Transition to the African Union
...ay that OAU was a bureaucracy and only served to protect the African heads of state and never really dealt with the real problems that afflicted the continent. The OAU was so damaging that it did very little to boost the economies of Africa as well as Africans. It also did little to rid the AIDS and other diseases that plague the countries as well as the mass starvation. It was merely a trade union for the dictators of the states. “The OAU is a private club for friends, it preserves the interests of African heads of state instead of addressing the real problems that are tearing apart Africa…the OAU has been irrelevant.” Libyan leader Moammar Gadafi first proposed the AU. His idea was for a more effective institution because through out the years, the world had begun to the see the uselessness of the OAU. In September of 1999 the heads of state government adopted the Sirte Declaration. This declaration called to dissolve the OAU and establish the African Union. After this the OAU in 2000, produced a Constitutive Act in which the African Union follows. The act extends it services from the OAU. This act was the major stepping-stone in the transition from the OAU to the African Union. In addition to the original promises of the OAU, the act “obligates member states to promote gender equality and social justice, ensure balanced economic development, and to condemn and reject impunity and unconstitutional changes of government.” The Act provides the power of the Union to intervene if conflict arises between two member states in such things as genocide, war crimes, and denouncing human rights. After much negotiation the African Union was officially launched in Durban, South Africa on July 9, 2002 to replace the OAU. It is expected to be more powerful than the OAU. The “African Union, a relatively new name in the political landscape. Born out of a desire to receive a much maligned continent, ravaged by exploitation, oppression, war, and hunger, these initiatives have formed part of a concerted drive by African leaders to put the continent on a track towards sustainable growth and development.” The structure of the African Union is based loosely on the European Union. But unlike the EU who is a large regional organization that mainly promotes economic cooperation. The AU is aimed mainly to work to control and manage conflict in their regions. The African Union sustains the sovereignty and the equality and the independence for its 53 member states. It aims to promote peace, security, and solidarity. The African Union is a legitimate international organization and consists of the following 10 organs; the Assembly, the Executive Council, the Permanent Representatives Committee, the Commission, the Specialized Technical Committees, the Pan African Parliament, the Court of Justice, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council, the Financial Institutions, and finally the Peace and Security Council. All of these committees serve as functional entities that allow the AU to flow and exist. All perform what Abbot and Snidal call formalized missions. The Assembly is the supreme organ of the Union, it meets at least once a year and is composed of the Heads of States of all member states. The Assembly determines the policies of the Union, adopts the budget, and manages the executive council all of course with a two-thirds majority vote. The Executive Council is made up of the ministers of foreign affairs of member states. It decides on matters like foreign trade, social security, food, agriculture, and communications. The Permanent Representatives Committee smaller than the previous. It is made up of ambassadors to the AU and is responsible for preparing the work for the executive council. The Commission is the secretariat. It is made up of a chairman, a deputy, and eight commissioners. It deals with administrative issues such as an office would. It also is responsible for activities and meeting. It is here were states go to apply for membership. The Specialized Technical Committee acts as the bank for the Union, in other words it deals with the monetary and financial issues, the economy, trade, industry, technology and science. They implement projects and programs for the African Union. The body that ensures civil society participation is the Pan African Parliament. In here there are elected representatives nominated each from the five regions of Africa. The Court of Justice is just that, it’s the court for the Union to punish or impose sanctions on member states that act out. The Economic, Social and Cultural Council act as the advisory function. States can go here for advice because it’s made up of professionals and civic representatives. The Financial institutions are there to provide for funding for projects and programs. There are three financial institutions, African Central Bank, the African Monetary Fund, and the African Investment bank. The last organ in the African Union is the Peace and Security Council. This council has 15 members who are responsible for monitoring and intervening in conflicts. They act as a security or police to any threats on the continent. They have the African force at their fingertips. “The event of the African Union can be described as an event of great magnitude in the institutional evolution of the continent.” Although it is to early to detect the future of the AU since it has only been in the works for two or so years. It has already made many achievements such as transfer assets and liabilities from the OAU to the AU, finalize the protocol on the Pan-African Parliament, complete the studies on financing the AU, and these are just a few of the accomplishments. In addition to the missions set forth by the Sirte Declaration and the Consitutive Act, there are informal tasks described by Abbo...