African Union (AU)

Union africaine (UA)

Founded

2001-07-08 Lusaka Zambia

History

Established on signature by African Heads of State of a treaty dissolving H-XD3027 - Organization of African Unity (OAU) and setting up the new organization over a one-year transition period. Constitutive Act signed 11 Jul 2001, Lusaka, came into force 28 Jun 2002. Heads of State and Government meeting/inaugural session of the Assembly, 10 Jul 2002, Durban (South Africa), adopted African Union Durban Declaration. Establishment is based on a suggestion in 1999, Sirte (Libyan AJ), by General Moammar Gaddafi, head of Libyan AJ.

Aims

Achieve greater unity and solidarity among African countries and the peoples of Africa; defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of member states; accelerate political and socio-economic integration of the continent; promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; encourage international cooperation, taking account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; promote peace, security and stability on the continent; promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation, the rule of law and and good governance; promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant instruments; establish the conditions necessary for the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; promote sustainable development on economic, social and cultural levels and the integration of African economies; promote cooperation in all fields of human activity so as to raise living standards of African peoples; coordinate and harmonize policies among existing and future regional economic communities leading to gradual attainment of the Union's objectives; advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.

Events

Activities

Structure

Assembly of Heads of State and Government; Executive Council; Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC); Peace and Security Council (PSC); Specialised Technical Committees; AU Commission; E-XK2193 - New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) / AU Development Agency; E-XJ1515 - African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat; AU Foundation; Financial Institutions; Judicial, Human Rights and Legal Organs; F-XF6545 - Pan-African Parliament (PAP); Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC); African Peer Review Mechanism; Regional Economic Communities (RECs); Specialised Agencies and Institutions.

Specialised Technical Committees (13):

Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration; Social Development, Labour and Employment; Health, Population and Drug Control; Justice and Legal Affairs; Youth, Culture and Sports; Public Service, Local Government, Urban Development and Decentralisation; Communication and Information Communications Technology; Defence, Safety and Security; Agriculture, Rural Development, Water and Environment; Education, Science and Technology; Gender and Women's Empowerment; Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); Transport, Infrastructure, Intercontinental and Interregional Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism.

Financial Institutions (3): J-XK2342 - African Monetary Fund (AMF); J-XK2251 - African Investment Bank (AIB); J-XK2250 - African Central Bank (ACB).

Judicial, Human Rights and Legal Organs (6): E-XE0982 - African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR); F-XF6450 - African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR); Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC); E-AA4076 - African Union Commission on International Law (AUCIL); AU Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC); E-XJ5076 - African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).

Regional Economic Communities (8) aim to faciliate regional economic integration, through F-XF2245 - African Economic Community (AEC): F-XF1048 - Arab Maghreb Union (AMU); F-XF3162 - Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA); D-XD7706 - Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD); F-XD6196 - East African Community (EAC); D-XD4308 - Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); F-XD3462 - Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); F-XF4199 - Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD); F-XF2522 - Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Specialised Agencies and Institutions:

• -Education, Human Resources, Science and Technology Bodies: F-XJ5471 - Pan African University (PAU); Pan African Institute for Education for Development (IPED) / African Observatory for Education; E-XJ0959 - Centre international pour l'éducation des filles et des femmes en Afrique de l'Union Africaine (UA/CIEFFA); E-XE3028 - African Union Scientific Technical Research Commission (AU STRC), including J-XM8545 - Pan-African Intellectual Property Organisation (PAIPO); E-XM8543 - African Scientific Technical and Research Innovation Council (ASRIC); H-XM8542 - African Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI).
• -Gender Development: Fund for African Women.
• -Economic Bodies: Pan-African Institute for Statistics (STATAFRIC); Pan African Training Centre on Statistics.
• -Energy and Infrastructure Bodies: D-XD0017 - African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC); D-XD4373 - African Airlines Association (AFRAA); D-XD6386 - African Telecommunications Union (ATU); D-XD4305 - Pan African Postal Union (PAPU); E-XJ2251 - African Energy Commission (AFREC); E-XD8052 - African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE); J-XM8541 - African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC).
• -Rural Economy and Agricultural Bodies: E-XE3867 - Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR); E-XE3869 - Inter-African Phytosanitary Council (AU-IAPSC); E-XE2407 - Semi-Arid Food Grain Research and Development (AU SAFGRAD); E-XU2652 - Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Center of the African Union (AU-PANVAC); Pan African Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC); Fouta Djallon Highlands Programme AU Coordination Office; E-XM6954 - African Risk Capacity Agency (ARC).
• -Security Bodies: E-XM8549 - Committee of Intelligence and Security Service of Africa (CISSA); E-XM8550 - African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT); F-XM8544 - African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL).
• -Social Affairs Bodies: E-XM7710 - Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC); E-XE8288 - Centre for Linguistic and Historical Studies by Oral Tradition; D-XM2921 - African Academy of Languages (ACALAN); J-XM8547 - African Institute for Remittances (AIR); J-XM8540 - African Union Sports Council (AUSC); E-AA4084 - African Audio Visual and Cinema Commission (AACC).
• -Other Bodies: F-XF3152 - The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF); D-XD0399 - Pan African Women's Organization (PAWO).

Also includes: E-XM8548 - African Medicines Agency; E-XM8546 - African Space Agency (AfSA). AfCHPR and H-XJ0151 - Court of Justice of the African Union will be merged to become J-XM8539 - African Court of Justice and Human Rights.

Languages

Relations with Inter-Governmental Organizations

Relations with Non-Governmental Organizations

Members

Type I Classification

Type II Classification

Subjects ^*

UN Sustainable Development Goals ^**

UIA Org ID

XD8572