AUprifile Union African

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PROFILE: AFRICAN UNION (AU)

1. CONTACT DETAILS:

Commission of the African Union : PO Box 3243Roosevelt Street Addis Ababa(Old Airport Area) Ethiopia

W21K19Addis AbabaEthiopia: +251 1 - 51 77 00Fax: +251 1 - 51 93 21

Website: www.africa-union.orgWebsite of South Africa as chair of the African Union: www.au2002.gov.zaWebsite of Mozambique as chair of the African Union: www.au2003.gov.mz

2. MEMBER STATESAlgeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde,Central African Republic, Chad, The Comoros, Republic of Congo, DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Cte dIvoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia,Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya,Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger,

Nigeria, Rwanda, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sao Tom and Principe,Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania,Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Morocco is the only African country that is not a member of the African Union.

3. REGIONS OF THE AU:

The Council of Ministers meeting in its 26th

Ordinary Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,from 23 February to 1 March, 1976 adopted resolution CM/Res.464 (XXVI) stipulatingthat there shall be five (5) regions of the OAU, namely, Northern, Western, Central,


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Eastern, and Southern. The geographical distribution of the five regions is currently asfollows:

1. West Africa, Sixteen (15) Member States:

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote dIvoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea

Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

2. East Africa, Thirteen (13) Member States:

Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda,Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

3. Southern Africa, Ten (10) Member States:

Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland,Zambia and Zimbabwe.

4. Central Africa, Nine (9) Member States:

Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic ofCongo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome & Principe

5. Northern Africa, Five (6) Member States:

Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Tunisia and Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.

4. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND:

4.1 Key Developments in the Evolution of the OAU

The African Union is the successor organization to the Organization of African Unity(OAU). The OAU was established on 25 May 1963, with its headquarters in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia. At that Conference of Independent African States, the OAU Charterwas signed by the Heads of State and Government of 30 of the 32 independent Africanstates. The remaining two, Togo and Morocco signed before the end of that year.Morocco later withdrew from the OAU in 1985, after admission of Western Sahara. It isnow the only African state that does not belong to the 53 member AU.

The Constitutive Act of the African Unionwas adopted during the Lom Summit of theOAU on 11 July 2000. The Lusaka Summit in 2001 (37th Ordinary Session) agreed to atransition period of one year (with the option to extend this period if necessary) whileMember States and the General Secretariat embarked upon intensive consultations to

prepare for the inaugural meeting of the African Union in South Africa in July 2002.

An important development in the history of the OAU was the adoption, in 1980, at anOAU Extraordinary Summit, of the Lagos Plan of Action. The commitments in the Planand the Final Act of Lagos were translated into concrete form in Abuja, Nigeria in June1991 when the OAU Heads of State and Government signed the Treaty establishing theAfrican Economic Community (AEC) during the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly.Since May 1994, the OAU therefore operated on the basis of the OAU Charter as well asthe AEC Treaty, and the organization was officially referred to as the OAU/AEC. After


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signature of the AEC Treaty, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government directedthe Committee on the Review of the Charter (established in 1979) to meet and review theOAU Charter with a view to bringing it in line with the AEC Treaty. Despite numerousattempts since 1979, the General Secretariat of the OAU could not process and moveforward with amendments agreed to at the expert level amongst Member States the 1963Charter. Eventually an Extraordinary Summit of the OAU held in Sirt, Libya on 9

September 1999 called for the establishment of an African Union in conformity with theultimate objectives of the OAU Charter and the provisions of the AEC Treaty (SirtDeclaration).

The Constitutive Act of the African Union notes (in Article 33(2) that The provisions ofthis Act shall take precedence over and supersede any inconsistency or contrary

provisions of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. Thus thesubsequent Protocol to establish a Pan-African Parliament, which was originallyenvisaged in Articles 7 and 14 of the AEC Treaty, is a protocol to the AEC Treaty andnot to the Constitutive Act establishing the AU.

The Lusaka Summit in 2001 (37th Ordinary Session) that prepared for the transition from

the OAU to the AU also took a decision that the Economic and Social Commission(ECOSOC) reference in the AEC Treaty will cease to exist at the end of the transition

period to the African Union. In its place the AU established an Economic, Social andCultural Council (Article 22) as an advisory organ composed of different social and

professional groups. Unlike the Pan-African Parliament, ECOSOCC will not beestablished through a legally binding protocol, treaty or convention, but by the approvalof the Assembly of a set of statutes.

The Lom Summit in 2000 also acknowledged the Conference on Security, Stability,Development and Cooperation in Africa (CSSDCA) as creating a synergy between thevarious activities undertaken by the OAU/AEC that should help to consolidate the workin the areas of peace, security, stability, development and co-operation. A subsequent

Memorandum of Understanding on the CSSDCA was adopted by the First StandingConference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa, held inDurban in July 2002, as part of the OAU/AU Summit.

During the July 2001 Lusaka Summit meeting in Zambia African leaders also adoptedthe New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD). The Partnership provides acomprehensive, integrated development plan that addresses key social, economic and

political principles for the continent. It entails a commitment by African leaders toAfrican people and the international community to place Africa on a path of sustainablegrowth, accelerated by the integration of the continent into the global economy. NEPADdetermines that peace, security, democracy, and good economic and corporategovernance are preconditions for sustainable development and proposes a system of

voluntary peer review and adherence to codes and standards of conduct. At the 38 th (andfinal) Summit of the OAU in Durban, July 2002, Heads of State and Government issueda NEPAD Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate GoodGovernance. Durban also hosted the first Assembly meeting of the African Union thatfollowed directly after the OAU Summit.

The Durban meeting also approved the NEPAD African Peer Review Mechanism(APRM) as well as a protocol relating to the establishment of a Peace and SecurityCouncil.


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During the 2nd Extraordinary Assembly meeting in Sirt on 28th February 2004, AUHeads of State adopted a Solemn Declaration on a Common African Defence andSecurity Policy.

4.2 The OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management andResolution

Prior to the establishment of the AU some 13 African conflicts elicited notableinterventions by the OAU. However, only five out of these engagements

led to the

deployment of some type of OAU peacekeeping operation. These are: (1) Rwanda inAugust-October 1993; (2) Burundi in December 1993 - July 1996; (3) Comoros inAugust 1998; (4) Congo-DR from November 1999; and (5) Ethiopia-Eritrea fromOctober 2000.

Within a matter of months after its establishment, in October 1963, the OAU decided tosend military observers to supervise a cease-fire, the withdrawal of troops and the

creation of a demilitarised zone between Algeria and Morocco but did not implementits own decision. The OAUs record during the conflict between Ethiopia and Somaliathe following year as well as during the unrest in the Congo shortly thereafter wasequally unimpressive and its failure to intervene meaningfully in the Nigerian civil war(1967-70) reinforced the trend.

The first peacekeeping force to be deployed in Chad during 1979 was provided byNigeria which subsequently secured OAU support for its initiative retroactively at theJuly 1979 OAU Summit meeting in Monrovia. An inter-African force (composed oftroops from Congo-Brazzaville and airlift from Algeria would undertake a similarmission early in 1980. The force was flown home by France when the civil war reignitedin March.

The OAU Summit in Freetown of July 1980 called for another peacekeeping operation inChad but the OAU made little progress until the end of that year when Libya sent troopsto Ndjamena in support of the transitional government of unity. The subsequentannouncement by Libyan President Qaddafi that Libya and Chad were to be unified,galvanized French financial support for an OAU peacekeeping mission in Chad. Duringthe subsequent OAU Neutral Force in Chad during 1981-82 the Organization eventuallymanaged to field 3 500 of the planned 5 000 troops. The troops were mostly from

Nigeria (with US assistance) and the remainder from Senegal and Zaire (with Frenchassistance) all of which had to carry their own costs since the Organization managed tocontribute only US$400 000 of the estimated US$192 million budget. Algeria, Kenya,Guinea-Bissau and Zambia eventually contributed military observers to the mission.The operation was beset with logistical problems and the operational linkage to the OAUin Addis Ababa tenuous. Together with an unrealistic timetable for elections and a firmdeadline for the withdrawal of its forces, the OAU withdrew its forces at the end of June1982 when Ndjamena fell to forces from the northern part of Chad.

The OAUs decision in 1990 to send a peacekeeping mission to Rwanda was the firstsignificant such mission after Chad. Shortly after the rebellion by the Rwandan PatrioticFront the OAU put together the Military Observer Team (MOT) from Burundi, Uganda


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and the former Zare which was deployed during April 1991, but only after severalmonths of delay. The MOT was soon replaced by the Neutral Military Observer Group(NMOG) that was eventually composed of 40 military observers from Mali, Nigeria,Senegal and Zimbabwe. Even before NMOGs mandate ended in July 1992, the OAUCouncil of Ministers agreed to an enlarged follow-on operation, NMOG II, intended to

be composed of a total of 240 persons. NMOG II was deployed during August and

eventually included military officers from Congo-Brazzaville, Nigeria, Senegal andTunisia.

After thirteen months of talks a peace agreement was signed in August 1993,subsequently to become known as the Arusha Accords.

The subsequent Observer Mission in Burundi (OMIB) followed the murder of PresidentNdadaye on 21 October 1993, but it was to be several months before the Central Organsent 47 observers. The civilian component of OMIB was only deployed duringDecember and the first military observers arrived in Bujumbura during February 1994.Events in Rwanda in 1994, culminating in the genocide in that country, now intrudedupon African consciousness in the intervening period. The six-nation OAU force

eventually comprised observers from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Niger andTunisia, and was augmented by an additional 20 observers in March 1995.

The reluctance of OAU Member States to intervene in conflicts during the first twodecades of its existence is reflected in the lack of operationalisation of the Commissionof Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration provided for in the Charter. The Commissionwas envisaged as one of the four principal organs of the OAU. The Commission was toconsist of 21 elected persons but its permanent status was revoked in 1970 at the Summitin Addis Ababa and it has since fallen into disuse. The 1977 Ad Hoc Committee onInter-African Disputes shared a similar fate.

Against the background of the cycle of violence on the continent in the immediate

aftermath of the cold war, the 26th

Session of the Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment held in June 1990, expressed its determination to work for the speedy and

peaceful resolution of all the conflicts in Africa. Three years later the OAU Heads ofState adopted their "Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government onthe Establishment, within the OAU, of a Mechanism for Conflict Prevention,Management and Resolution" during the 29th Ordinary Summit in Cairo in June 1993.

The Mechanism sought to focus on anticipating and preventing situations of potentialconflict from developing into full-blown conflicts with an emphasis on anticipatory and

preventive measures.

The Mechanism was built around a Central Organ, with the Secretary General and the

Secretariat of the OAU together constituting its operational arm. It established a specialPeace Fund to finance its operational activities and established a Centre for ConflictManagement within the General Secretariat for the purpose of providing financialresources to exclusively support AU operational activities relating to conflictmanagement and resolution. The Peace Fund consists of 6% of the financialappropriations from the regular budget of the AU, voluntary contributions from AUMember States as well as from other sources within Africa. The Chairman may, with theconsent of the Central Organ, also accept voluntary contributions from sources outsideAfrica.


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The Central Organ was composed of the incoming, outgoing and current country thatchaired the OAU, as well as the Bureau (composed of three countries from each ofAfricas five regions). Similar to its successor, the Peace and Security Council, theCentral Organ functioned at the level of Heads of State, Ministers and Ambassadorsaccredited to the OAU. The Central Organ assumed the overall direction of theMechanism in between Ordinary Sessions of the Assembly of Heads of State and

Government.

In June 1995, the OAU summit endorsed the establishment of an Early WarningNetwork, based on a co-ordinating facility located in the Conflict Management Centreand linked to various focal points as sources of information within the various regionalstructures such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the IntergovernmentalAuthority on Development (IGAD).

During these and subsequent years the OAU engaged in a number of measures totranslate early warning information into action. These included fact-finding missions,small preventive or observer missions (such as those of the UN and OAU in Burundi and

more recently to the Comoros), and the use of a special envoy or a similar eminentperson, evident in the DR Congo where former President Masire was appointed asfacilitator.

The African Mission in Burundi (AMIB), potentially consisting of 2 300 troops with atotal annual cost of $121 million, was the AUs most ambitious engagement to date.While South Africa could, at a stretch, fund its own participation, neither of the othertroop contributing countries, Ethiopia and Mozambique, can do so. Thus the US steppedin support Ethiopian preparations for AMIB and the UK to provide equipment (sourcedfrom South Africa) for Mozambique. The EU had also committed 10 million to supportAMIB, as well as a number of smaller donors.

Faced with the impossible situation of a shortfall of more than US$ 150 million, the AUand EU revealed, at the Maputo Summit of July 2003, an innovative initiative that, onceestablished, could overcome some of the problems. The Peace Facility proposes toestablish an African peacekeeping fund of up to 250 million by carving off 1,5% of theEU assistance provided to each African country and placing it at the disposal of theUnion.

In accordance with the decision of the 2001 Lusaka Summit, the Central Organ wasincorporated as an institution of the African Union on 26 th December 2003 when theProtocol establishing the Peace and Security Council (see section 5.2) entered into forcehaving received the required 27 ratifications.

5. OBJECTIVES:

The objectives outlined in the OAU Charter were to promote the unity and solidarity ofAfrican States; co-ordinate and intensify their co-operation and efforts to achieve a betterlife for the peoples of Africa; defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity andindependence; eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; promote international co-operation, giving due regard to the charter of the United Nations and the Universal


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Declaration of Human Rights; co-ordinate and harmonise members' political, diplomatic,economic, educational, cultural, health, welfare, scientific, technical and defence

policies.

In general, the African Union objectives are more comprehensive than those of the OAU.The objectives of the African Union, as contained in the Constitutive Act (Article 3), are

to:

Achieve greater unity and solidarity between African countries and thepeoples of Africa;

Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its MemberStates;

Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;

Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to thecontinent and its peoples;

Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of theUnited Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent;

Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and goodgovernance;

Promote and protect human peoples rights in accordance with the AfricanCharter on Human and Peoples Rights and other relevant human rightsinstruments;

Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play itsrightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations;

Promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels aswell as the integration of African economies;

Promote cooperation in all fields of human activity to raise the livingstandards of African peoples;

Coordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and futureRegional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives

of the Union;

Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields,in particular in science and technology; and

Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventablediseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.


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6. STRUCTURE:

The Constitutive Act of the African Union provides for an Assembly of Heads of Statesand Government as the supreme organ of the Union which, as with the OAU Summit,meets annually. The Executive Council in turn is composed of the Ministers of ForeignAffairs of Member States and meets twice a year in ordinary session, similar to its

predecessor, the OAU Council of Ministers. The Permanent Representatives Committee,composed of Permanent Representatives to the Headquarters of the Union in AddisAbaba, meets every month.

6.1 The Commission

The Commission serves as the secretariat of the Union. Article 2 of the Statutes of theCommission determines that the Commission is composed of a Chairperson, a DeputyChairperson and eight Commissioners, although the Assembly may review this number.The Assembly determines the structure, functions, regulations and size of theCommission and elects the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the Commission.

According to the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly each of Africas five regions isentitled to two of the ten Commissioners. The Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson maynot be from the same region and are elected by a two-thirds majority vote of theAssembly. According to Article 6 of the Statutes at least one Commissioner from eachregion must be a woman. All 10 Commissioners are required to be competent womenor men with proven experience in the relevant field, commensurate leadership qualitiesand a good track record in government, parliament, international organizations or otherrelevant sectors of society.

The Assembly endorses the 8 Commissioners elected by the Executive Council elected,on a regional basis, by secret ballot. The Commissioners may serve for a maximum oftwo terms of 4 years.

The Chairperson of the Commission is directly responsible to the Executive Council forthe effective discharge of his/her duties and serves as:

The Chief Executive Officer;

The legal representative of the Union; and

The Accounting Officer of the Commission.

If read together with the relevant provisions (Articles 9 and 10) in the Protocol on thePSC, the Chairperson of the Commission will eventually assume much of the political

leadership regarding conflict prevention and mediation previously largely assigned to the(annual) Chairperson of the Assembly.

During the Maputo Summit in 2003 former President of Mali, Alpha Oumar Konare waselected to serve as chairperson of the Commission and Mr Patrick Mazimhaka fromRwanda as deputy chairperson. The Deputy Chairperson is in charge of theadministration and finance of the Commission and acts as Chairperson when required.


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According to Article 12 of the Statutes the portfolios of the Commission (with the namesof the Commissioners who assumed office on 1st September 2003) are as follows:

Peace and Security (Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, andCombating Terrorism) Amb Sad Djinnit from Algeria

Political Affairs (Human Rights, Democracy, Good Governance, ElectoralInstitutions, Civil Society Organizations, Humanitarian Affairs, Refugees,Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons) Ms Julia Dolly Joiner from TheGambia

Infrastructure and Energy (Energy, Transport, Communications, Infrastructureand Tourism) Mr Bernard Zoba from Congo-Brazzaville

Social Affairs (Health, Children, Drug Control, Population, Migration, Labourand Employment, Sports and Culture) Adv (Ms) Bience Philomina Gawanasfrom Nambia

Human Resources, Science and Technology (Education, InformationTechnology Communication, Youth, Human Resources, Science andTechnology) Dr Nagia Mohammed Assayed from Libya

Trade and Industry (Trade, Industry, Customs and Immigration Matters) MsElisabeth Tankeu from Cameroon

Rural Economy and Agriculture (Rural Economy, Agriculture and FoodSecurity, Livestock, Environment, Water and Natural Resources andDesertification) Ms Rosebud Kurwijila from Tanzania

Economic Affairs (Economic Integration, Monetary Affairs, Private Sector

Development, Investment and Resource Mobilization) Dr M MMkawezalaba from Malawi.

Since gender issues are crosscutting through all the portfolios of theCommission, a special unit was established in the Office of the Chairperson tocoordinate all activities and programmes of the Commission related to genderissues.

New organs of the AU, which are in various stages of implementation, include the Peaceand Security Council, the Pan African Parliament, the African Court of Justice, theEconomic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), three envisaged financialinstitutions (an African Central Bank, African Investment Bank and African Monetary

Fund) and seven specialized technical committees.

6.2 The Peace and Security Council

The Protocol Establishing the Peace and Security Council entered into force on 26December 2003 and replaced the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Managementand Resolution as a standing decision-making organ for the prevention,


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management and resolution of conflicts. The Peace and Security Council shall be acollective security and early-warning arrangement to facilitate timely and efficientresponse to conflict and crisis situations in Africa. The Peace and Security Council shall

be supported by the Commission, a Panel of the Wise, a Continental Early WarningSystem, an African Standby Force and a Special Fund. (Art 5(2) of the ConstitutiveAct).

According to Article 5 of the Protocol the Peace and Security Council is composed of 15Members elected on the basis of equal rights, of which 10 serve for two years and 5 forthree years. The Council meets at least twice a month at the level of PermanentRepresentatives, and annually at the level of Ministers and Heads of State andGovernment. The Protocol on the Peace and Security Council provides that meetings ofthe Council are to be closed, but that the Council may decide to hold open meetingsduring which civil society organization involved and/or interested in a conflict or asituation under consideration by the Peace and Security Council may be invited to

participate, without the right to vote, in the discussion relating to that conflict orsituation. Perhaps more important than participation in open meetings of the Peace andSecurity Council, the Council may also hold informal consultation with civil society

organizations as may be needed for the discharge of its responsibilities.

Countries standing for election have to meet the following criteria:

Commitment to uphold the principles of the Union;

Contribution to the promotion and maintenance of peace and security in Africa in this respect, experience in peace support operations would be an addedadvantage;

Capacity and commitment to shoulder the responsibilities entailed inmembership;

Participation in conflict resolution, peace-making and peacebuilding atregional and continental levels;

Willingness and ability to take up responsibility for regional and continentalconflict resolution initiatives;

Contribution to the Peace Fund and/or Special Fund created for specificpurpose;

Respect for constitutional governance, in accordance with the LomDeclaration, as well as the rule of law and human rights;

Having sufficiently staffed and equipped Permanent Missions at theHeadquarters of the Union and the United Nations, to be able to shoulder theresponsibilities which go with the membership; and

Commitment to honour financial obligations to the Union.

A retiring Member of the Peace and Security Council is eligible for immediate re-election.


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Article 11 provides for the establishment of a Panel of the Wise in order to support theefforts of the Peace and Security Council and those of the Chairperson of theCommission, particularly in the area of conflict prevention. The Panel will be composedof five highly respected African personalities selected by the Chairperson of theCommission after consultation with the Member States concerned, on the basis ofregional representation and appointed by the Assembly to serve for a period of three

years.

Article 12 provides for the establishment of a Continental Early Warning System. Onceestablished, the heart of the Continental Early Warning System will consist of a SituationRoom that will be part of the Peace and Security Department. The Situation Room will,in turn, be linked to the observation and monitoring units of regional organizations suchas those being established within the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS). These are to collect and process data at their respective levels and transmitthe same to the continental Situation Room.

The CEWS is specifically mandated to collaborate with the United Nations, its agencies,other relevant international organizations, research centres, academic institutions and

NGOs. The information gathered through the CEWS will then be used timeously toadvise the Peace and Security Council on potential conflicts and threats to peace andsecurity in Africa and recommend the best course of action. The Chairperson of theCommission shall also use this information for the execution of the responsibilities andfunctions entrusted to him/her under the present Protocol [on the Peace and SecurityCouncil].

The PSC Protocol determines that the Continental Early Warning System is to collectand analyze country data on the basis of an appropriate early warning indicatorsmodule. This module must be based on political, economic, social, military andhumanitarian indicators.

Article 13 provides for the establishment of an African Standby Force composed ofstandby multidisciplinary contingents, with civilian and military components in theircountries of origin and ready for rapid deployment at appropriate notice. The Forceshall, inter alia, perform functions in the following areas:

Observation and monitoring missions;

Other types of peace support missions;

Intervention in a Member State in respect of grave circumstances or at therequest of a Member State in order to restore peace and security, in accordancewith Article 4(h) and (j) of the Constitutive Act;

Preventive deployment;

Peace-building, including post-conflict disarmament and demobilization;

Humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of civilian population inconflict areas and support efforts to address major natural disasters; and


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Any other functions as may be mandated by the Peace and Security Council orthe Assembly.

These operations will be funded by assessed contributions from Member States based ontheir contributions to the regular budget of the Union (Article 21).

A series of meetings of African Chiefs of Defence Staff and Ministers of Defence andSecurity took place in 2003 and 2004 to flesh out the details of the African StandbyForce and the Common African Defence and Security Policy. A draft framework for thelatter was agreed upon by Minister of Defence and Security in January 2004. At theirSecond Extra-Ordinary Session in Sirt in February 2004, Africas leaders confirmedtheir intention to establish an African Standby Force and adopted a Solemn Declarationon a Common African Defence and Security Policy. The Executive Council meetingheld prior to the Assembly came to the conclusion that the proposal from Libya for asingle African army was ahead of its time, and that the AU should rather focus on thecreation of the standby force.

The Solemn Declaration commits member states to the process of developing a

common position on matters relating to defence, to promote mutual trust andconfidence among African States in the area of defence and security, and to cooperatein defence matters, through training of military personnel; exchange of militaryintelligence and information (subject to restrictions imposed by national security); thedevelopment of military doctrine; and building of collective capacity.

Finally, the Military Staff Committee composed of the Chiefs of Defence Staff or theirrepresentatives (of the countries serving on the PSC) will advise and assist the Council inall questions relating to military and security requirements.

7. THE PAN-AFRICAN PARLIAMENT

The Protocol Establishing the Pan-African Parliament entered into force on 14 December2003. The Parliament was inaugurated in Addis Ababa on 18 March 2004 and held itsfirst session in Addis Ababa from 18-20 March 2004. According to Article 2(3) of theProtocol to the AEC Treaty that established the Parliament: The ultimate aim of thePan-African Parliament shall be to evolve into an institution with full legislative powers,whose members are elected by universal adult suffrage. However, until such time as theMember States decide otherwise by an amendment to this Protocol:

The Pan-African Parliament shall have consultative and advisory powers only;and

The Members of the Pan-African Parliament shall be appointed ... [i.e. notelected]

Article 2 also states that the parliamentarians represent all the people of Africa and thatthe five MPs chosen from each country must reflect the diversity of political opinions ineach National Parliament or deliberative organ.


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8. THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES

RIGHTS

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights was establishment in 1987.

Situated in the Gambian capital of Banjul, the Commission is severely under-funded andnot well known. It submits reports to the Assembly of the Union.

The Commission is composed of eleven members elected by secret ballot by theAssembly for a six year renewable term. The members serve in their personal andindividual capacity. It elects among its members a Chairman and Vice-Chairman for atwo year renewable period, the Secretary to the Commission being appointed by theChairperson of the Commission of the African Union.

The Commission holds two ordinary sessions per year and may meet, if need be, inextraordinary sessions. It may invite States, national liberation movements andspecialized institutions to take part in public sittings, which may also be attended by non-

governmental organizations with observer status.

The Commission is officially charged with the promotion and protection of human andpeoples' rights and the interpretation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples'Rights.

Within the framework of its protective role, the Commission is charged with ensuringthe protection of human and peoples' rights under the conditions laid down by theCharter and according to the rules provided for in the Rules of Procedure of theCommission.

Within the framework of its role of interpreting the African Charter on Human and

Peoples' Rights, the Commission is charged with interpreting all provisions of theCharter at the request of a State Party, an institution of the African Union or an AfricanOrganization recognized by the AU.

9. AFRICAN COURT ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES RIGHTS

The Protocol for the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rightsentered into force on 25 January 2004. The protocol entered into force five and a halfyears after adoption after ratification by the required 15 member states. It has the

potential to establish a powerful mechanism for the enforcement of the human rights

commitments contained in the AU Constitutive Act, the African Charter on Human andPeoples Rights and its additional protocols on the rights of women, children andrefugees.

The Court will have the power to order compensation or reparations to victims of humanrights violations. It has a wide jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of theAfrican Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and any other relevant human rightsinstrument ratified by the States concerned. (Article 3).


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As it stands, the Protocol allows only African governments and intergovernmentalorganisations, such as SADC or ECOWAS, as well as the African Commission onHuman and Peoples Rights, to bring cases before the Court. Article 34(6) provides foran additional declaration to be signed by a state party when it ratified the Protocol,accepting the competence of the court to receive cases from NGOs and individuals. Sofar, Burkina Faso is the only country to have made such a declaration.

10. THE AU AND CIVIL SOCIETY

The Constitutive Act of the AU lists as one of its objectives: to build a partnershipbetween governments and all segments of civil society promote democratic principlesand institutions, popular participation and good governance [and] participation of theAfrican peoples in the activities of the Union. There are essentially three vehicles forCSO engagement with the Union, namely accreditation to the AU, representation onECOSOCC and through the Pan-African Parliament, being comprised of MPs asrepresentatives of the people.

According to the draft Statutes of ECOSOCC, the Council will be composed of 150 Civil

Society Organizations (CSOs) representing social groups such as women, youth, theelderly and disabled persons; professional groups such as doctors, lawyers, media and

business organisations; NGOs and community based organisations; organisations ofworkers and employers; and traditional leaders, academia, religious and culturalassociations.

Of the 150 members, there will be two from each Member State; 24 transnationalsectoral CSOs selected at regional and continental level; and 20 representing the AfricanDiaspora. A fifty percent gender equality principle applies to this membership.Importantly, the draft protocol provides for a Selection Committee, made up of CSOs, toinvite candidatures for membership to ECOSOCC and process applications formembership.

This profile was compiled by the Institute for Security Studies. Please send commentsand/or corrections to: [email protected]


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Fig.1: ORGANOGRAM OF THE AFRICAN UNION

Pan-African

Parliament

Court of Justice

Economic , Social

and

Cultural Council

7 Specialized

Technical Committees

of Ministers or senior officials

African Cent ral

Bank

African Monetary

Fund

African Investment

Bank

Permanent Representatives

Committee

Monthly

Commission

Executive Council of Min of FA

Bi-Annually

Assembly of HoS

Annuall y


16/17

AU PROFILE

16

Fig.2: ORGANOGRAM OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL

Peace and Security Council (15 countries)

Permanent

Representativeslevel

Assemb ly of Heads of Stateof the African Union

Heads o f State level

Ministers level

Commission andSecretariat

Early WarningSystem

Panel o fthe Wise

AfricanStandby Force

Military StaffCommittee

Peace Fund


17/17

AU PROFILE

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Fig.3: ORGANOGRAM OF THE AU COMMISSION

Deputy Chairperson of theCommission

Chairperson of the

Commission

Commissioners

Peace and Security; Political Affairs, Infrastructure and Energy; Social Affairs;Human Resources, Science and Technology; Trade and Industry; Rural Economy

and Agriculture; Economic Affairs.

AUprifile Union African

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