20th Anniversary of African Union

Context

The African Union is celebrating its 20th Anniversary on 9th of July 2022.

About African Union (AU)

• The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa.
• The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union.

• The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments.
• The OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. 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 African Union has over 1.3 billion people and an area of around 29 million km2 (11 million sq mi) and includes popular world landmarks, such as the Sahara and the Nile.
• The primary working languages are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Kiswahili. Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the Peace and Security Council and the Pan-African Parliament.
• The AU is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”
  
  

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 accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent.

Summits that led to the formation African Union

• The Sirte Extraordinary Session (1999) decided to establish an African Union.
• The Lome Summit (2000) adopted the Constitutive Act of the Union.
• The Lusaka Summit (2001) drew the road map for the implementation of the AU.
• The Durban Summit (2002) launched the AU and convened the 1st Assembly of the Heads of States of the African Union.