THE ROLE OF AFRICAN UNION (A.U.) IN PROMOTING PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA

CHAPTER ONE

1.1        INTROUCTION

In May 1963, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by the then 37 independent African nations to promote unity and development, defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of members, eradicate all forms of colonialism; promote international co-operation and co-ordinate members’ economic, diplomatic, educational, health, welfare,

scientific and defense policies.¹ The OAU was at that time, the most significant result of Pan-Africanism. The organization mediated several border and internal disputes and was instrumental in bringing about majority rule and the end of

apartheid in South Africa, which in 1994 became the 53^rd nation to be admitted to

the organization.² It should be noted that national independence pre-dominate discussion by members’ states during the early stage of the formation of OAU over continental unity. For the majority, the OAU was created to defend rather than to abolish member states.

More than 43 years have passed since the Organization of African Unity came into existence no appreciable progress has been made in the area of peace

and security because ¹Africa continent is still ravage by wars, conflicts, economic and social problems that are threatening the continent.

The Assembly of Head of States and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) recently adopted the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) to replace the Charter of the Organization of African Unity. This was done

1. Available at www.cc.columbia.edu./cu/cup/. Organization of African Unity – Encyclopedia website, page 1.

• Ibid.

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during its thirty-sixth Ordinary Session held in Lome Togo, from July 10^th to July 12^th, 2000. The formal launching of the AU took place in Durban, South Africa

from July 9^th to 10^th, 2002 which also coincided with the First Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union. In the Durban Declaration, the Assembly paid tribute to the OAU as a pioneer, a liberator, a unifier, an organizer and a soul of the African continent and to the founding leaders of the OAU for their tenacious, resilience and commitment to African Unity and for standing firm in the face of the decisive manipulations of the detractors of Africa and fighting for the integrity of Africa and the human dignity of all the people of the continent.

The OAU Charter was certainly overdue for a review as it had the feeble compromises of the late 1950s and 1960s which had consequently become an outdated instrument bearing very little likeness to today’s reality. According to the founding members of the Organization, the transformation of OAU to AU will provide a new and dynamic forum for addressing the needs of Africa. The difference between AU and OAU, they argued, is that AU will be people-oriented, it will encourage people participation; has special focus on gender issues; and most importantly the principle of non-intervention has been reversed to allow member states intervene in other member-state affairs where there are gross violations of human rights. In the new AU Charter, nine (9) Principal Organs were created instead of four (4) provided in the previous OAU Charter with wider objectives and provisions to protect human rights, address economic policy of the continent and also development strategies. There were other modalities that have been worked out to transit with the change, which include; Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Co-operation in Africa (CSSDCA) and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) which is to be seen as an

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“engine” needed by the AU to enable it move and be a much more effective

Organization.³

• The Constitutive Act of the AU and various text writers and commentators

has expressed their opinions as to the role AU is supposed to play in promoting peace and security in the continent. The proposed thesis intends to review these various opinions to see how far it has gone and whether the continental body has achieved tremendous progress in the promotion of peace and security by the AU member states as compared to what was obtained during the OAU Charter.

1.2        STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The major problems confronting the African continent today is lack of clear political and economic ideology by our leaders in addressing the many ills of the continent. The periods from 1963-1979 were one of crises and political turmoil in Africa. In many parts of the continent, there occurred boundary disputes which reflected the unhappy legacy of colonialism, political instability expressed in secessions, the grim battle for the total liberation of the dependent territories. There has been little progress in the real enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms of Africans despite the numerous treaties, resolutions and declarations executed by the OAU in recent memory. Africa still faces serious challenges in its efforts toward the realization of human rights for all due to impunity, lack of respect of the electoral process, poverty and under development, globalization, neglect of economic, social and cultural rights. It is under statement to say that the challenges facing Africa are daunting.

THE ROLE OF AFRICAN UNION (A.U.) IN PROMOTING PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA