African Union

African Union; الاتحاد الأفريقي; Umoja wa Afrika
	Flag Coat of arms
	Suspended members in light green
Largest city	Lagos
Leaders
• Chairperson	Azali Assoumani
History
• Founded	9 July 2002

The African Union (AU) is a pan-African bloc of organizations meant to promote continental integration. The African Union's membership consists of all African states. Founded on the 26th of May 2001, being previously planned in the Sirte Declaration calling for its future creation. The African Union was official established on the 9th of July 2009, in Durban, South Africa, with the base of operations being held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, officially replacing the OAU (Organization of African Unity).

History[edit | edit source]

In 2023, the African Union sided with the West and condemned Ibrahim Traoré's anti-imperialist coup in Burkina Faso.^[1]

Administration[edit | edit source]

Assembly[edit | edit source]

The Assembly of the African Union (African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government (AU-AHSG), is the overseeing, and according to AU itself the ''supreme policy and decision-making organ.'' It encompasses all Member State Heads of State and Government. The Assembly settles the AU's policies, establishes its priorities, and also adopts the organization's annual initiative and monitors the appliance of its polices and decision makes. According to the African Union the Assembly; elects the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC); appoints the AUC Commissioners and determines their functions and terms of office; admits new members to the AU; adopts the AU budget, amends the Constitutive Act in conformity with the laid down procedures; interprets the Constitutive Act; approves the structure, functions and regulations of the AU Commission; determines the structure, functions, powers, composition and organization of the Executive Council. The Assembly can in fact create any committee, ''working group'', or commissions it deems necessary. It can as well delegate its powers and functions to other Union organs, as fits.^[2]

Chairperson[edit | edit source]

The Chairperson of the African Union is selected by the Assembly following confirmations with Member States. The office of the Chair of the African Union is held for a period for one year by a Head of State or Government.^[2]

List of chairpeople
Name	Took office	Country
Thabo Mbeki	9 July 2002	South Africa
Joaquim Chissano	10 July 2003	Mozambique
Olusegun Obasanjo	11 July 2004	Nigeria
Denis Sassou Nguesso	24 January 2006	Congo
John Kufuor	30 January 2007	Ghana
Jakaya Kikwete	31 January 2008	Tanzania
Muammar Gaddafi	2 February 2009	Libya
Bingu wa Mutharika	31 January 2010	Malawi
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo	31 January 2011	Equatorial Guinea
Yayi Boni	29 January 2012	Benin
Hailemariam Desalegn	27 January 2013	Ethiopia
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz	30 January 2014	Mauritania
Robert Mugabe	30 January 2015	Zimbabwe
Idriss Déby	30 January 2016	Chad
Alpha Condé	30 January 2017	Guinea
Paul Kagame	28 January 2018	Rwanda
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi	10 February 2019	Egypt
Cyril Ramaphosa	10 February 2020	South Africa
Félix Tshisekedi	6 February 2021	DR Congo
Macky Sall	5 February 2022	Senegal
Azali Assoumani	18 February 2023	Comoros

African Union Commission[edit | edit source]

AUC Structure
AUC Chairperson
AUC Deputy Chairperson
AUC Commissioners
High Representatives of the AUC Chairperson^[2]

Judicial, human rights and legal organs[edit | edit source]

African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR)
Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC)
AU Commission on International Law (AUCIL)
AU Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC)
African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)^[2]

Pan-African Parliament[edit | edit source]

Financial Institutions[edit | edit source]

African Monetary Fund (AMF)
African Investment Bank (AIB)
African Central Bank (ACB)^[2]

Regional Economic Communities[edit | edit source]

Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
East African Community (EAC)
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
African Economic Community (AEC)*^[2]

The Peace & Security Council[edit | edit source]

PSC Subsidiary Bodies
Military Staff Committee
Committee of Experts
AFRICAN PEACE AND SECURITY ARCHITECTURE (APSA)
Panel of the Wise
Continental Early Warning System (CEWS)
Arican Network of Women in Conflict Prevention and Peace Mediation (FemWise–Africa)
Peace Fund
African Standby Force (ASF)
Peace Support Operations^[2]

AU Foundation[edit | edit source]

The African Continental Free Trade Area
Institutional Framework of the AfCFTA
The Assembly
The Council of Ministers
The Committee of Senior Trade Officials^[2]

References[edit | edit source]

↑ Vijay Prashad, Kambale Musavuli (2023-08-01). "Niger Is the Fourth Country in the Sahel to Experience an Anti-Western Coup" Independent Media Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 ^2.7 Pan African Parliament (2000 -7-11). "Constitutive Act of the African Union" African Union. Retrieved 5/21/23.

[:02-1] Vijay Prashad, Kambale Musavuli (2023-08-01). "Niger Is the Fourth Country in the Sahel to Experience an Anti-Western Coup" Independent Media Institute. Retrieved 2023-08-03.

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 ^2.7 Pan African Parliament (2000 -7-11). "Constitutive Act of the African Union" African Union. Retrieved 5/21/23.

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