdullahi

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Gaps in accountability, immunity for African heads of state, and threats from extremist groups are a few of the topics covered in this Q&A with Aisha Abdullahi, the African Union (AU) commissioner for the Department of Political Affairs, where she discusses what roles the African Union, the regional economic communities, and civil society have.

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Morocco opted out of the African Union because they were insulted by various statements of support

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54 countries but 53 members of the AU in Africa

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54 countries but 53 members of the AU in Africa

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Morocco left

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the  AU was criticized for acting to slowly

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The AU theory is becoming more advanced but also becoming less advanced at the same time

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Peace and Security Council Map

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The African Union is about 54 years old

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Mali's GDP changes alot.  That's because there not consistent enough with goods they sell or response time with the police force

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Mali's GDP changes alot.  That's because there not consistent enough with goods they sell or response time with the police force

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Author and Page information

This page: https://www.globalissues.org/issue/83/conflicts-in-africa.

To print all information (e.g. expanded side notes, shows alternative links), use the print version:

There have been over 9 million refugees and internally displaced people from conflicts in Africa. Hundreds and thousands of people have been slaughtered from a number of conflicts and civil wars. If this scale of destruction and fighting was in Europe, then people would be calling it World War III with the entire world rushing to report, provide aid, mediate and otherwise try to diffuse the situation. This article explores why Africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are.

Read " Conflicts in Africa-Introduction " to learn more.

Into mid-2011, the world's worst food crisis is being felt in East Africa, in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

Despite successive failed rains, the crisis has been criticized as avoidable and man-made. This is because the situation had been predicted many months before by an international early warning system. Both the international community and governments in the region have been accused of doing very little in the lead up to this crisis. In addition, high food prices have forced food out of the reach of many people, while local conflicts exacerbate the situation.

As the international organization Oxfam describes: 12 million people are in dire need of food, clean water, and basic sanitation. Loss of life on a massive scale is a very real risk, and the crisis is set to worsen over the coming months, particularly for pastoralist communities.

This page also presents news coverage from Inter Press Service on this crisis.

Read " East Africa Food Crisis 2011 " to learn more.

A wave of protests has erupted throughout the Middle East and North Africa. A combination of the global financial crisis, rising costs of living, high unemployment - especially of educated youth, frustration from decades of living under authoritarian and corrupt regimes, various document leaks revealing more details about how governments around the world are dealing and viewing each other, have all combined in different ways in various countries, leading to a wave of rising anger.

Some protests have become revolutions as governments such as those in Tunisia and Egypt have been overthrown. Others have not got that far but have sometimes been peaceful, other times met with very brutal repression.

Is this a wave of democracy that cannot be stopped, and will forever change the region, and the global power politics?

Read " Middle East and North Africa Unrest " to learn more.

The crisis in Libya comes in the context of wider unrest throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The surge of what looks like spontaneous and ground up pro-democracy protests has been spreading throughout a region long controlled by authoritarian regimes from left and right of the political spectrum, and both pro and anti-West.

Peaceful protests against the long-running oppressive Qadhafi regime in February resulted in a violent crackdown. As the situation quickly escalated ordinary citizens took up arms to help free themselves from Qadhafi's brutal regime. Despite some military defections, the opposition has generally been a disorganized and out-gunned rebel force.

As Qadhafi's forces increasingly targeted civilians the opposition appealed to the international community for a no-fly zone to limit or prevent the bloodbath that Qadhafi threatened.

The West appears to have responded with what looks like a genuine humanitarian intervention attempt. Yet, when looked at a bit more deeply, there are many murky - often contradictory - issues coming to the fore that complicate the picture.

These mixed messages make the future for Libya uncertain. Civil war is how some commentators have already started to describe the conflict, which would imply a long drawn out conflict, not a quick fix that the West hoped for.

Read " Crisis in Libya " to learn more.

Following elections in Cote d'Ivoire in October 2010, both President Laurent Gbagbo and opposition candidate, Alassane Ouattara, claimed victory. International observers agreed that the Ouattara had won, but Gbagbo refused to accept this.

Negotiations failed and while the world's attention was elsewhere, the situation became volatile and violent outbursts turned into the country's second civil war. Forces supporting Ouattara have swept through the country and Gbagbo's position looks precarious while he remains defiant.

At the same time, possibly a million people are thought to have fled their homes, about 100,000 of which have crossed over into neighboring Liberia. Thousands of civilians have been killed in what observers have found to be mass human rights violations. There have also been reports of massacres and mass graves. UN personnel on the ground have been targeted. There are accusations of violence by both sides.

This situation had been brewing for a long time, and yet, the international community has been comparatively silent compared to how they have reacted to the situation in Libya.

This page presents news coverage from Inter Press Service on this crisis.

Read " Cote d'Ivoire Crisis " to learn more.

AIDS in Africa is said to be killing more people than conflicts.

It causes social disruption as children become orphaned and it affects many already-struggling economies as workforces are reduced.

As an enormous continent, various regions are seeing different results as they attempt to tackle the problem. Numerous local, regional and global initiatives are slowly helping, despite significant obstacles (such as poverty, local social and cultural norms/taboos, concerns from drug companies about providing affordable medicines, and limited health resources of many countries that are now also caught up in the global financial crisis).

Read " AIDS in Africa " to learn more.

An overview of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa that has been described by the World Health Organization as the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the history of the disease.

The epidemic began at the end of 2013, in Guinea. From there it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. Many of the affected countries face enormous challenges in stopping its spread and providing care for all patients.

Thousands of people have died and many are at risk as the fatality rate from this virus is very high. As the crisis worsens, as well as the enormous health challenges involved, the social and economic consequences may set these countries back, reversing some gains a number of these countries have made in recent years.

Read " Ebola Outbreak in West Africa " to learn more.

Read " Africa Links for more information " to learn more.

Read " Geopolitics " to learn more.

Author and Page Information

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This part of the globalissues.org web site looks at some of the conflicts occurring in Africa. There is hardly any media coverage and yet there have been millions of refugees and hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.

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The African Union recognised the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, the exiled government of Western Sahara, which Morocco invaded and occupied in 1976 and has held by force ever since.

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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China primarily financed the construction of the African Union's new headquarters because trade between China and Africa has increased more than six-fold during the past decade to $120bn in 2011. China is interested in Africa's natural resources and in return is investing huge sums in African infrastructure.

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China primarily financed the construction of the African Union's new headquarters because trade between China and Africa has increased more than six-fold during the past decade to $120bn in 2011. China is interested in Africa's natural resources and in return is investing huge sums in African infrastructure.

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The African Union has inaugurated its newly built headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The entire $200m (£127m) project was funded by China as a gift to the AU, as Beijing continues to strengthen its influence in Africa.

In front of African leaders a huge golden key was handed over and the 100m high building was officially opened.

The tower overlooks a vast conference centre where African heads of state are expected to meet for years to come.

Their first AU summit in the building will take place on Sunday.

China's most senior political adviser, Jia Qinglin, attended the opening of the new headquarters.

"The towering complex speaks volumes about our friendship to the African people, and testifies to our strong resolve to support African development," he said, according to AFP.

The AU chairman, Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, said the complex was "a reflection of the new Africa," the agency reports.

The new AU building dominates the skyline of Addis Ababa and is the city's tallest building.

Most of the materials used were imported from China and even the furnishings were paid for by Beijing, AFP news agency reports.

Construction began in January 2009 and involved 1,200 Chinese and Ethiopian workers.

The project co-ordinator, Fantalum Michael, says the new building signifies China's growing friendship with Africa.

"It's a testimony that this relationship will continue in the future," he told AFP.

Thriving relationship

Trade between China and Africa has increased more than six-fold during the past decade to $120bn (£76bn) in 2011.

China is interested in Africa's natural resources and in return is investing huge sums in African infrastructure.

Roads are being built by Chinese firms at a staggering rate, says the BBC's Will Ross in Addis Ababa.

While other rich nations impose conditions before aid is given, China's relationship with African countries is strictly a business one, he says.

Human rights groups have criticised China for undermining efforts by western countries to link aid to improvements in governance.

However African leaders have welcomed the Chinese approach and have embraced investment from Beijing.

In Ethiopia, many jobs have been created through Chinese-funded projects.

Chinese cars are being made in Ethiopian factories and China is also building a light railway across Addis Ababa.

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African Union opens Chinese-funded HQ in Ethiopia - BBC News

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The African Union has inaugurated its newly built headquarters in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The entire $200m (£127m) project was funded by China as a gift to the AU, as Beijing continues to strengthen its influence in Africa. In front of African leaders a huge golden key was handed over and the 100m high building was officially opened.

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The African Union ( AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The 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, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.

The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria, while the largest urban agglomeration is Cairo, Egypt. The African Union has over 1.3 billion people and an area of around 29 million km ² (11 million sq mi) and includes popular world landmarks, such as the Sahara and the Nile. The primary working languages are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Kiswahili. Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the Peace and Security Council and the Pan-African Parliament.

The objectives of the AU are the following:

1. To achieve greater unity, cohesion and solidarity between the African countries and African nations.

2. To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States.

3. To accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent.

4. To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples.

5. To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

6. To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent.

7. To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance.

8. 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.

9. To establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations.

10. To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies.

11. To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples.

12. To coordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union.

13. To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology.

14. 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, 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, which consists of 265 members elected by the national legislatures of the AU member states. Its president is Roger Nkodo Dang.

Other political institutions of the AU include:

The AU Commission, the secretariat to the political structures, is chaired by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma 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 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 were also deployed in the Sudan 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.[citation needed ]

The historical foundations of the African Union originated in the First Congress of Independence African States, held in Accra, 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: the heads of state and government of the OAU issued the Sirte Declaration (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 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, 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 6 July 2004.

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.

Member states of the African Union cover almost the entirety of continental Africa, except for several territories held by Spain ( Ceuta, Melilla, and Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera). In addition, European countries have dependencies among the offshore islands of Africa: Spain (the Canary Islands and the islands of the plazas de soberanía); France ( Mayotte, Réunion, and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean); Portugal (the Azores, Madeira, 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), huge jungles and savannas, and the world's longest river (the Nile).

The AU has an area of 29,922,059 square kilometres (11,552,972 sq mi), with 24,165 kilometres (15,015 mi) 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.

The total population of the African Union, as of 2017, is estimated at more than 1.25 billion, with a growth rate of more than 2.5% p.a.

The official languages of the African Union are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, 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,

The working languages of the Union and all its institutions shall be, if possible, African languages, Arabic, English, French and Portuguese.

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,

1. The official languages of the Union and all its institutions shall be Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili and any other African language.
2. The Executive Council shall determine the process and practical modalities for the use of official languages as working languages.

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 originally known as Gold Coast Vernacular Literature Bureau.

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, 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, of Cameroon.

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 chair of the AU is President Félix Tshisekedi President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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 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 (see below) and have two chambers: one for general legal matters and one for rulings on the human rights treaties.

Executive Council

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 (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

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 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

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 (Africa CDC), founded in 2016 and launched in 2017.

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 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

All UN member states based in Africa and on African waters are members of the AU, as is the disputed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco, which claims sovereignty over the SADR's territory, withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity, the AU's predecessor, in 1984 due to the admission of the SADR as a member. However, on 30 January 2017, the AU admitted Morocco as a member state.

Mali was suspended from the African Union on 19 August 2020 following a military coup. On 9 October, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union lifted the suspension imposed on Mali from all activities of the pan-African body, citing progress made by it in return to democracy. The country was again suspended on 1 June 2021, following its second military coup within nine months.

The principal topic for debate at the July 2007 AU summit held in Accra, Ghana, was the creation of a Union Government, with the aim of moving towards a United States of Africa. 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 (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.

Currently, there are eight RECs recognised by the AU, each established under a separate regional treaty. They are:

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.

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 (see also below). Sudan ultimately withdrew its candidacy and President 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 John Agyekum Kufuor 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 Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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 (AUCC), was inaugurated on 28 January 2012, during the 18th AU summit. 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.

On 26 January 2018, five years after the building's completion, the French newspaper 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.

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.

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 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.

For the European Commission, 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:

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 The Africa Adaptation Initiative is also being supported by the European Union.

One of the leading economic partners of the continent has been the People's Republic of China (PRC). In September 2018, the bloc held its third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in Beijing, China.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 the anthem " Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together".

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: three-day celebration that takes place in Lake Malawi, showcasing African music and welcoming people from around the world.

Fête du Vodoun: 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): 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 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.

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 issues regarding Western Sahara.

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, 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 2 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, 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.

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 allegations raised in late 2018.

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, forming an ad hoc committee of five presidents ( Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, South African President Jacob Zuma, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni) to broker a truce. However, the beginning of the NATO-led military intervention in March 2011 prevented the committee from traveling to Libya to meet with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. 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.

As a result of Gaddafi's defeat at the Battle of Tripoli (the war's deciding battle), in August 2011, the Arab League 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 members. However, the AU Peace and Security Council 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 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.

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.

In response to the death of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, 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.

On 3 August 2005, a coup in Mauritania 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.[citation needed ] 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.

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.

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 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.

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.[citation needed ] 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 (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.[needs update ]

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. 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.

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 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 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 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 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.

A successful 2008 invasion of Anjouan by AU and Comoros 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 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 won the presidency.

The sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago 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.

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

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Tells you about the purpose of the African Union.

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The Organs of the AU are:

-The Assembly composed of Heads of State and Government or their duly accredited representatives ;
-The Executive Council composed of Ministers or Authorities designated by the Governments of Member States ;
-The Commission ; -Peace and Security Council (PSC) ;
-Pan-African Parliament composed of five (5) representatives from each Member State having ratified the Constitution ; -The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), an advisory organ composed of different social and professional groups of the Member States of the Union ;
-The Court of Justice ;
-The Financial Institutions (The African Central bank, The African Monetary Fund, The African Investment Bank) ;
-The Specialized Technical Committees, as The Committee on Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters ;
-The Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs ; The Committee on Education, Culture and Human Resources, among others.

The Commission is the key organ playing a central role in the day-to-day management of the African Union. The Commission represents the Union and defends its interests; elaborates draft common positions of the Union; and prepares strategic plans and studies for the consideration of the Executive Council. It also ensures the development, the promotion, the coordination and the harmonization of programs and policies of the Union with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and ensures gender mainstreaming in all programs and activities of the Union.

Composed of a President, a Vice-President, eight (8) Commissioners and staff, the African Union Commission is one of the most important organs of the Union. It is responsible for the management of eight departments:

Peace and Security (Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, and Combating Terrorism...), Political Affairs (Human Rights, Democracy, Good Governance, Electoral Institutions, Civil Society Organizations, Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons), Infrastructure and Energy (Energy, Transport, Communications, Infrastructure and Tourism.), Social Affairs (Health, Children, Drug Control, Population, Migration, Labour and Employment, Sports and Culture.), Human Resources, Sciences and Technology (Education, Information and Communication Technology, Youth, Human Resources, Science and Technology.), Trade and Industry (Trade, Industry, Customs and Immigration Matters.), Rural Economy and Agriculture (Rural Economy, Agriculture and Food Security, Livestock, Environment, Water, Natural Resources and Desertification.), Economic Affairs (Economic Integration, Monetary Affairs, Private Sector Development, Investment and Resource Mobilization.).
The headquarters of the AU which houses the Commission is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
For more information, please visit the website of the AU: www.africa-union.org

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The Organs of the AU are: -The Assembly composed of Heads of State and Government or their duly accredited representatives ; -The Executive Council composed of Ministers or Authorities designated by the Governments of Member States ; -The Commission ; -Peace and Security Council (PSC) ; -Pan-African Parliament composed of

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Addis Ababa

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Transformation from Organization of African Union to African Union

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Transformation from Organization of African Union to African Union

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Transforming the Organization of African Unity into the African Union

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"Guided by our common vision of a united and strong Africa," the continent's leaders have decided to transform the Organization of African Unity (OAU) into a new, more ambitious African Union. The July summit in Lusaka, Zambia, was to be the OAU's last.

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P.1

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Accused of Reacting Too Slowly
-security council didn't really help in Mali until France got involved
-called for an end to the air campaign by NATO during Libyan Revolution in 2011 which paid no attention

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Addis Ababa

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Subscribe! http://bitly.com/1iLOHml With Africa's growing economic power, the African Union is bound to grow more powerful. So what is the African Union? Learn More: Profile: African Union http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/3870303.stm "The African Union, or AU, is a pan-African organisation whose goal is to propel a united continent towards peace and prosperity."

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This map shows current member states of the African Union by their year of entry. The African Union (AU) established in 1963 as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to eradicate colonialism and improve economic, cultural, and political cooperation in