* An introduction to the African Union

During a speech on foreign Policy in 1959, Kwame Nkrumah said: "In Ghana we regard our independence as meaningless unless we are able to use the freedom that goes with it to help other African people to be free and independent, to liberate the entire continent of Africa from foreign domination and ultimately' to establish a Union of African States."

The unification of Africa was a constant theme during the struggle against colonialism, with leaders like Nkrumah seeing it as crucial to securing the future of Africa. Some scholars even argue that the idea of African unity stretches back much further to pre-colonial times. Indeed, the roots of Pan-Africanism have to a large extent been influenced by Africa’s history of the slave trade, colonialism, oppression and exploitation

As an articulation of the need for unity, the African Union was founded in July 2002 and is the successor organisation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was originally established on May 25 1963 during the struggles against colonialisation, but which was been criticised in its latter years for being an inneffective talkshop. The AU is modelled after the European Union and is intended to promote democracy, human rights and development on the continent.

The establishment of the AU is based on the Sirte Declaration, signed by heads of state and heads of government of the AU on September 9, 1999. The Sirte 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.

The African Union was officially launched in Durban on July 9, 2002, by South African President Thabo Mbeki, which also acted as 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 July 6, 2004.

With 53 members, the African Union covers almost all the continent of Africa. A notable exception is Morocco, who chose not to be a member because Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Western Sahara) is.

The AU has a number of official bodies:

- Based in South Africa, the Pan-African Parliament consists of elected representatives from around Africa
- The African Commission is responsible for administrative issues and co-ordination of African Union activities and meetings. The chairman is Alpha Oumar Konare, former president of Mali.
- An African Court of Justice rules on human-rights abuses in Africa.
- The Executive Council decides on issues of foreign trade, social security, food, agriculture and communications
- An AU Assembly is composed of heads of state and heads of government of member states. It is the decision-making body and meets once a year to make decisions by two-thirds majority.
- The Permanent Representatives' Committee is made up of permanent representatives of member states and prepares the work for the Executive Council.
- A Peace and Security Council will have 15 members responsible for monitoring and intervening in conflicts. It will have an African force at its disposal.
- The Economic, Social and Cultural Council is an advisory organ composed of professional and civic representatives.

Almost three years since the establishment of the AU, the recent African Union Summit in Abuja, Nigeria in January marked an important beginning to the role of the AU in 2005. With new leaders, emerging peace negotiations and unresolved conflicts in the forefront, the responsibility of the African nations to work together in finding solutions is more important than ever.

This week marks the introduction of a new section in Pambazuka News titled African Union Watch. This section will be looking at both official African Union documents as well as opinion editorials and news articles which compare the promises of the AU to its actual actions. Organisations and individuals are welcome to send their views to [email protected] In the introductory section, we have included the following:

1. Editorial - Caroline Mutugi: AU and NEPAD: Any leap forward?
2. Newslinks to recent articles
3. Links to recent African Union official documents