African Union

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African Union


(In Detail)	(In Detail)

Anthem: Let us all unite and celebrate together

Official languages

The African languages, as well as Arabic, English, French and Portuguese

Some member states have other official languages.

Chairman of the African Union

Olusegun Obasanjo

Chairman of the Commission

Alpha Oumar Konaré

Area

- Total

Ranked 1st^¹

29,797,500 km²

Population

- Total (2005)
- Density

Ranked 3rd^¹

850 millon
25.7 people/km²

GDP (2003)

- Total
- Total
- GDP/head
- GDP/head

Ranked 16th^¹

US$1.515 trillion (PPP)
$0.514 trillion (Nominal)
$1,896 (PPP)
$643 (Nominal)

Formation

- As OAU
- As AU

May 25, 1963
July 9, 2002

Currencies

Each member state has its own currency.

Time zone

UTC -1 to UTC +4

Internet TLD

Each member state has its own top-level domain.

Calling Codes

Each member state has its own calling code beginning with +2.

^{Note 1:} If counted as a single country

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The African Union (abbreviated AU), founded in July 2002, is the successor organisation to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Modelled after the European Union (but currently with powers closer to the Commonwealth of Nations), its aims are to help promote democracy, human rights and development across Africa, especially by increasing foreign investment through the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) program. Its first chairman was South African president Thabo Mbeki. The AU covers the entire continent except for Morocco.

1 Overview
2 Current issues
3 Origins and history
4 Members
5 Organisation
6 Comparison with other blocs/countries
7 Economy
8 Languages
9 Symbols
10 References
11 External links

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Overview

Goals for the African Union include an African parliament and a central development bank. As with its predecessor, the OAU, the African Union is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Pan-African Parliament opened officially March 18, 2004, in Midrand, South Africa.

The current Chairman of the Commission, H.E. Alpha Oumar Konaré, leads the African Union.

Because of the membership of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Morroco chooses not be a member.

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. The mission was known as AMIB and has since been taken over by the United Nations, which has designated it ONUB.

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Current issues

The AU faces many problems, from the HIV epidemic and poverty to many civil wars, as well as the still unfinished decolonization of Western Sahara (admitted to the AU as Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic).

In response to the ongoing Darfur crisis in the Sudan, the AU has deployed 300 soldiers, mostly from Rwanda, to Darfur to protect the AU observers. As of 2004, it is considering the deployment of up to 2,500 peacekeepers to the region. In 2005 there was a donor's conference held in the African Union's headquarters in Addis Ababa where enough money was raised that it is believed there will be enough money to raise AU troop levels to 7,000 in September and to 12,000 in the beginning of 2006.

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 [1]. 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.

As of 2005, current conflicts also include the:

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Origins and history

The African Union originated in the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was established on May 25, 1963.

The idea of an African Union began with the vision of a "United States of Africa" of controversial Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, who, frustrated by developments in the Arab world, has in recent years largely given up his long-held ideologies of Arab nationalism and Pan-Arabism, even publicly forsaking identity as an Arab.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. On August 3, 2005 a coup transpired in Mauritania that led the African Union to suspend the country from all organizational activites.

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Members

The African Union has 53 members, covering almost all of the continent of Africa. (Morocco is not a member [2]).

Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania - Currently suspended following a coup d'etat
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger

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

Dependency Members: Reunion Island, Mayotte, Saint Helena

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Organisation

The Current Chairman of the African Union is Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Commission Chairman is Alpha Oumar Konaré.

Even though the African Union is officially modelled on the European Union, it looks more like a mix of EU, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. It has a number of official bodies:

Pan-African Parliament, is located in Midrand, South Africa, composed of elected representatives from the five regions of Africa, and intended to provide civil-society participation in the processes of the African Union. This institution is similar to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament.
African Commission, 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. As of 2004, the Chairman is Alpha Oumar Konaré, former president of Mali. This institution is similar to the European Commission.
African Court of Justice, which will rule on human-rights abuses in Africa. The court consists of 11 judges, elected by the Assembly. This court is similar to the European Court of Human Rights.
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. This is similar to the Council of the European Union.
Assembly, composed of heads of state and heads of government of member states. The most important decision-making body of the African Union, it meets once a year and makes its decisions by consensus or by a two-thirds majority. The current Chairman of the Assembly is Olusegun Obasanjo, president of Nigeria. This institution is a mix between the European Council and the United Nations General Assembly.
Permanent Representatives' Committee, composed of nominated permanent representatives of member states. It prepares the work for the Executive Council. This institution is similar to the Permanent Representatives' Committee (COREPER) of the European Union.
Peace and Security Council, proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001; a protocol to establish this group has not yet been ratified. It would have 15 members responsible for monitoring and intervening in conflicts, would be advised by a council of elders, and would have an African force at its disposal. This institution is similar to the Security Council of the United Nations.
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:

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Comparison with other blocs/countries

Entity	Area km²	Population	GDP (PPP) millions of $US	GDP (PPP) per capita $US	Member states
EU	3,977,487	456,285,839	11,064,752	24,249	25
ASEAN	4,400,000	553,900,000	2,172,000	4,044	10
CSN	17,715,335	366,669,975	2,635,349	7,187	12
NAFTA	21,588,638	430,495,039	12,889,900	29,942	3
AU	29,797,500	850,000,000	1,515,000	1,896	53
Large countries					Political divisions
India	3,287,590	1,102,600,000	3,433,000	3,100	35
China	9,596,960	1,306,847,624	7,249,000	5,200	33
USA¹	9,631,418	296,900,571	11,190,000	39,100	50
Canada¹	9,984,670	32,507,874	958,700	29,800	13
Russia	17,075,200	143,782,338	1,282,000	8,900	89

During 2003. Cyan for largest value, green for smallest, among the blocs compared.
Source: CIA World Factbook 2004, IMF WEO Database
¹ Member of NAFTA

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Economy

Main article: Economy of Africa

The member states' efforts to collaborate economically are impeded by the civil wars raging in several parts of Africa. The African Union provides greater powers to govern African economies. The states goals include the creation of free trade areas, a central bank in 2020 and a common currency in 2021.

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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 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.

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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.

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