AFRICAN UNION

Introduction
The advent of the African Union (AU) can be described as an event of great magnitude in the institutional evolution of the continent.
On 9.9.1999, the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity issued a Declaration (the Sirte Declaration) calling for the establishment of an African Union, with a view, inter alia, to accelerating the process of integration in the continent to enable it play its rightful role in the global economy while addressing multifaceted social, economic and political problems compounded as they are by certain negative aspects of globalisation.

The main objectives of the OAU were, inter alia, To rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonization and apartheid; To promote unity and solidarity among African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development; To safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations.

Continued.
Indeed, as a continental organization the OAU provided an effective forum that enabled all Member States to adopt coordinated positions on matters of common concern to the continent in international fora and defend the interests of Africa effectively. Through the OAU Coordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa, the Continent worked and spoke as one with undivided determination in forging an international consensus in support of the liberation struggle and the fight against apartheid.

Vision of the African Union

The vision of the African Union is that of: An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in global arena.

This vision of a new, forward looking, dynamic and integrated Africa will be fully realized through relentless struggle on several fronts and as a long-term endeavour. The African Union has shifted focus from supporting liberation movements in the erstwhile African territories under colonialism and apartheid, as envisaged by the OAU since 1963 and the Constitutive Act, to an organization spear-heading Africas development and integration.

Member countries
Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Cte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Guinea Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic So Tom and Prncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe

Continued.
Suspended members Madagascar suspended after 2009 Malagasy political crisis. Former members Morocco - left the AU's predecessor, the Organisation of Africa Unity(OAU) in 1984, when the majority of member countries supported the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (proclaimed by the Polisario Front in 1976 claiming the representation of the Western Sahara), resulting on SADR admission in the AU. Morocco's ally, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), similarly opposed the OAU's admission of the Sahrawi Republic, and the Mobutu regime boycotted the organisation from 1984 to 1986. Some countries have since retracted their support for the Sahrawi Republic.

Member communities
Currently, there are eight RECs recognised by the AU, each established under a separate regional treaty. They are: the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) the East African Community (EAC) the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) The membership of many of the communities overlaps, and their rationalisation has been under discussion for several years and formed the theme of the 2006 Banjul summit. At the July 2007 Accra summit the Assembly finally decided to adopt a Protocol on Relations between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities. This protocol is intended to facilitate the harmonisation of policies and ensure compliance with the Abuja Treaty and Lagos Plan of Action time frames.

The Objectives of the AU

To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States; To accelerate the political and socioeconomic integration of the continent; To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;

 To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent; To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;

 To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples; To coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; To work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.

The values to guide and govern the functioning and operations of the AU are:
Respect for diversity and team work; Think Africa above all; Transparency and accountability; Integrity and impartiality; Efficiency and professionalism; and

 Information and knowledge sharing. The Commission will endeavour to fulfil its Mission by developing clear goals and strategies. The values indicated above will constitute the basis on which the AUC will achieve its Mission. They will also encourage the development of a service culture for the entire organization.

Principles:
Subsidiarity and complementarity with other Organs, Member States and RECs; Results orientation, feasibility and impact focus; Close coordination and cooperation with the RECs; Coherence of policies and programmes; and

 A networking approach that takes advantage of available resources through other players.
Guided by these values and principles, the Commission will endeavour to achieve its Mission through implementation of clear goals and strategies and by committing the requisite resources for effective discharge of its mandate. This would require the AUC presenting specific proposals to give full effect to its texts, and bring new possibilities and benefits to the citizens of Africa

Role of African Union in world integration

Regional Integration - Current African integration arrangements can be divided into two broad groups: those that fit into the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA) adopted in April 1980, and those that were either in existence or came about outside the LPA 1. The Lagos Plan was promoted by the ECA and launched in a special initiative by the OAU

 2. A second group of integration arrangements has grown up outside the LPA. Two important RTAs are associated with the former CFA zone

Reasons for past lack of success

Despite the multiplicity of groupings, SSA regional groupings have not been very effective: 1. Intra-regional trade in Africa as a share of total foreign trade has traditionally been low compared to other regions. 2. Most African states have suffered from severe macroeconomic disequilibria, foreign debt service burdens, over-valued currencies, lack of trade finance, and a narrow tax base, with customs duties a substantial source of revenue.

3.The protective import substitution strategies adopted by most countries since independence resulted in a host of regulations restricting trade such as licensing, administrative foreign exchange allocation, special taxes for acquiring foreign exchange, advance import deposits etc. 4. The design of African integration schemes around inward-looking industrialization meant that the economic costs of participation for member states are often immediate and concrete (in the form of lower tariff revenues and greater import competition), while the economic benefits are long-term and uncertain and are often unevenly distributed among member states

Future of regional integration in Africa

o Despite competing visions of regional integration... o specific problems must be addressed o For a common market to function its members at least need to be at peace. The wars and conflicts in a number of African regions which have devastated transport networks, communications and other basic infrastructure need to be peacefully resolved.

LATEST ON AFRICAN UNION

The fifth session of the African union conference of ministers of health took place at in Windhoek April 2011 under the theme is, The impact of climate change on health and development in Africa The main aim of the session was to outline and explain the different projects and initiatives that had been undertaken by the African Union for the promotion of health as part of human and social development.

 The block participated in the African wide Civil Society Organization (CSO) universal access review meeting on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support . The Angolian President dos Santos has urged the concerned parties in Libya to negotiate a political solution without preconditions. He also expressed hope that the parties concerned would adopt the road map proposed by the African Union (AU) to solve the crisis in Libya.

FUTURE SCOPE
The African Union has established a series of financial institutions including the African Central Bank, the African Monetary Fund and the African Investment Bank. African leaders discuss the African economies and the challenges of globalization, the role of the regional economic communities in the process of African integration, African debts and approaches for solution, and the challenges of peace, security and stability in Africa A key element here is the relation between the Member States and the latter, which might be seen more and more as an ally rather than as a competitor.

 Following eradicating all forms of colonialism from Africa, the organization has been ocused on peace and development and reversion of the growing marginalization of Africa in economic globalization and therefore we forsee a very strong future for the regional block .

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