African Union (AU)

The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 54 countries in Africa. It was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa, with the aim of replacing the Organization of African Unity (OAU). 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 objectives of the AU are:

1.    To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and Africans.

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 harmonize 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 Idriss Déby, President of Chad. 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 Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi.

Other political institutions of the AU include

·    The Executive Council, made up of foreign ministers, which prepares decisions for the Assembly;

· The Permanent Representatives Committee, made up of the ambassadors to Addis Ababa of AU member states; and

· The Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), a civil society consultative body.

HEADQUARTER

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 Organization of African Unity voted to become the African Union.

Role of African Union

One of the key debates in relation to the achievement of greater continental integration is the relative priority that should be given to integration of the continent as a unit in itself or to integration of the sub-regions. The 1980 Lagos Plan of Action for the Development of Africa and the 1991 treaty to establish the African Economic Community (also referred to as the Abuja Treaty), proposed the creation of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the basis for African integration, with a timetable for regional and then continental integration to follow.

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

·        the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA)

·        the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

·        the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)

·        the East African Community (EAC)

·        the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)

·        the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

·        the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

·        the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

Foreign Relations :

The individual member states of the African Union coordinate foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their own international relations on a state-by-state basis. The AU represents the interests of African peoples at large in intergovernmental organisations (IGOs); for instance, it is a permanent observer 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 in 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 organizations and the AU will coordinate matters of public policy. The African Union maintains special diplomatic representation with the United States and the European Union. In 2016, the Union introduced continent-wide passports.