African Union

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The African Union ( AU ) is a continental union composed of all 55 countries on the African continent, slightly extending to Asia via the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. It was founded on May 26, 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was launched on July 9, 2002 in South Africa, with the aim of replacing the Organization of African Unity (OAU) established on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, with 32 signatories. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the AU Assembly, the semi-annual meeting of heads of states and governments of its member states. The AU Secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa.

Video African Union

Ikhtisar

The AU objectives are:

1. To achieve greater unity and solidarity between African and African countries.
2. To maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Member States.
3. To accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent.
4. To promote and defend the general position of Africa on issues of interest to the continent and its people.
5. To encourage international cooperation, taking into account the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
6. To promote peace, security and stability in the continent.
7. To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance.
8. To promote and protect human and human rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human Rights and Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments.
9. To establish the necessary conditions that enable the continent to play its legitimate role in the global economy and in international negotiations.
10. To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels and economic integration of Africa.
11. To promote cooperation in all areas of human activity to improve the living standards of African society.
12. To coordinate and harmonize the policy between the existing and future Regional Economic Community for the achievement of the objectives of the Union in stages.
13. To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, especially in science and technology.
14. Cooperate with relevant international partners in combating preventable diseases and promoting good health on this continent.

African Union consists of political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making body is the African Union Assembly, comprising all the heads of state or governments of AU member states. The Assembly is headed by Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda. AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament, consisting of 265 members elected by the AU national legislature. Its president is Roger Nkodo Dang.

Other AU political institutions include

• The Executive Board, comprised of foreign ministers, preparing decisions for the Assembly;
• The Permanent Representative Committee, comprised of ambassadors for Addis Ababa from member states of the AU; and
• Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), a civil society consultation body.

The AU Commission, the secretariat for political structure, is headed by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from South Africa. On July 15, 2012, Ms. Dlamini-Zuma won tightly to his vote to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, replacing Jean Ping of Gabon.

Other AU structures are hosted by various member states:

• The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Human Rights based in Banjul, Gambia; and
• The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the APRM Secretariat and the Pan-African Parliament are located in Midrand, South Africa.

The AU covers the entire continent except for some territories owned by Spain (Canary Islands, Plazas de soberanÃÆ'a), France (Mayotte, union RÃÆ'Â ©, Spread Island in the Indian Ocean), Portugal (Madeira, Savage Islands) and the United Kingdom (Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha).

The first AU military intervention in a member country was the deployment of peacekeeping troops from South Africa, Ethiopia and Mozambique to Burundi in May 2003 to oversee the implementation of various agreements. AU forces were also deployed in Sudan for peacekeepers during the Darfur conflict, before the mission was submitted to the UN on 1 January 2008 UNAMID. The AU also sent a peacekeeping mission to Somalia, where peacekeepers are from Uganda and Burundi.

The AU has adopted a number of important new documents building norms at the continental level, to complement those already in effect when created. These include the African Union Convention on Corruption Prevention and Eradication (2003), the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and its related Declarations on Democracy, Politics, Economics and Corporate Governance.

Agreement

Maps African Union

Membership

All UN member states based in Africa and in African waters are members of the AU, such as the disputed Arab Sahrawi Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco, which claims sovereignty over the SADR region, resigned from the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the AU, in 1984 due to the recognition of SADR as a member. However, on January 30, 2017 AU recognized Morocco as a member country.

Members

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Organization

The African Union has a number of official bodies:

The Pan-African Parliament (PAP)

To become the highest legislative body of the African Union. PAP seats are in Midrand, South Africa. Parliament consists of 265 elected representatives from 55 EU countries, and is intended to provide citizen and civil society participation in the process of democratic governance. Its president is Roger Nkodo Dang, from Cameroon.

Assembly of the African Union

Composed of heads of state and heads of governments of the AU countries, the Assembly is currently the highest body of the African Union. This gradually shifts some decision-making power to the Pan African Parliament. It meets once a year and makes its decisions by consensus or by two-thirds majority. The current AU chairman is Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame.

African Union Commission (or Authority) Ã,

The African Union Secretariat, composed of ten commissioners and support staff and headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In the same way as his European counterpart, the European Commission, responsible for the administration and coordination of AU activities and meetings.

The African Union Court of Justice

The Constitutional Act provides the Court to regulate disputes concerning the interpretation of AU treaties. A protocol for establishing the Court was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2009. However, it was replaced by a protocol that created the Human Rights and Human Rights Court, which would combine established African Courts in the field of Human and Peoples' Rights (see at down) and has two rooms: one for common law problems and one for decisions on human rights treaties.

Executive Board

Composed of ministers appointed by the governments of member countries. It decides things 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. It is chaired by Mr. Shawn Makuyana of Zimbabwe (2015-).

Permanent Representative Committee

Composed of permanent representatives of member states, the Committee prepares work for the Executive Board, similar to the role of the Permanent Representative Committee in the European Union.

Peace and Security Council (PSC)

Proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001 and established in 2004 under the protocol of the Constitutional Law adopted by the AU Assembly in July 2002. This Protocol defines the PSC as collective security and early warning arrangements to facilitate timely response and effective for situations of conflict and crisis in Africa. Other responsibilities given to the PSC by the protocol include the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, post-conflict peace building and the development of common defense policies. The PSC has fifteen members elected on a regional basis by the Assembly. Similar in purpose and operation to the UN Security Council.

Economic, Social and Cultural Council

Advisory organs consisting of professional and civilian representatives, similar to the European Economic and Social Committee. The Chair of the ECOSOCC, elected in 2008, is Cameroonian lawyer Akere Muna of the Pan-African Lawyers Association (PALU).

Custom Technical Committee

Both the Abuja Agreement and the Constitutive Act provide a special Technical Committee to be formed which consists of African ministers to advise the Assembly. In practice, they were never formed. The ten proposed themes are: Rural Economy and Agriculture Problems; Monetary and Financial Affairs; Trade, Customs and Immigration; Industry, Science and Technology; Energy, Natural Resources and Environment; Transportation, Communication and Tourism; Health; Labor and Social Affairs; Education, Culture, and Human Resources.

Financial institutions

• The African Central Bank - Abuja, Nigeria
• African Investment Bank - Tripoli, Libya
• African Monetary Fund - YaoundÃÆ'Â ©, Cameroon

These institutions have not yet been established, however, the Steering Committee working on their establishment has been established. Finally, AU aims to have a single currency (Afro).

Human Rights

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Human Rights, established since 1986, is established under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter) rather than the African Union Constitution. It is a leading African human rights body, with responsibility for monitoring and promoting compliance with the African Charter. The African Court of Human Rights and People's Rights was established in 2006 to supplement the work of the Commission, following the entry into force of a protocol for the African Charter governing its manufacture. It is planned that the African Court of Human Rights and the People will be merged with the Court of Justice of the African Union (see above).

African Energy Commission

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Headquarters

The main administrative capital of the African Union is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the AU Commission is headquartered. A new headquarters complex, AU Conference Center and Office Complex (AUCC), was inaugurated on January 28, 2012, during the 18th AU Summit. The complex was built by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation as a gift from the Chinese government, and accommodates, among other facilities, a 2,500-seat halls and 20-storey office towers. The tower has a height of 99.9 meters to mark September 9, 1999, when the African Unity Organization chose to become the African Union. The building cost US $ 200 million.

espionage allegations

On January 26, 2018, five years after the completion of the building, French newspaper Le Monde published an article stating that the Chinese government has tapped the building heavily. Install a listening device on the wall and furniture and set up a computer system to copy data to servers in Shanghai every day. The Chinese government denied that they were tapping the building, stating that the allegations were "completely unfounded and ridiculous." Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn dismissed French media reports. Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, said the allegations in Le Monde's report were wrong. "This is a false accusation and I believe we did not pay any attention to it."

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African Union meeting

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Current problem

The AU faces many challenges, including health issues such as combating malaria and the AIDS/HIV epidemic; political issues such as facing undemocratic regimes and mediating many civil wars; economic problems such as raising the living standards of millions of poor and uneducated Africans; ecological problems such as dealing with recurrent hunger, desertification, and lack of ecological sustainability; as well as legal issues concerning Western Sahara.

Unity Government

The main topic for the debate at the July 2007 AU Summit held in Accra, Ghana, was the formation of the Unity Government, with the aim of moving towards the United States of Africa. A study of the Union of Governments was adopted at the end of 2006, and proposed various options to "complete" the AU project. There was a split among African nations on the proposal, with some (mainly Libyans) after the maximum view that led to a joint government with AU forces; and others (especially the states of South Africa) that support the strengthening of existing structures, with some reforms to address administrative and political challenges in making the AU Commission and other agencies truly effective.

After a heated debate in Accra, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government agreed in a declaration to review the state of affairs of the AU with a view to determining its readiness to the Union Government. In particular, the Assembly agrees to:

• Accelerate the economic and political integration of the African continent, including the establishment of the African Union Union;
• Conduct an audit of AU institutions and organs; review the relationship between AU and REC; find ways to strengthen the AU and outline the timeframe for forming the African Union Government.

The declaration last notes "the importance of involving African society, including Africans in the Diaspora, in a process that leads to the formation of a Unity Government."

Following this decision, a panel of eminent persons was formed to conduct an "audit review". The review team commenced its work on September 1, 2007. The review was presented to the Head of State and Government Assembly at the January 2008 Summit in Addis Ababa. No final decision was made on the recommendation, and a committee of ten heads of state was appointed to consider the review and report back to the July 2008 summit held in Egypt. At the July 2008 summit, the decision was once again suspended, for the "last" debate at a January 2009 summit to be held in Addis Ababa.

The Role of the African Union

One of the key debates in relation to achieving greater continental integration is the relative priority that should be given to continental integration as the unit itself or sub-region integration. The 1980 Lagos Action Plan for African Development and the 1991 Agreement to establish the African Economic Community (also referred to as the Abuja Treaty), proposed the establishment of a Regional Economic Community (RECs) as the basis for the integration of Africa, with a timetable for regional integration and then the continent to follow.

Currently, there are eight records recognized by the AU, each formed under a separate regional agreement. They:

• Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
• The Sahel-Sahara Negara Community (CEN-SAD)
• East African Community (EAC)
• The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
• Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS)
• Intergovernmental Development Authority (IGAD)
• South African Development Community (SADC)

The membership of many communities overlapped, and their rationalization has been discussed for several years - and formed the theme of the 2006 Banjul meeting. At the July 2007 summit, the Assembly finally decided to adopt the Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Community. This Protocol is intended to facilitate the harmonization of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja Time Framework Agreement and the Lagos plan.

Seat selection

In 2006, the AU decided to establish a Committee "to consider the implementation of an inter-regional rotation system" in relation to the presidency. The controversy arose at a 2006 summit when Sudan announced its candidacy for the AU chairman, as representative of the East African region. Some member states refuse to support Sudan because of tensions in Darfur (see also below). Sudan finally withdrew its candidacy and President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo was elected for a one-year term. At the January 2007 summit, Sassou-Nguesso was replaced by President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, despite other attempts by Sudan to get the seat. 2007 is the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, a symbolic moment for the state to hold the AU seat - and to host the mid-term summit in which the proposed Union Government is also discussed. In January 2008, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania took over the seat, representing the East African region and thus seemed to end Sudan's bid to become chairman - at least until the rotation returned to East Africa. The current seat is Benin.

AIDS in Africa

The AU has been active in dealing with the AIDS pandemic in Africa. In 2001, the AU established AIDS Watch Africa to coordinate and mobilize responses across the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa, especially southern and eastern Africa, is the most affected region in the world. Although this region is home to only 6.2% of the world's population, it is also home to half the world's HIV-infected population. While measuring HIV prevalence rates have proven methodically challenging, more than 20% of sexually active populations in many southern African countries are likely to be infected, with South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe expected to decrease their average life expectancy. average 6.5 â € <â €

In July 2007, the AU supported two new initiatives to combat the AIDS crisis, including the drive to recruit, train and integrate 2 million public health workers into the continent's healthcare system.

Libya

AU attempted to mediate in the early stages of the Libyan civil war 2011, establishing an ad hoc committee of five presidents (Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Mali President Amadou Toumani Tourà © Å ©, Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of Africa South Jacob Zuma, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni) to mediate the truce. However, the beginning of the NATO-led military intervention in March 2011 prevented the committee from traveling to Libya to meet with Libyan leader and former AU head until 2010 Muammar Gaddafi. As a body, the AU sharply opposed the UN Security Council's decision to create a no-fly zone over Libya, although some member states, such as Botswana, Gabon, Zambia, and others expressed support for the resolution.

As a result of Gaddafi's defeat at the Battle of Tripoli, a decisive battle war, in August 2011, the Arab League voted to recognize Gaddafi's National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of the country awaiting the election, yet although the council has been recognized by several AU member states, the country which is also a member of the Arab League, the AU Peace and Security Council voted on August 26, 2011 not to recognize it, insisted that a ceasefire was agreed upon and a national unity government was formed by both sides in the civil war. AU member states led by Ethiopia, Nigeria and Rwanda have asked the AU to recognize NTC as Libyan interim government authority, and several other AU member states have recognized NTC regardless of the Council's decision on Peace and Security. However, AU members say Algeria and Zimbabwe have indicated that they will not recognize the NTC, and South Africa has also objected.

On September 20, 2011, the African Union officially recognizes the National Transitional Council as a legitimate Libyan representative.

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Intervention to support constitutionality

Togo

In response to the death of Gnassingbà © à © EyadÃÆ' © ma, President of Togo, on 5 February 2005, AU leaders described the naming of his son Faure GnassingbÃÆ' pener his successor as a military coup. The Togolese Constitution calls for parliament speaker to replace the president in the event of his death. By law, the speaker of parliament should call the national elections to elect a new president within sixty days. AU protests forced GnassingbÃÆ'  © held an election. Under alleged electoral fraud, he was officially elected President on May 4, 2005.

Mauritania

On August 3, 2005, a coup in Mauritania led the African Union to suspend the country from all organizational activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to hold elections within two years. This was held in early 2007, the first time the country held general elections that were generally approved as an acceptable standard. After the election, Mauritania's membership of the AU was restored. However, on 6 August 2008, a new coup overthrew the elected government in 2007. The AU once again suspended Mauritania from the continent's body. The suspension was once again lifted in 2009 after the military junta agreed with the opposition to organize the election

Mali

In March 2012, a military coup was staged in Mali, when an alliance of Touaregs and Islamic forces conquered the northern region, leading to the coming of Islamist rule. After military intervention with the help of French troops, the territory controlled the Mali army. To reinstall local authorities, the AU helped shape the interim government, supported it and hosted a presidential election in Mali in July 2013.

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Regional conflict and military intervention

One of the AU's goals is to "promote peace, security, and stability in the continent". Among its principles is the 'Peaceful resolution of the conflict among Member States of the Union through the appropriate means as may be decided by the Assembly'. The main body assigned to implement these objectives and principles is the Peace and Security Council. The PSC has the power, inter alia, to endorse a peace support mission, to impose sanctions in the event of unconstitutional government change, and to "take appropriate initiatives and actions" in response to potential or actual conflict. The PSC is a decision-making body in its own right, and its decisions are binding on member states.

Article 4 (h) of the Constitution, which is repeated in article 4 of the Constitutional Law Protocol on the PSC, also recognizes the right of the Union to intervene within Member States in situations of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Any decision to intervene in a member state under article 4 of the Constitution Act shall be made by the Assembly upon the recommendation of the PSC.

Since its first meeting in 2004, the PSC has been active in relation to the crisis in Darfur, Comoros, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast and other countries. It has adopted a resolution that creates AU peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Darfur, and impose sanctions on people who damage peace and security (such as travel restrictions and asset freezes against rebel leaders in Comoros). The Council is in the process of overseeing the establishment of a "standby force" to serve as a permanent African peacekeeping force, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa, March 2008.

The AU founding agreement also calls for the establishment of an African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), including the African Standby Force (ASF), which will be deployed in an emergency. That means, in the case of genocide or other serious violations of human rights, the ASF mission may be launched even against the wishes of the government of the country concerned, as long as it is approved by the AU General Assembly. In previous AU peacekeeping missions, the concept has not yet been implemented, troops must be mobilized from member states. AU plans to apply this concept in early 2015.

Darfur, Sudan

In response to the ongoing Darfur conflict in Sudan, the AU has deployed 7,000 peacekeepers, many from Rwanda and Nigeria, to Darfur. While donor conferences in Addis Ababa in 2005 helped raise funds to keep peacekeepers throughout the year and into 2006, in July 2006 AU said it would withdraw at the end of September when its mandate expired. Criticism of the AU peace forces, including Drs. Eric Reeves, said the troops were largely ineffective due to lack of funds, personnel, and expertise. Monitoring an area that is roughly the size of France has made it increasingly difficult to maintain an effective mission. In June 2006, the United States Congress allocated US $ 173 million for AU forces. Some, such as the Genocide Intervention Network, have called for UN or NATO intervention to supplement and/or replace AU peacekeeping forces. The United Nations has considered deploying troops, although it is unlikely to enter the country until at least October 2007. AU's lack of funding and equipment shortage will end on 31 December 2006 but extended until 30 June 2007 and merged with the United Nations Mission of the United Nations, Nations in Darfur in October 2007. In July 2009 the African Union terminated its cooperation with the International Criminal Court, refusing to recognize the international arrest warrant issued to Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted in 2008 for war crimes.

The AU is struggling to have a strategic role in the independence talks and reconciliation process of South Sudan, however because of the many interests of African and non-African forces, its influence is still limited and inconsistent.

Somalia

From the early 1990s to 2000, Somalia without a functioning central government. A peace treaty aimed at ending a civil war that broke out after the collapse of the Siad Barre regime was signed in 2006 after years of peace talks. However, the new government is almost immediately threatened by further violence. Temporarily supporting the government military base, starting March 2007, AU troops began arriving in Mogadishu as part of a peacekeeping force intended by the Air Force to eventually become 8,000 people. Eritrea withdrew its ambassador to the African Union on November 20, 2009 after the African Union called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on them on suspicion of their support for Somali Islamists trying to overthrow the Somali Transitional Federal Government, an internationally recognized government. Somalia holds the Somali seat in the African Union. On December 22, 2009, the Security Council passed UNSCR 1907, which imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea, a travel ban on Eritrean leaders, and frozen assets on Eritrean officials. Eritrea strongly criticized the resolution. In January 2011, Eritrea rebuilt their mission to the Air Force in Addis Ababa.

Anjouan, Comoros

The 2008 effort to gain independence for Anjouan from Comoros was stopped by a joint AU force.

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Economy

The future goals of the AU include the creation of free trade zones, customs unions, single markets, central banks, and common currency (see African Monetary Union), thus forming economic and monetary unions. The current plan is to establish an African Economic Community with a single currency in 2023.

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Language

According to the African Union Constitution Act, the working language is Arabic, English, French and Portuguese, and African language "if possible". A protocol that changed the Constitutive Law, adopted in 2003 but by June 2016 has not been ratified by two-thirds majority of member states, will add Spanish, Swahili and "other African languages" and declare all "official" (not "working") languages African Union. The Executive Board will define practical processes and modalities for the use of official language as the working language.

Established in 2001 under the auspices of the AU, the African Language Academy promotes the use and preservation of African language among Africans. AU declared 2006 Year of African Language. The year 2006 also marks Ghana's 55th anniversary since the establishment of the Ghana Language Bureau, originally known as the Vernacel Gold Coast Literature Bureau.

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Geography

African Union member states cover almost all of the African continent and some offshore islands. Consequently, the geography of the African Union is very diverse, including the world's largest deserts (Sahara), large forests and savannahs, and the world's longest river (Nile River).

The AU currently has an area of ​​29,922,059 square kilometers (11,552,972 square meters), with 24,165 kilometers (15,015 mi) of coastline. Much of this region is on the African continent, while the only significant area outside the mainland is the island of Madagascar (the fourth largest island in the world), accounting for less than 2% of the total.

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Celebration

African Day, formerly of the African Freedom Day and the African Liberation Day, is an annual warning of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), on May 25, 1963, and occurs on the same date every month every year.

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Foreign relations

Each African Union member country coordinates foreign policy through this institution, in addition to their own international relations on a state-by-country basis. The AU represents the interests of African society at large in intergovernmental organizations (IGOs); for example, he is a permanent observer at the UN General Assembly. Both the African Union and the United Nations work together to address issues of mutual concern in various fields. The mission of the African Union at the United Nations aspires to serve as a bridge between the two Organizations.

AU membership overlaps with other IGOs ​​and sometimes these third-party organizations and AUs will coordinate public policy issues. The African Union maintains a special diplomatic representative with the United States and the European Union.

In 2016, the Union introduced a large continental passport.

After the election of Donald Trump for the US presidency, in 2017, the latter issued an executive order to ban citizens from seven countries with allegations linked to terrorism, which concerns three African countries. During the 28th African Union Summit, in Ethiopia, African leaders criticized the ban as they expressed their growing concern for Africa's economy, under Trump's policy.

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History

The African Union's historical foundation is derived from the Union of African Countries, an early confederation established by Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, as well as subsequent efforts to unify Africa, including the Organization of African Unity (OAU), established on May 25, 1963, and African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argue that OAU in particular does not protect much of the rights and freedoms of African citizens from their own political leaders, often calling it the "Dictatorial Club".

The idea of ​​creating an AU was revived in the mid-1990s under the leadership of Libyan head of state Muammar al-Gaddafi: the head of state and government of OAU issued the Sirte Declaration (named Sirte, in Libya) on 9 September 1999, calling for the creation of the African Union. The declaration was followed by the Summit in LomÃÆ'Â © in 2000, when the Constitutional Law of the African Union was adopted, and in Lusaka in 2001, when plans for the implementation of the African Union were adopted. During the same period, initiatives for the establishment of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), were also established.

The African Union was launched in Durban on July 9, 2002, by its first chairman, South Africa Thabo Mbeki, during the first session of the African Union Assembly. The second session of the Assembly was at Maputo in 2003, and the third session in Addis Ababa on 6 July 2004.

Since 2010, the African Union has seen the formation of a joint African space agency.

Barack Obama is the first US president to ever sit in front of the African Union in Addis Ababa on 29 July 2015. With his speech, he encouraged the world to improve economic relations through investment and trade with the continent, and to praise the progress made in education, infrastructure and economy. But he also criticized the lack of democracy and leaders who refused to resign, discrimination against minorities (LGBT people, religious and ethnic groups) and corruption. He suggested increased democratization and free trade, to significantly improve the quality of life for Africans.

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Symbol

The African Union emblem consists of gold ribbons with small, intertwining red rings, where palm fronds dart around the outer golden circle and inner green circles, in which there is an African gold representation. The interconnected red rings stand for African solidarity and blood shed for African liberation; palm leaves for peace; gold, for the wealth of Africa and a bright future; green, for African aspirations and aspirations. To symbolize African unity, African silhouettes are drawn without internal boundaries.

The African Union adopted a new flag at the 14th Ordinary Assembly of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government that took place in Addis Ababa 2010. During the 8th African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa on 29 and 30 January 2007, the Heads of State and Government decided to launch the competition for the selection of a new flag for the Union. They set a green background for a flag that symbolizes the hope of Africa and the star to represent Member States.

Based on this decision, the African Union Commission (AUC) held a competition for the selection of a new flag for the African Union. AUC received a total of 106 entries submitted by citizens of 19 African countries and 2 from the Diaspora. The proposal was then examined by a panel of experts formed by the African Union Commission and selected from five African regions for short lists in accordance with key guidance provided by Heads of State and Government.

At the 13th Ordinary Assembly Assembly, the Head of State and Government checks the Panel report and selects one of all proposals. Flags are now part of the African Union equipment and replace the old ones.

The old flag of the African Union contains a broad green horizontal line, narrow gold bands, the African Union insignia amid broad white lines, other narrow gold bands and a wide green finish line. Again, green and gold symbolize African aspirations and aspirations as well as bright, white, and future and white represent the purity of African desire for friends around the world. Flags have led to the creation of "national colors" of African gold and green (sometimes along with white). These colors are seen in one way or another in the flags of African countries. Together green, gold and red colors form the Pan-African color.

The African Union has adopted the national anthem, "Let's All Unite and Celebrate Together".

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List of headers

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Indicators

The following table shows the various data for AU member countries, including region, population, economic output and income inequality, as well as various indices, including human development, country survival, perception of corruption, economic freedom, peace, press freedom and democratic levels.

^a External data from 2016.

^b External data from 2015.

^c External data from 2014.

^d Total AU is used for indicators 1 to 3; AU weighted average is used for indicator 4; AU unweighted average is used for indicators 5 through 12.

See also

References

Bibliography

• Strengthening Popular Participation in the African Union: AU Guide for Structure and Processes , AfriMAP and Oxfam GB, 2010
• Toward a People-Based African Union: Current Challenges and New Opportunities AfriMAP, AFRODAD and Oxfam GB, January 2007
• New African and African Union Initiatives: Initial and Documentary Review by Henning Melber, Publisher: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Sweden; ISBN: 91-7106-486-9; (October 2002)
• "The African Union, NEPAD and Human Rights: The Missing Agenda" Human Rights Quarterly Vol.26, No.4, November 2004.
• Bibliography at AU at Peace Palace Library

External links

• Official website
• The AU Mission in the UN
• The African Union Summit July 1, 2002 in Durban, South Africa, website created by SA government
• South African Poverty Networking Page in AU and NEPAD - lots of useful links
• Background of the Press-Africa Background on Union Government debates
• BBC Profile: African Union
• The African Union in Curlie (based on DMOZ)
• Africa: 50 years of independence Radio France Internationale in English
• "The broken dream of African union, Jean-Karim Fall", Radio France Internationale in English

Source of the article : Wikipedia