AU in a Nutshell

Introduction

The advent of the African Union (AU) can be described as an event of great magnitude in the institutional evolution of the continent. On 9.9.1999, the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity issued a Declaration (the Sirte Declaration) calling for the establishment of an African Union, with a view, inter alia, to accelerating the process of integration in the continent to enable it play its rightful role in the global economy while addressing multifaceted social, economic and political problems compounded as they are by certain negative aspects of globalisation.

The main objectives of the OAU were, inter alia, to rid  the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonization and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity among African States; to coordinate and intensify  cooperation for development; to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation within the  framework of the United Nations.

Indeed, as a  continental organization the OAU provided an effective forum that enabled all  Member States to adopt coordinated positions on matters of common concern to  the continent in international fora and defend the interests of Africa effectively.

Through the  OAU Coordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa, the Continent worked  and spoke as one with undivided determination in forging an international consensus in support of the liberation struggle and the fight against apartheid.

Quest for Unity

African countries, in their quest for unity, economic and social development under the banner of the  OAU, have taken various initiatives and made substantial progress in many areas which paved the way for the establishment of the AU. 

MEMBERS OF THE AFRICAN UNION: People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Republic of Angola, Republic of Benin, Republic of Botswana, Burkina Faso, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Cabo Verde, Republic of Cameroon, Central African Republic* (under sanction), The Republic of Chad, Union of the Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of Djibouti, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, State of Eritrea, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Gabonese Republic, Republic of the Gambia, Republic of Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Republic of of Guinea-Bissau, Republic , of Kenya, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Liberia, Libya, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Mali, Republic of Mauritania, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Niger, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (partially recognized), Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Somali Republic, Republic of South Africa, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of The Sudan, Kingdom of Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Toolese Republic, Tunisian Republic, Republic of Uganda, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe