AU

The African Union (AU) is a continental intergovernmental organization launched in 2002 in Durban, South Africa, succeeding the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which had operated since 1963. Its founding instrument is the Constitutive Act of the African Union, adopted in Lomé in 2000. The AU comprises 55 member states, covering every internationally recognized African country, and is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The AU's stated objectives include accelerating political and socio-economic integration, defending member states' sovereignty, promoting peace and security, and advancing democratic principles and human rights. Notably, Article 4(h) of the Constitutive Act establishes a right of the Union to intervene in a member state in cases of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity — a significant departure from the OAU's strict non-interference doctrine.

Key organs include:

• The Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the AU's supreme decision-making body, which meets at least once a year.
• The Executive Council, composed of foreign ministers.
• The AU Commission, the secretariat, led by a Chairperson.
• The Peace and Security Council (PSC), established by a 2002 protocol that entered into force in 2003, which authorizes peace-support operations such as AMISOM (later ATMIS) in Somalia and the AU Mission in Darfur.
• The Pan-African Parliament, seated in Midrand, South Africa.

The AU also drives flagship initiatives including Agenda 2063, adopted in 2015, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which entered into force in 2019 with trading commencing in January 2021. In 2023, the AU was admitted as a permanent member of the G20 at the New Delhi summit, elevating its profile in global economic governance. Membership has occasionally been suspended in response to unconstitutional changes of government, as with Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Gabon following coups in 2021–2023.