AU policy organs

The AU policy organs are the institutional bodies established under the Constitutive Act of the African Union (adopted in Lomé, 2000; entered into force 2001) that formulate, adopt, and oversee the implementation of African Union policy. They form a layered decision-making architecture rather than a single legislature.

The principal policy organs are:

• The Assembly of the Union — composed of heads of state and government, it is the supreme organ and meets at least once a year in ordinary session. It determines common policies and monitors implementation.
• The Executive Council — made up of foreign ministers (or other designated ministers), it prepares Assembly decisions and coordinates policies on matters of common interest such as trade, social security, and environment.
• The Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) — composed of ambassadors accredited to the AU in Addis Ababa, it prepares the work of the Executive Council and acts on its instructions.
• The Specialised Technical Committees (STCs) — ministerial-level sectoral committees (e.g. on finance, agriculture, justice, health) that provide technical input.
• The Peace and Security Council (PSC) — established by a 2002 Protocol that entered into force in 2003; a standing decision-making organ for conflict prevention, management, and resolution.

Other bodies in the wider AU system — such as the Pan-African Parliament, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, ECOSOCC, and the African Court of Justice and Human Rights — contribute to policy but are typically classified separately as legislative, judicial, or advisory organs. The AU Commission, headquartered in Addis Ababa, serves as the secretariat and implementing arm.

For Model UN delegates simulating AU committees, the most common policy organ replicated is the Assembly or the PSC, with decisions usually taken by consensus, and failing that by a two-thirds majority of member states (a simple majority suffices for procedural matters), per Article 7 of the Constitutive Act.