The Formation of the African Union

The former “Organization of African Unity” had

been successful in some ways in accomplishing its
aims but was known to face more failures then
expected. The member states have been forced to
reconsider the content/charter of the OAU and
decided to form a better version of this organization
to overcome all the previous problems, and work for
a higher integration in political and economic
aspects.
Note;- The founder of OAU was none other than our
own, Emperor Haile Selassie.

And so an extraordinary summit (critical meeting

held between heads of government) was called and
held in Sirte, Libya by an invitation from Moammar
Gadaffi in September 1999. This meeting was
dedicated to improve OAU’s charter in order to
improve it’s efficiency and effectiveness.

But the highest meetings in which the declaration of

AU were held at Lome, Togo in 2000 and Lusaka,
Zambia in 2001. And in 9th of July 2002, the AU
officially started and it’s first president was President
Thabo Mbeki, leader of South Africa.
Note;- The headquarter of AU is found in Addis
Ababa.

The African Union was not much different from OAU

but an upgraded version of it with a higher
integration. The African Union had four solid bases;-
 Establishment of Pan-African Parliament
 Peace and Security Council
 African Court of Justice and Human Rights
 African Monetary Fund
 African Investment Bank

“ The vision of the African Union is to see an

integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa
driven by its own citizens.”

Essay
by Hasset Aragaw

Submitted to:- Tr. Abraham