The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of all 55 countries on the African continent. It was established in 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, replacing the Organization of African Unity. The AU aims to promote unity, solidarity, and cooperation among African states in matters of security, democracy, and sustainable development. Key bodies of the AU include the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and the Pan African Parliament. The AU also seeks to establish an African Economic Community with a single currency and market by 2023.

1. African Union
African Union (English)
‫االتحاد‬‫األفريقي‬ (Arabic)
Union africaine (French)
União Africana (Portuguese)
Unión Africana (Spanish)
Umoja wa Afrika (Swahili)

2. General Info
➔ Continental union consisting of all 55 countries on the African continent, including the 6% of
Egypt that is geographically in Asia.
➔ Established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in South
Africa, with the aim of replacing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
➔ The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a
semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.
➔ The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa.

3. Members
➔ All UN member states based in Africa and African waters are members of the AU.

4. Objectives
➔ To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and Africans.
➔ To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States.
➔ 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.

5. Objectives
➔ To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the
integration of African economies.
➔ 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.

6. Overview
➔ The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies.
➔ The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the
heads of state or government of member states of the AU.
➔ The Assembly is chaired by Idriss Déby, President of Chad.
➔ he AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament, which consists of 265
members elected by the national legislatures of the AU member states. Its president is Roger
Nkodo Dang.

7. Goals
➔ The AU's future goals include the creation of a free trade area, a customs union, a single market, a
central bank, and a common currency (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.

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