AFRICA UNION

The African Union (abbreviated AU in English,

and UA in its other official languages) is a union
consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African
state not in the AU is moroco. Established on 9 July
2002, the AU was formed as a successor to
the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most
important decisions of the AU are made by
the Assembly of the African states, 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 Ethiopia
Geography

• Member states of the African Union cover almost the

entirety of continental Africa and several off-shore islands.
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 presently has an area of 29,922,059 km²
(18,592,705 mi²), with 24,165 km (15,015 mi) of
coastline. The vast majority of this area is on continental
Africa, while the only significant territory off the mainland
is the island of Madagascar (the world's fourth largest),
accounting for slightly less than 2% of the total.
OBJECTIVES OF A U
• Among the objectives of the AU's leading institutions are:
• to accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the
continent;
• to promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to
the continent and its peoples;
• to achieve peace and security in Africa; and
• to promote democratic institutions, good governance and human rights
• 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 Yayi Boni, president of Benin,
elected at the 18thordinary meeting of the Assembly in January 2012.
The AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament,
which consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of
the AU member states. Its president is Dr IdrissNdele Moussa
Financial institutions

• African Central Bank – Abuja, Nigeria

• African Investment Bank – Tripoli, Libya
• African Monetary Fund – Yaoundé, Cameroon.
• 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 (theAfro).
HEADQUARTERS

• The African Union's new headquarters complex in Addis Ababa.

• 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 28th
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, amongst 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 9th September 1999,
when the Organization of African Unity voted to become the African
Union.]
HISTORY OF AU
• The historical foundations of 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 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".
Revival of AU

• 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.
REGIONAL BLOCKS
• 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 policy
• The individual member states of the African Union coordinate
foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their
owninternational 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 Organisations.
• Membership of the AU overlaps with other IGOs and occasionally
these third-party organisations and the AU will coordinate matters
of public policy. The African Union maintains special diplomatic
representation with the United States and the European Union.
Current issues
• The AU faces many challenges, including health
issues such as combating malaria and
theAIDS/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.
AU LEADERSHIP
• Chairpersons of the African UnionNameBeginning of
termEnd of termCountryThabo Mbeki 9 July 200210 July 2003
 South Africa Joaquim Chissano10 July 2003 6 July 2004
 Mozambique Olusegun Obasanjo 6 July 2004 24 January 2006
 Nigeria Denis Sassou-Nguesso 24 January 200624 January 2007
 Republic of the Congo John Kufuor 30 January 200731 January
2008  Ghana Jakaya Kikwete 31 January 2008 2 February 2009
 Tanzania Muammar al-Gaddafi 2 February 200931 January 2010
 Libya Bingu wa Mutharika  January 201031 January 2011  Malawi
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo 31 January 2011 29 January
2012  Equatorial GuineaYayi Boni 29 January 2012 Incumbent
 Benin