The 33rd Assembly of the African Union was held in Addis Ababa.
The theme of the year 2020-Silencing the Guns: creating conducive for Africa’s Development
About the African Union
- It was officially launched in 2002 in Durban, South Africa as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).
- The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
- AU was established as a result of the Sirte Declaration
- Four summits which led to formation AU were:
- 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.
- 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.”
Structure of AU
- The work of the AU is implemented through several principal decision-making organs:-
- The Assembly of Heads of State and Government
- The Executive Council,
- The Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC)
- Specialized Technical Committees (STCs)
- The Peace and Security Council and the African Union Commission.
- The AU structure promotes participation of African citizens and civil society through the Pan-African Parliament and the Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC).
- Organs that handle judicial and legal matters, as well as human rights issues, include:-
- African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)
- African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR)
- AU Commission on International Law (AUCIL)
- AU Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC) and
- The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
- The AU is also working towards the establishment of continental financial institutions (The African Central Bank, The African Investment Bank and the African Monetary Fund)
- The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the African Peer Review Mechanism are also key bodies that constitute the structure of the African Union.
