अफ्रिकन युनियन

African Union الاتحاد الأفريقي (Arabic)Union africaine (French)Unión Africana (Spanish)União Africana (Portuguese)Umoja wa Afrika (Swahili)
गान लेट अस अल युनाइट एण्ड सेलेब्रेट टुगेदर
Administrative Centres		Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Midrand, South Africa
Official Languages		5 (Art.11 AU) अरबी भाषा फ्रेञ्च भाषा अंग्रेजी भाषा पोर्चुगिज भाषा स्वाहिली
Member States		52 Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Côte d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
Government		Continental union
-	Chairman	Muammar al-Gaddafi
-	Commission Chairperson	Jean Ping
-	President of the Pan-African Parliament	Idriss Ndele Moussa
Establishment
-	as the OAU	25 May 1963
-	as the African Union	9 July 2002
Area
-	Total	२९,७५७,९०० km2  ११,४८९,५८९ sq mi
Population
-	2009 estimate	1 billion
-	Density	25.7/km2  ६६.६/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2003 estimate
-	Total	US$ 1.515 Trillion(11th)
-	Per capita	$1,896
GDP (nominal)		2003 estimate
-	Total	$514 billion
-	Per capita	$643
Currency		Afro (currency) in 2028
Time zone		(UTC-1 to +4)
1	If the African Union is considered as a single entity.

अफ्रिकन युनियन (अंग्रेजीइ AU, मेमेगु आधिकारिक भाषाय् UA) छगू अन्तरसरकारी संस्था ख। थ्व संस्थाय् अफ्रिकाया ५२गु सार्वभौम राष्ट्र सदस्य दु। जुलाई ९, सन् २००२ खुनु न्ह्यथंगु थ्व संस्था अर्गेनाइजेसन अफ अफ्रिकन युनिटीया उत्तराधिकारी ख। थ्व संघया दक्ले महत्त्वपूर्ण निर्णय असेम्ब्लीं कायेगु या। असेम्ब्लीया बैठक खुलाय् छकः देय्‌तेगु राष्ट्राध्यक्ष व सरकारया नायःतेगु दथुइ जुइ। संघया सेक्रेटेरियट अफ्रिकन युनियन कमिसनया ज्याकुथि अदिस अबाबा, इथियोपियाय् दु। फेब्रुवरी २००९या युनियनया बैठक लिब्याया नेता गदाफीया नेतृत्त्वय् जुल। थ्व सम्मेलनय् अफ्रिकन युनियन कमिसनयात अफ्रिकन युनियन अथोरिटी दयेकिगु निर्णय जुल।

पृष्ठभूमि

एयुया थी-थी संस्थातेगु लक्ष्य अफ्रिकाया राजनैतिक, सामाजिक व आर्थिक एकता तीव्र यायेगु, अफ्रिकायात व अफ्रिकाया मनुतेत असर याइगु मुद्दाय् अफ्रिकाली मंका अडानया प्रवर्धन व संरक्षण यायेगु, अफ्रिकाय् शान्ति व सु‍रक्षा दयेकिगु व लोकतान्त्रिक संस्था, बांलागु प्रशासन व मानव अधिकारयात प्रवर्धन यायेगु ख।

एयुइ राजनैतिक व प्रशासनिक निगु हे क्षेत्रया संलग्नता दु। थ्व संघया उच्चतम् निर्णयकर्ता असेम्ब्ली अफ अफ्रिकन युनियन ख। थ्व असेम्ब्लीया सदस्य अफ्रिकाया सकल देय्‌या राष्ट्राध्यक्ष वा सरकारी प्रमुखत जुइ। आया ईले थ्व असेम्ब्ली लिब्याया नेता मुअम्मर अल गदाफीया नेतृत्त्वय् सनाच्वंगु दु। वय्‌कःयात असेम्ब्लीया १०गु साधारण सभां ज्यानुवरी २००९इ निर्वाचित याःगु ख। एयुइ प्रतिनिधि निकाय वा प्यान अफ्रिकन पार्लियामेन्ट नं दु गुकिलि २६५ सदस्य दु। थ्व सदस्यत अफ्रिकाया थी थी देय्‌या राष्ट्रिय संसदं त्याना थ्व संसदय् थ्यनि। प्यान अफ्रिकन पार्लियामेन्टया आःया अध्यक्ष इद्रिस न्देले मूसा ख।

सदस्यता

Map of the African Union with suspended states highlighted in light green.

वर्तमान

Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Côte d'Ivoire Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria

Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

निलम्बित सदस्य

• Guinea
• Madagascar
• Eritrea

न्हापाया सदस्य

• Morocco

Organizations of the AU

African Union

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the African Union

Institutions Casablanca Group Union of African States Organisation of African Unity African Economic Community African Unification Front Executive Assembly Chairperson Commission Chairperson Conference and Events Peace & Sec. Pol. Affairs Infra. & Energy Soc. Affairs HR, Sci., & Tech. Trade and Industry Rural Econ. & Agri. Economic Legal Counsel Executive Council Rep. Committee Legislature Pan-African Parliament President Bureau Secretariat List of members Permanent Committees Rural Econ., Agri., Resources, Eviron. Monetary & Financial Trade, Customs, & Immigration Cooperation, IR, & Conflict Transport, Industry, Communications,   Energy, Science, & Tech. Health, Labour, & Social Educ., Culture, Tourism, & HR Gender, Family, Youth, Disabilities Justice & Rights Rules, Privileges, & Discipline Judiciary Sirte Declaration Constitutive Act of the AU Law Charter on Rights Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Court of Justice Court on Human and Peoples' Rights List of judges Advisory bodies Peace and Security Council Economic, Social and Cultural Council Specialised Technical Committees Rural Econ., Agri. Monetary & Financial Trade, Customs, and Immigration Industry, Sci. & Tech., Energy... Transport, Comm., Tourism Health, Labor, Social Edu., Culture, & Human Resources Financial bodies AEC Pillars (Abuja Treaty) CEN-SAD COMESA EAC ECCAS/CEEAC CEMAC ECOWAS UEMOA WAMZ IGAD SADC SACU AMU/UMA African Central Bank African Monetary Fund African Investment Bank New Partnership for Africa's Development African Peer Review Mechanism Decentralised bodies Agencies of the AU Related topics Elections Enlargement Foreign relations

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The African Union has a number of official bodies:

Pan-African Parliament (PAP) 

To become the highest legislative body of the African Union. The seat of the PAP is at Midrand, South Africa. The Parliament is composed of 265 elected representatives from all 53 AU states, and intended to provide popular and civil-society participation in the processes of democratic governance. The current President of the Pan African Parliament is Hon. Dr. Idriss Ndélé Moussa of Chad.

Assembly of the African Union 

Composed of heads of state and heads of government of AU states, the Assembly is currently the supreme governing body of the African Union. It is gradually devolving some of its decision-making powers to the Pan African Parliament. It meets once a year and makes its decisions by consensus or by a two-thirds majority. The current^[update] Chairman of the Assembly is Muammar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya.

African Union Authority 

The secretariat of the African Union, composed of ten commissioners and supporting staff and headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In a similar fashion to its European counterpart, the European Commission, it is responsible for the administration and co-ordination of the AU's activities and meetings.

African Court of Justice 

The Constitutive Act provides for a Court of Justice to rule on disputes over interpretation of AU treaties. A protocol to set up the Court of Justice was adopted in 2003, but has not yet entered into force: it is likely to be superseded by a protocol creating a Court of Justice and Human Rights, which will incorporate the already established African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights (see below) and have two chambers—one for general legal matters and one for rulings on the human rights treaties. The draft protocol has been under discussion for several years, however it has not been adopted as of yet(May 2009).

Executive Council

Composed of ministers designated by the governments of member states. It decides on matters 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.

Permanent Representatives' Committee

Consisting of nominated permanent representatives of member states, the Committee prepares the work for the Executive Council. (European Union equivalent: the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER).)

Peace and Security Council (PSC)

Proposed at the Lusaka Summit in 2001 and established in 2004 under a protocol to the Constitutive Act adopted by the AU Assembly in July 2002. The protocol defines the PSC as a collective security and early warning arrangement to facilitate timely and effective response to conflict and crisis situations in Africa. Other responsibilities conferred to the PSC by the protocol include prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, post-conflict peace building and developing common defence policies. The PSC has fifteen members elected on a regional basis by the Assembly. Similar in intent and operation to the United Nations Security Council.

Economic, Social and Cultural Council

An advisory organ composed of professional and civic representatives, similar to the European Economic and Social Committee. The chair of ECOSOCC, elected in 2008, is Cameroonian lawyer Akere Muna of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU).

Specialised Technical Committees

Both the Abuja Treaty and the Constitutive Act provide for Specialised Technical Committees to be established made up of African ministers to advise the Assembly. In practice, they have never been set up. The ten proposed themes are: Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters; Monetary and Financial Affairs; Trade, Customs, and Immigration; Industry, Science and Technology; Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Transport, Communications, and Tourism; Health; Labour, and Social Affairs; Education, Culture, and Human Resources.

Financial institutions

• African Central Bank – Abuja, Nigeria
• African Investment Bank – Tripoli, Libya
• African Monetary Fund – Yaounde, Cameroon.

These institutions have not yet been established, however, the Steering Committees working on their founding have been constituted. Eventually, the AU aims to have a single currency (the Afro).

Human rights 

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

Role of the diaspora

The Constitutive Act of the AU declares that it shall "invite and encourage the full participation of the African diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union". The African Union Government has defined the African diaspora as "consisting of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union".

Interventions in support of constitutionality

Togo

In response to the death of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of Togo, on 5 February 2005, AU leaders described the naming of his son Faure Gnassingbé the successor as a military coup. Togo's constitution calls for the speaker of parliament to succeed the president in the event of his death. By law, the parliament speaker must call national elections to choose a new president within sixty days. The AU's protest forced Gnassingbé to hold elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected President on 4 May 2005.

Mauritania

On 3 August 2005, a coup in Mauritania led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to hold elections within two years. These were held in early 2007, the first time that the country had held elections that were generally agreed to be of an acceptable standard.^{[citation needed]} Following the elections, Mauritania's membership of the AU was restored. However, on 6 August 2008, a fresh coup overthrew the government elected in 2007. The AU once again suspended Mauritania from the continental body.

Regional conflicts and military interventions

One of the objectives of the AU is to "promote peace, security, and stability on the continent". Among its principles is 'Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly'. The primary body charged with implementing these objectives and principles is the Peace and Security Council. The PSC has the power, among other things, to authorise peace support missions, to impose sanctions in case of unconstitutional change of government, and to "take initiatives and action it deems appropriate" in response to potential or actual conflicts. The PSC is a decision-making body in its own right, and its decisions are binding on member states.

Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act, repeated in article 4 of the Protocol to the Constitutive Act on the PSC, also recognises the right of the Union to intervene in member state in circumstances of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Any decision to intervene in a member state under article 4 of the Constitutive Act will be made by the Assembly on the recommendation of the PSC.

Since it first met in 2004, the PSC has been active in relation to the crises in Darfur, Comoros, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire and other countries. It has adopted resolutions creating the AU peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Darfur, and imposing sanctions against persons undermining peace and security (such as travel bans and asset freezes against the leaders of the rebellion in Comoros). The Council is in the process of overseeing the establishment of a "standby force" to serve as a permanent African peacekeeping force.

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 a donor's conference in Addis Ababa in 2005 helped raise funds to sustain the peacekeepers through that year and into 2006, in July 2006 the AU said it would pull out at the end of September when its mandate expires. Critics of the AU peacekeepers, including Dr. Eric Reeves, have said these forces are largely ineffective due to lack of funds, personnel, and expertise. Monitoring an area roughly the size of France has made it even more difficult to sustain an effective mission. In June 2006, the United States Congress appropriated US$173 million for the AU force. Some, such as the Genocide Intervention Network, have called for United Nations (UN) or NATO intervention to augment and/or replace the AU peacekeepers. The UN has considered deploying a force, though it would not likely enter the country until at least October 2007. The under-funded and badly equipped AU mission was set to expire on December 31, 2006 but was extended to June 30, 2007 and will merge with the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur. In July 2009 the African Union ceased cooperation with the International Criminal Court, refusing to recognize the international arrest warrant it had issued against Sudan's leader, Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted in 2008 for War crimes

Somalia

From the early 1990s up until recently, Somalia was without a functioning central government. A peace agreement aimed at ending the civil war that broke out following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime was signed in 2006 after many years of peace talks. However, the new government was almost immediately threatened by further violence. To temporarily shore up the government's military base, starting in March 2007, AU soldiers began arriving in Mogadishu as part of a peacekeeping force that was intended by the AU to eventually be 8,000 strong.

Anjouan, Comoros

Mohamed Bacar, who had led the separatist government since 2001, was elected for a five-year term as President of Anjouan. His term expired the 14 April 2007, and the president of the assembly, Houmadi Caambi, became acting president from 15 April 2007 to 10 May 2007. Citing irregularities and intimidation in the run-up to voting, the African Union (AU) and the Union government postponed the polls on Anjouan, but a defiant island president Mohamed Bacar printed his own ballots, held elections anyway and claimed a landslide victory of 90 percent on 11 May 2007.

In October 2007, the African Union imposed travel sanctions on Anjouan's President Mohamed Bacar and other government officials and froze their foreign assets while calling for fresh elections. Additionally, a naval blockade of the island was implemented. In February 2008, the Comoros rejected the African Union's extended sanctions against Anjouan and instead opted for a military solution. In March 2008 hundreds of Union government troops began assembling on Moheli, which is closer to Anjouan than the larger island Grande Comore. Sudan and Senegal were expected to provide a total of 750 troops, while Libya has offered logistical support for the operation. In addition, 500 Tanzanian troops were due to arrive soon after.

The forces invaded Anjouan on 25 March 2008.

Economy

The combined states of the African Union constitute the world's 17th largest economy with a nominal GDP of $500 billion, ranking after the Netherlands. By measuring GDP by PPP, the African Union's economy totals $1.515 trillion, ranking it 11th after Brazil. At the same time, they have a combined total debt of $200 billion.

The AU future confederation's goals include the creation of a free trade area, a customs union, a single market, a central bank, and a common currency (see African Monetary Union), thereby establishing economic and monetary union. The current plan is to establish an African Economic Community with a single currency by 2023.

Languages

According to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, its working languages are Arabic, English, French, and Portuguese, as well as African languages "if possible". A protocol amending the Constitutive Act adopted in 2003 but (as of 2007) not yet in force added Spanish, Swahili and "any other African language" and termed all six "official" (rather than "working") languages of the African Union. In practice, translation of documents of the AU into even the four current working languages causes significant delays and difficulties to the conduct of business.

Founded in 2001, the African Academy of Languages promotes the usage and perpetuation of African languages amongst African people.

Geography

Member states of the African Union cover almost the entirety of continental Africa and several off-shore islands. Consequently, the geography of the African Union is wildly diverse, including the world's largest hot desert (the Sahara), huge jungles and savannas, and the world's longest river (the Nile).

The AU presently has an area of 29,922,059 km² (18,592,705 mi²), with 24,165 km (15,015 mi) of coastline. The vast majority of this area is on continental Africa, while the only significant territory off the mainland is the island of Madagascar (the world's fourth largest), accounting for slightly less than 2% of the total.

Foreign relations

The individual member states of the African Union coordinate foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their own international relations on a state-by-state basis. The AU represents the interests of African peoples at large in intergovernmental organisations (IGO's); for instance, it is a permanent observer at the United Nations' General Assembly. Both the African Union and the United Nations work in tandem to address issues of common concerns in various areas. The African Union Mission in United Nations aspires to serve as a bridge between the two Organisations.

Membership of the AU overlaps with other IGOs and occasionally these third-party organisations and the AU will coordinate matters of public policy. The African Union maintains special diplomatic representation with the United States and the European Union.

History of the African Union

The historical foundations of the African Union originated in the Union of African States, an early confederation that was established by Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s, as well as subsequent attempts to unite Africa, including the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was established on May 25, 1963, and the African Economic Community in 1981. Critics argued that the OAU in particular did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it the "Dictators' Club".

The idea of creating the AU was revived in the mid-1990s under the leadership of Libyan head of state Muammar al-Gaddafi: the heads of state and government of the OAU issued the Sirte Declaration (named after Sirte, in Libya) on September 9, 1999, calling for the establishment of an African Union. The Declaration was followed by summits at Lomé in 2000, when the Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted, and at Lusaka in 2001, when the plan for the implementation of the African Union was adopted. During the same period, the initiative for the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), was also established.

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

Symbols

The emblem of the African Union consists of a gold ribbon bearing small interlocking red rings, from which palm leaves shoot up around an outer gold circle and an inner green circle, within which is a gold representation of Africa. The red interlinked rings stand for African solidarity and the blood shed for the liberation of Africa; the palm leaves for peace; the gold, for Africa's wealth and bright future; the green, for African hopes and aspirations. To symbolise African unity, the silhouette of Africa is drawn without internal borders.

The flag of the African Union bears a broad green horizontal stripe, a narrow band of gold, the emblem of the African Union at the centre of a broad white stripe, another narrow gold band and a final broad green stripe. Again, the green and gold symbolise Africa's hopes and aspirations as well as its wealth and bright future, and the white represents the purity of Africa's desire for friends throughout the world. The flag has led to the creation of the "national colours" of Africa of gold and green (sometimes together with white). These colours are visible in one way or another in the flags of many African nations. Together the colours green, gold, and red constitute the Pan-African colours.

The African Union has adopted a new anthem, Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together, and has the chorus O sons and daughters of Africa, flesh of the sun and flesh of the sky, Let us make Africa the tree of life.

List of Chairmen

African Union
Name	Beginning of Term	End of Term	Country
Thabo Mbeki	9 July 2002	10 July 2003	South Africa
Joaquim Chissano	10 July 2003	6 July 2004	Mozambique
Olusegun Obasanjo	6 July 2004	24 January 2006	Nigeria
Denis Sassou-Nguesso	24 January 2006	24 January 2007	Republic of the Congo
John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor	30 January 2007	31 January 2008	Ghana
Jakaya Kikwete	31 January 2008	2 February 2009	Tanzania
Muammar Gaddafi	2 February 2009	present	Libya

See also

Africa दबू

African Century African Development Bank African diaspora African nationalism African Renaissance African Unification Front Africanisation

Black nationalism Continental union Asian Union North American Union Central Asian Union European Union Pacific Union Union of South American Nations

Indigenous peoples of Africa New Partnership for Africa's Development African Peer Review Mechanism Regional Economic Communities Non-Aligned Movement Pan-Africanism United States of Africa

Bibliography

• Towards a People Driven African Union: Current Challenges and New Opportunities AfriMAP, AFRODAD and Oxfam GB, January 2007
• The New African Initiative and the African Union: A Preliminary Assessment and Documentation 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 on the AU at the Peace Palace Library

External links

• African Union official site
• African Union Mission in the United Nations
• 1st African Union Summit July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, website created by SA government
• 2nd African Union Summit July 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique
• 3rd African Union Summit July 2004, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 4th African Union Summit January 2005, Abuja, Nigeria
• 5th African Union Summit July 2005 in Sirte, Libya.
• 6th African Union Summit January 2006 in Khartoum, Sudan.
• 7th African Union Summit July 2006 in Banjul, The Gambia.
• 7th African Union Summit 2006 in Banjul, The Gambia, website created by the host government.
• 8th AU summit January 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 9th AU summit July 2007, Accra, Ghana
• 10th AU summit January 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 11th AU summit July 2008, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
• 12th AU summit January 2009, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• 13th AU summit June 2009, Sirte, Libya

Other relevant sites

• AU Monitor
• AfriMAP The Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project of the Open Society Institute
• Southern Africa Regional Poverty Network Page on the AU and NEPAD – many useful links
• Institute for Security Studies (South Africa) Collection of official documents of African regional organisations
• Pan-African Perspective Background on Union Government debate
• BBC Profile: African Union
• Open Directory Project African Union directory entry
• Towards Unity: African Union