African UnionBy: Ruchika Kapoor

Originally was the Organization of African Unity (OAU) which was established May 25th 1963 but on September 9th 2002, it was reestablished as the African Union.

Created in 1999 when the Heads of State and Government issued the Sirte Declaration which called for the creation of the African Union.

What is it?

-There is not much different between the goals of both organizations.- The African Union is simply an amended version of the original designed to be more adaptive to the changing world and also includes the Constitutive Act. –2002 charter permits the AU to intervene militarily in its member states in the event of “war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.”

What’s the difference?

The goal of the African Union is to promote a safe, united Africa that is peaceful, economically prosperous, and has healthy relations with countries outside of it’s borders and more specifically the UN.

The vision of the African Union is that of: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena.”

Purpose

Made up of 53 countries as well as the Western Sahara. -----every independent African county except for Morocco who withdrew its membership when the Western Sahara became a member.

Who is involved?

Headquarters- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The heads of state of each member

country form the AU Assembly. These leaders meet semi-annually to discuss the budget and major goals of peace and development.

The Assembly then elects a person to be the chairperson who is the ceremonial head of the African Union.

Leadership

Chairperson serves one term of one year- runs the biannual meetings with the heads of states and represents the continent in International affairs.

The leaders rotate among all five regions of the continent in the following order.

-East Africa-North Africa-Southern Africa-Central Africa-West AfricaOriginal Chairperson in 2002 was South African President Thabo MbekiCurrently is Robert Mugabe (President of Zimbabwe)- elected Jan 30th 2015

Leadership (cont.)

Administrative Department of the Union Has 10 officials including the Chairperson,

Deputy Chairperson, and 8 commissioners who run the 8 portfolios. Commissioner of…

Peace and Security; Political Affairs; Trade and Industry;  Infrastructure and Energy;  Social Affairs; Rural Economy and Agriculture; Human Resources, Science and Technology; and Economic Affairs

Commission

Members can request the AU to intervene in state business if they are unable to stop a violation of human rights (constitutive act)

Rights of all of the member states are protected by AU

Works on ending discrimination between states and bring them closer together

Increases trade among the countries that are members

Advantages

The continent is in a lot of debt which has led to more corruption.

The AU can intervene in a state without its permission if they feel like rights are being violated (constitutive act)

Sometimes the leaders of some countries prove to have more power than the organization and stop them from doing things that can help all of the countries (Muammar Qaddafi).

AU is not able to become stronger due to civil conflict in states and extreme poverty among the member states.

Disadvantages

Brings peace and unity between 53 African countries

Brings some economic stability among those countries

Works to protect the human rights of all of the countries in Africa working to prevent war crimes and genocide, things that African countries have suffered from in the past.

International Impact

"The African Union." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 01 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

"African Union." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

"AU in a Nutshell." African Union A United and Strong Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

"Chairperson of the African Union." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

"The Commission." African Union A United and Strong Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

Intern, Katherine Schulz Richard Geography. "The African Union Organization." N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.

Works Cited