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It was during the early 20th century that the idea
of African unity was first conceived through the movement of
pan-Africanism. Preliminary steps were taken during the London,
Paris, London-Brussels, London-Lisbon, New York and Manchester
Conferences in 1900, 1919, 1921, 1923, 1927 and 1945. During
those conferences, the primary concept of African unity was
developed. Similar events followed in Accra, Ghana (1958) and
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (1960). In those later conferences,
means were discussed as to how political cooperation could be
promoted among the movement's members. Additional conferences
were also held in Accra, Ghana (1958), in Tunis, Tunisia and
in Cairo Egypt (1961). |
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Among
the most consequential results of these meetings and conferences
was the creation of three groups. The first of which was the
Brazzaville
Group, mainly comprised of former French colonies: Central
African Republic, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, People's Republic of
Congo, Dahomey, Mauritania, Gabon, Upper Volta (Burkina Faso),
Senegal, Niger, Chad and Madagascar. This group stood for a
gradual approach to the concept of African unity, starting with
regional, economic and cultural cooperation. It signed the Brazzaville
Charter on 19 December 1960, which became operational on 12
September 1961. The second was the Monrovia
Group, which consisted of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Togo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Senegal, Dahomey, Malagasy Republic,
Chad, Upper Volta, Niger, People's Republic of Congo, Gabon,
Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tunisia. This
group, like the Brazzaville Group, preferred a gradual approach
to African unity. The third was the Casablanca
Group, consisting of Ghana, Mali, Guinea, the United Arab
Republic, and the Algerian Provisional Government. This group
was led by the then President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, and was
perceived to be radical. It nevertheless included the conservative
Kingdom of Morocco. The Casablanca Group advocated an immediate
union of the African continent, with the main objective of promoting
political, economic, and military cooperation as methods of
combating Western imperialism. In January 1961, the
Casablanca Charter was embraced, making African independence
a primary goal. These moves set the scene for the creation of
the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). |
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The
Organisation of African Unity was established on May 25, 1963,
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the auspices of the institutional
conference, which was held at two levels. First, at the foreign
ministers level, 30 independent African countries participated
and decisions were adopted through which committees were created
to promote cooperation in all fields. Second, at the summit
level, African Heads of State and Government called, inter
alia, for federal unity so as to achieve the goals and aspirations
of their peoples. The
Charter of the Organisation of African Unity was signed
on the same day, by the Heads of State and Government of 32
independent African States, with a further 21 states joining
in over the years. |
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The
main aim of the OAU is to promote unity and solidarity among
African States, coordinate and intensify efforts to achieve
a better life for African people, defend the principles of sovereignty,
territorial integrity and independence, eradicate all forms
of colonialism from Africa, promote international cooperation,
giving due regard to the
Charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and coordinate and
harmonize members' political, diplomatic, economic, educational,
cultural, health, welfare, scientific, technical and defensive
policies. |
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The OAU
has three major governing bodies: the Assembly of the Heads
of State and Governments, the Council of Ministers, and the
General Secretariat. The Assembly consists of a representative
from each member nation. It meets once a year to consider
recommendations from the Council of Ministers. Each year a
different African leader becomes Chair of the OAU and handles
disputes among member states. On the other hand, the Council
of Ministers is headed by the Foreign Minister of each member
nation, or such minister designated by member states. It meets
at least twice during the year to recommend policies and actions
to the Assembly, and is accountable to the Heads of State
and Government. Furthermore, the Council considers and approves
the Program Budget of the Union. The General Secretariat,
which is situated in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is headed by the
Secretary General, who is elected by the Assembly of Heads
of State and Government to a four-year term. His functions
are carried out according to the Charter
and the Abuja
Treaty, establishing the African Economic Community, and
other treaties. The Secretary General is supported by five
Assistant Secretaries General, who are also elected by the
Assembly of the Heads of Sate and Government. Under the supervision
of the Secretary General, the General Secretariat services
all AU meetings, implements decisions and resolutions of the
Assembly of Heads of State and Government, conducts the daily
work of the Union, and ensures policy coordination among Member
States. All work is divided according to organisational activities.
The Office of the Secretary General compromises four units:
the Bureau
of the Secretary General, the Office of the Financial
Controller, the Office of the Legal Council, and finally the
Protocol Services Unit.
As for departments, they are divided as follows:
Policy and Program Coordination Department,
Political Affairs Department,
Community Affairs Department,
Communication and Conference Department, and finally the
Administration and Finance Department.
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The
OAU has played a paramount role in resolving the most complex
of issues surrounding mainly the elimination of imperialism
and racial discrimination on the continent. The economic problems
also feature quite highly on the OAU agenda. Extensive efforts
have been made by the regional body to revive Africa's economic
development status, in the spheres of: the shortage of funds
and trained labour, the decline in the prices of raw materials,
and finally in the new tough trading laws and terms. |
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Moreover,
a strategy has been implemented at the OAU-sponsored Economic
Summit in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1980 to create an African economic
market by the year 2000. Since Africa's debt problem represents
yet another of the OAU's major concerns. A strategy has been
developed for a united African position, according to which
a comprehensive approach to creditor-recipient responsibility
sharing is adopted. Africa believes it to be quite unfair for
it to be forced to stand alone shouldering this burden in addition
to addressing such issues as backwardness and faltering development.
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As
the OAU strives to solve African problems, it faces multiple
problems and challenges:
- The
failed payment by member states of debt estimated to be
more than US$50 million.
- Western
monopolies imposed on peacemaking efforts, technology and
financial resources, which greatly hinders any African effort
to enter these domains.
- The
re-channeling of European and American financial and technological
assistance back to the North at the expense of the poorer
countries of the South.
- The
conditionality of including Israel as a fourth party compeled
the US to implement a Cairo-proposed offer to have Egypt,
Europe and the US providing technical assistance to Africa.
- The
appealing stance of African countries to Western powers
in relation to the abundance of plutonium and uranium.
- The
terms imposed by creditor-nations in relation to the implementation
of economic and political reform programs, which African
leaders believe are tailored to suit European circumstances
and needs.
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Despite
these problems, the OAU has attained a number of successes over
the years. It mediated border disputes between Algeria and Morocco
in 1964 and 1965. It also mediated the border conflicts of Somalia
with Ethiopia and Kenya from 1968 to 1970. The OAU formed the
African Liberation Committee in 1963 to channel financial support
to movements trying to defeat Portuguese colonial rule in Guinea-Bissau,
Angola and Mozambique. Those movements were victorious in 1974,
it also supported movements against white minority rule in South
Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. South Africa was excluded from
OAU membership until 1994, when the policy of racial segregation
ended. |
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The
Union sent an observer mission to the United Nations (UN) in
1963,and coordinated actions among African nations at the UN.
It also prompted the decisions that led to South Africa's exclusion
from the UN's General Assembly in 1974, and to the admission
of the People's Republic of China to the UN in 1971.
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The
OAU, during the 1990's, experienced a revival due to the establishment
of new mechanisms for conflict resolution, and the setting up
of a peace fund in 1992 to deal with the growing number of African
conflicts. Furthermore, during 1993 the OAU sent peacekeepers
to Liberia to support other peacekeeping missions trying to
end the civil war there. In 1994 African nations ratified an
OAU initiative to establish an African Economic Community that
would promote trade between African nations and remove tariffs
and other restrictions that hamper trade and commercial exchange.
The African Economic Community would also work to establish
a common currency in Africa. Furthermore, the OAU received another
boost when South Africa became a member in 1994, after the end
of apartheid, which utilised its position to help encourage
peace, democracy and economic development in Africa. |
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All
of the above information was taken from the following sites:
- The
African Union.
- Magnarella,
Paul J. Achieving
Human Rights in Africa.
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