Table of Contents

Origin of the African Union.

Objectives of the African Union.

Principal Bodies of African Union.

Key People and Organisational Activities of the African Union.

FAQs.

Origin of the ‘African Union’

Africa was considered to be the most backward continent on the planet for centuries due to its adverse climate, challenging geography and other obstacles. The presence of deadly volcanoes and fierce animals in African forests made it even worse for the developmental process to initiate within the continent for a huge period of time. However, after the establishment of the United Nations, people across the globe unanimously concluded that the world needs a peaceful atmosphere for its collective prosperity. The independent countries of Africa were also on the same page about developing an effective framework to initiate developmental processes within the so-called 'Black Continent'. Hence, the “First Congress of Independence African States” in Ghana's capital Accra back in 1958 can be termed as the origin of the ‘African Union’. Although the actual announcement of the union was made in the 'Sirte Declaration' in 1999 in Libya and the African Union was officially established on 9th of July, 2002 in Durban. The African Union has two political headquarters in Johannesburg, the largest and most populous city in South Africa and Addis Ababa, the largest city and the capital of Ethiopia. As of Today, the Union has 55 member countries and 6 observer nations. The African Union ‘s member countries are ‘Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameron Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of The Congo, Democratic Republic of The Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe’. Out of these 55 member states, ‘Burkina Faso, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Sudan’ are currently suspended from the African Union due to breaching the rules. The African Union also has 10 observer countries such as the ‘United Arab Emirates, Haiti, Israel, Palestine, Latvia, Mexico, Ukraine, Türkiye and Kazakhstan’.

Objectives of the ‘African Union’

1. The major objectives of the African Union include integrity, cohesion and unity among the African nations.
2. The Union also states that it will actively work to protect the “sovereignty, independence and territorial borders of its member states”.
3. The African Union also wants to solve internal issues among the African countries and it will collectively fight for the common interests of the African Continent. The Union will also work for the socio-economic and political upliftment of its member states.
4. The African Union has chalked out another objective to maintain peace, stability and internal security within the continent. It also follows the 'Universal Declaration of Human Rights' and the 'Charter of the United Nations'.
5. Another major objective of the African Union is to establish sustainable development within its member states and an overall economic upliftment so that the continent can contribute to the global economy.
6. The African Union actively works for internal cooperation among its member states to uplift the overall living standards of the people of Africa.
7. The policies of different nations in Africa sometimes cause internal disputes. Hence, the African Union tries to mitigate these issues by promoting harmony and coordination.
8. Another major objective of the African Union is to collaborate with its international partners for the collective growth of Africa. 

Principal Bodies of African Union

The principal bodies of the African Union include an ‘Executive Council’, the ‘Permanent Representatives Committee’ and the ‘Economic, Social and Cultural Council’ or ECOSOCC. The executive council is formed by some selected foreign ministers and the ‘ECOSOCC’ is made up of elected civilians. Other notable bodies under the ‘African Union’ are the ‘New Partnership for Africa's Development’, the ;African Commission on Human and People's Rights; and the Pan-African Parliament.

Key People and Organisational Activities of the ‘African Union’

Chairpersons of the African Union over the years are named in the below table.

Table 1: List of Chairpersons of the ‘African Union’

The summits conducted by the ‘African Union’ over the years are presented below:

1. ‘1st Coordination Meeting’
2. ‘2nd Coordination Meeting’
3. ‘3rd Coordination Meeting’
4. ‘4th Coordination Meeting’
5. ‘5th Coordination Meeting’
6. ‘1st Africa-India Summit’
7. ‘2nd Africa-India Summit’
8. ‘2022 Extraordinary Malabo Summit’
9. ‘Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit’
10. ‘10th Extraordinary Summit’
11. ‘11th Extraordinary Summit’
12. ‘12th Extraordinary Summit’
13. ‘15th AU Summit’
14. ‘16th AU Summit’
15. ‘17th AU Summit’
16. ‘17th Extraordinary Summit on Industrialisation’
17. ‘18th AU Summit’
18. ‘19th AU Summit’
19. ‘20th AU Summit’
20. ‘21st AU Summit’
21. ‘22nd AU Summit’
22. ‘23rd AU Summit’
23. ‘24th AU Summit’
24. ‘25th AU Summit’
25. ‘26th AU Summit’
26. ‘27th AU Summit’
27. ‘28th AU Summit’
28. ‘29th AU Summit’
29. ‘30th AU Summit’
30. ‘31st AU Summit’
31. ‘32nd AU Summit’
32. ‘33rd AU Summit’
33. ‘34th AU Summit’
34. ‘35th AU Summit’
35. ‘36th AU Summit’
36. ‘37th AU Summit’

FAQs

Is the ‘African Union’ a part of G20?

Yes, it was welcomed to the G20 during the G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi.

Who was the father of the ‘African Union’?

Modibo Keita, the first President of Mali was the key figure behind the establishment of the African Union.

What is the new name of the ‘African Union’?

The new name of the ‘African Union’ is the ‘Organization of African Unity’ or ‘OAU’.