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Africa |
OAU
The African Union will be a pan-African body
with strong political and economic
ties intended to
take the place of the current Organisation of African Unity
On May 25, 1963 the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) charter was signed by member countries, with the noble aims of: Promoting the unity and solidarity of African states; defending the sovereignty of member-states; working for human rights; eradicating poverty and the vestiges of colonialism.
Twenty-eight years later (March 2001), 52 African leaders dutifully went to Libya to lay the foundation for the formation of the African Union which is to replace the fading OAU. They ended their summit with the Sirte II Declaration on the African Union. The OAU‘s Secretary-General, proclaimed: «The Assembly of Heads of State and Government proudly declares the African Union by a unanimous decision».
The African Union has not yet come into being. This cannot happen until the Treaty (signed in July 2000) setting up the new Pan-African body, is ratified by two-thirds of member-states. By Sirte II, 32 out of the 53 OAU member states had ratified the Treaty, while others had not done so because of legal procedures.
The African Union’s institutions will include: An assembly of heads of state and government; a council of foreign ministers or ministers responsible for the union; a parliament and a court of justice.
Member states who have not yet signed or ratified the Treaty are expected to do so before July, when the ordinary OAU Summit is scheduled to take place in Lusaka, Zambia.
Africa’s «Marshall Plan»
The African Union is also expected to provide the framework for the launch of an ambitious new plan which South Africa’ President Thabo Mbeki has dubbed the «African Marshall Plan». The plan will suggest ways of dealing with conflict, poverty and disease in the continent. Mbeki, Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo have been drafting the plan called the «Millennium Africa Renaissance Programme».
However, some leaders like Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade have already started attacking «Africa’s Marshall Plan» even before it has taken root. «It’s not a Marshall Plan we need, it’s something new... There is no reason to talk about a Marshall Plan for Africa,» Abdoulaye Wade says. «We don’t have roads, we don’t have ports, we don’t have airports. I would suggest a world summit to establish a world authority whose job would be to develop infrastructures and education in Africa».
But by working towards the establishment of the African Union, the first necessary step towards the implementation of Africa’s Marshall Plan may have already been taken.
Question remain: Why establish the African Union when there is already the OAU and will the African Union succeed where the OAU has failed?
It was ironic that even as Africa’s leaders were discussing African unity, regional and ethnic conflicts continued across the continent.
Thousands of black Africans have been deported from Libya, where the summit was held. Gangs of Libyans beat up black Africans, dragging them from their cars or storming their workplaces in what was described as a deliberate campaign against black workers.
The trial of some 331 people, including Libyans and immigrant workers mostly from Chad, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria, on charges of stirring up civil strife and attempting to derail Gaddafi’s African unity drive, was suspended during the summit, to spare Gaddafi any embarrassment. The government blamed Libyans as well as African workers for the violent clashes last September, in which six people were reported as having been killed.
The fact is, many countries — Angola, Congo RDC, Sierra Leone, to name just a few — are experiencing unrest which does nothing to help the cause of African unity. During its more than 40 years of existence, the OAU has found itself saddled with disputes that threatened to tear it apart. These issues with their attendant problems will be inherited by the African Union.
But there is no denying that Libya’s leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is the biggest winner. Libya has been very generous with its financial support of poorer African countries.
It must be remembered that Libya settled the financial arrears of 10 member countries so that they could attend and vote on OAU resolutions.
The establishment of the Union is also a major coup for Gaddafi against the West, especially against the USA. It presents an opportunity for him to spread his hegemony over the African continent. Some African countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa are already calling for the lifting of sanctions on Libya. While it is true that there is no going back on the establishment of the African Union, there are a lot more questions to be answered.
It is hoped that the Union will not be used as Gaddaffi’s toy to settle scores with the West.
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