African Union


1. AU History
2. Goals
3. Member States
4. Organs
5. Some important names



1. AU History

The African Union took birth in 1999 after the AU member states adopted the Sirte Declaration through, according to some sources, the impetus of the Libyan President, Mouammar Kadhafi. The Durban Summit established Africa’s biggest Institution definitively, successor of the Organization of the African Union (OAU). Since other important goals of the OAU like the liberation of African territories from colonisation and the fight against apartheid in South Africa have been already reached, its main goal is to redefine the relations between African countries.

2. Goals

The AU goals are similar to the EU goals. The most important are:

Reinforcement of unity between African countries
Acceleration of the integration process
Promotion of democracy, human rights and African development
Better representation of the continent on the international political scene in collaboration with international partners
Promotion of peace, security, and stability on the continent
Acceleration of the continent’s development through the promotion of research in all fields, particularly in science and in technology.


3.Member States

53 out of 54 African States are member of the African Union. Morocco is not member of the African Union. It withdrawed in 1982 after the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was admitted in the AU. It is a region of Western Sahara surrounded by Mauritania, Algeria and Morocco which is opposed to its sovereignty. It is important to know that this sovereignty is neither recognised by the UN, nor by the Arab League, by the Arab Maghreb Union, by any European State, by any member of the UN Security Council

4. Organs


The Organs of the African Union are:

The Assembly (decision-making body)
The Executive Council
Pan-African Parliament
The Court of Justice
The Commission (most active organ which represents the organisation outside)
The Permanent Representatives' Committee
The Specialized Technical Committees
Peace and Security Council (PSC)
Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC)
The Financial Institutions (the African Central bank, the African Monetary Fund, the African Investment Bank)
5. Some important names Jakaya Kikwete (Tansania), aktueller Vorsitzender der AU Jean Ping (Gabun) H.E. Jakaya Kikwete (Tansania), actual AU president H.E. Jean Ping (Gabon), actual AU Commission president Names of some personalities which contributed to the African unity: His Majesty King Hassan ?? of Morocco, Sa Hailé Sélassié Ist Ethiopian Emperor, Dr. Kwame Nkruhmah (Ghana), H.E. Seku Touré (Guinea Conakry), H.E. Amadou Ahidjo (Cameroon), Hon. Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), H.E. Léopold Sedar Senghor (Sénégal), Dr. Félix Houphouet Boigny (Côte d’Ivoire), H.E. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria) and many more




Sources : www.africa-union.org
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_africaine