African Union

The African Union (abbreviated AU) is a international organisation consisting of 53 African member states. Founded in July 2002 in South Africa, the AU was formed as a successor to the amalgamated African Economic Community (AEC) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency and a single integrated defence force, as well as other institutions of state, including a cabinet for the AU Head of State. The purpose of the union is to help secure Africa's democracy, human rights, and a sustainable economy, especially by bringing an end to intra-African conflict and creating an effective common market.

Overview

The AU is governed by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and the Pan-African Parliament, which are both assisted by the Commission which constitutes one of the secretariats of the Pan African Parliament. The current President of the Pan African Parliament, Gertrude Mongella is the Head of State of African Union. Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of the AU state of Congo-Brazzaville is the Chair of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Alpha Oumar Konare is the current Chairman of the African Union Commission, which serves as the Secretariat of the Pan African Parliament and a civil service of the African Union.

The AU covers the entire continent except for Morocco, which opposes the membership of Western Sahara as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and Somaliland. However, Morocco has a special status within the AU and benefits from the services available to all AU states from the institutions of the AU, such as the African Development Bank. Moroccan delegates also participate at important AU functions, and negotiations continue to try to resolve the conflict with the Saharawi Republic.

The AU's first military intervention in a member state was the May 2003 deployment of a peacekeeping force of soldiers from South Africa, Ethiopia and Mozambique to Burundi to oversee the implementation of the various agreements. AU troops are also deployed in Sudan for peacekeeping in the Darfur conflict.

Origins and history

The African Union originated in the Union of African States, an early confederation that was established by Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was established on May 25, 1963, and the African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it "The Dictators Club". [1]

The idea of creating the African Union was revived in the mid 1990s as a result of the efforts of the African Unification Front. The heads of state and heads of government of the OAU issued the Sirte Declaration on September 9, 1999, calling for the establishment of an African Union. The Sirte 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.

The African Union was launched in Durban on July 9, 2002, by its first president, South African Thabo Mbeki, at the first session of the Assembly of the African Union. The second session of the Assembly was in Maputo in 2003, and the third session in Addis Ababa on July 6, 2004.

Its Constitutive Act declares that it shall "invite and encourage the full participation of the African diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union". The African Union has defined the African diaspora as "[consisting] of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union".

Membership

Map of the African Union. All African countries are member-states, with the exception of Morocco and Somaliland.

The African Union has 53 members, covering almost all of the continent of Africa, except for Morocco.Current members:*
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Suspended members:
* - Currently suspended following a coup d'état

Former members:
* (left predecessor organisation in 1984 - see below)

Morocco's withdrawal

The only African state which is not a member of the African Union is Morocco which was forced out of the AU's predecessor, the OAU, in 1984 when the other African countries supported the Algerian-backed Polisario movement's claim to the lands of southern Morocco, admitted to the OAU and AU as the Sahrawi Republic BBC News (July 8 2001) - "OAU considers Morocco readmission" (Accessed July 9 2006) Arabic News (July 9 2002) - "South African paper says Morocco should be one of the AU and NEPAD leaders" (Accessed July 9 2006) Some countries have removed support for the Sahrawi Republic Togo confirms to AU withdrawal of recognition of SADR (Accessed July 9 2006), but reported political pressure for countries that still support the republic have reportedly made it difficult for Morocco to be re-admitted.

AU Summits

# 1st African Union Summit- Durban (South Africa): 9-11 Jul. 2002.# 2nd African Union Summit- Maputo (Mozambique): 10-11 Jul. 2003.#* Sirte (Libya), extraordinary summit: Feb. 2004.# 3rd African Union Summit- Addis Ababa (Ethiopia): 6-8 Jul. 2004.# 4th African Union Summit- Abuja (Nigeria): 24-31 Jan. 2005.# 5th African Union Summit- Sirte (Libya): 28 Jun. - 5 Jul. 2005.# 6th African Union Summit- Khartoum (Sudan): 16-24 Jan. 2006.# 7th African Union Summit- Banjul (The Gambia): 25 June-2 July 2006

Organisation

The current Head of State of the AU is Gertrude Mongella, who is also the President of the Pan African Parliament. The Chairman of the African Union's Assembly of Heads of State is Denis Sassou-Nguesso, and the Chairman of the African Commission is Alpha Oumar Konaré.

The African Union has a number of official bodies:
*The Pan-African Parliament is to become the highest legislative body of the African Union. The seat of the PAP is at Midrand, South Africa. The Parliament is composed of 265 elected representatives from all 53 AU states, and intended to provide popular and civil-society participation in the processes of democratic governance.
*The Assembly of the African Union, composed of heads of state and heads of government of AU states, is currently the supreme governing body of the African Union. It is gradually devolving some of its decision-making powers to the Pan African Parliament. It meets once a year and makes its decisions by consensus or by a two-thirds majority. The current Chairman of the Assembly is Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president of Congo-Brazzaville.
*The African Commission is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Composed of 10 commissioners (including a chair and deputy chair) and staff. As the secretariat of the African Union, it is responsible for administrative issues and co-ordination of African Union activities and meetings. In a way, this is similar to the European Union's European Commission.
*The African Court of Justice, which will rule on human-rights abuses in Africa. The court will consist of 11 judges, elected by the Assembly, Kenya and Uganda have expressed interest in hosting the court.
*The Executive Council, composed of ministers designated by the governments of members states. It decides on matters such as foreign trade, social security, food, agriculture and communications, is accountable to the Assembly, and prepares material for the Assembly to discuss and approve.
*The Permanent Representatives' Committee, consisting of nominated permanent representatives of member states, prepares the work for the Executive Council. This institution is similar to the Permanent Representatives' Committee (COREPER) of the European Union.
*The Peace and Security Council, proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001, has 15 members responsible for monitoring and intervening in conflicts, and has an African force at its disposal. This institution is similar to the Security Council of the United Nations.
*The Economic, Social and Cultural Council, an advisory organ composed of professional and civic representatives. This institution is similar to the European Economic and Social Council.
* Specialized Technical Committees

Financial institutions:
*African Central Bank
*African Monetary Fund
*African Investment Bank

Current issues

The AU faces many challenges, including health issues such as combating malaria and the HIV epidemic; political issues such as confronting undemocratic regimes and mediating in the many civil wars; economic issues such as improving the standard of living of millions of impoverished, uneducated Africans; ecological issues such as dealing with recurring famines, desertification and lack of ecological sustainability; as well as the legal issue of the still unfinished decolonization of Western Sahara, one of its member states (admitted to the AU under the name Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic).

In response to the ongoing Darfur crisis in Sudan, the AU has deployed 7,000 peacekeepers, many from Rwanda, 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, as of July 2006, the AU has said it will pull out at the end of September when its mandate expires.[2] Critics of the AU peacekeepers, including Dr. Eric Reeves, have said these forces are largely ineffective due to lack of funds, personnel and expertise. Monitoring an area roughly the size of France has made it even more difficult to sustain an effective mission. In June 2006, the United States Congress appropriated US$173 million for the AU force. Some, such as the Genocide Intervention Network, have called for United Nations or NATO intervention to augment and/or replace the AU peacekeepers. The UN is currently considering deploying a force, though it would not likely enter the country until at least January 2007.[3]

In response to the death of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, president of Togo, on February 5, 2005, AU leaders described the naming of his son Faure Gnassingbé the successor as a military coup . 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 60 days. The AU's protest forced Gnassingbé to hold elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected President on May 4 2005.

Also, on August 3, 2005 a coup transpired in Mauritania that led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational activities. Although the Military Council now ruling Mauritania has promised to hold elections within two years, it is unclear whether it will be true to its word.

As of 2006, current conflicts also include the:
* Algerian Civil War
* Casamance Conflict
* Chadian-Sudanese War
* Second Congo War
* Somali Civil War, including Somaliland's claim for independence
* North-South Conflict in Sudan
* Conflict in northern Uganda
* Ivorian Civil War
* Zimbabwe's political crisis

However, the most serious issue to face Africa is not a dispute between nations, but rather the rapid spread of HIV. Subsaharan Africa is by far the worst affected area in the world, and as the infection is now starting to claim lives by the millions, severe destabilization of the continent is expected to follow.

Controversy arose at the 2006 summit when Sudan announced a candidate for the AU's Chairmanship. Five member states threatened to withdraw support for a Sudanese candidate because of tensions over Darfur. Sudan ultimately withdrew its candidacy and Denis Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville was elected to a one-year term.

Economy

Main articles: African Economic Community and Economy of Africa

The combined states of the African Union constitute the world's 10th largest economy with a GDP of US$500 billion. At the same time, they have a combined total debt of US$200 billion.

The AU has only 2% of the world's international trade. Because over 90% of international trade consists of currency futures, Africa's 2%, however, actually makes up the bulk of real commodity traded worldwide, including about 70% of the world's strategic minerals, including gold and aluminum. Africa is also a large market for American and European industry.

The AU future confederation's goals include the creation of a free trade area, a customs union, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency, thereby establishing economic and monetary union. The current plan is to establish an African Economic Community with a single currency by 2023 .

Languages

The African Union promotes the use of African languages wherever possible in its official work. Its other working languages are Arabic, English, French and Portuguese, although many other languages are used officially by some member states. For example, Spanish is co-official with French in Equatorial Guinea. Supplemental protocols to the African Union have made Swahili an official language of the African Union. Founded in 2001, the African Academy of Languages promotes the usage of and perpetuation of African languages amongst African people.

Symbols

The emblem of the African Union consists of a gold ribbon bearing small interlocking red rings, from which palm leaves shoot up around an outer gold circle and an inner green circle, within which is a gold representation of Africa. The red interlinked rings stand for African solidarity and the blood shed for the liberation of Africa; the palm leaves, for peace; the gold, for Africa's wealth and bright future; the green, for African hopes and aspirations. To symbolise African unity, the silhouette of Africa is drawn without internal borders.

The flag of the African Union bears a broad green horizontal stripe, a narrow band of gold, the emblem of the African Union at the centre of a broad white stripe, another narrow gold band and a final broad green stripe. Again, the green and gold symbolise Africa's hopes and aspirations as well as its wealth and bright future, and the white represents the purity of Africa's desire for friends throughout the world.

The African Union has adopted a new anthem, which begins Let us all unite and celebrate together, and has the chorus O sons and daughters of Africa, flesh of the sun and flesh of the sky, Let us make Africa the tree of life.