The African Union (AU)

The African Union is an International Organization that encompasses the countries of Africa. Its origins go back to the Organization for African Unity (OAU), which had been founded on May 25, 1963, after the Union of African States was dissolved in 1962. The African Union (AU) was established when The member countries of the Organization for African Unity signed the Constitutive Act of the African Union held in Lomé, Togo, on July 11, 2000, entering into force on May 26, 2001. The Organization's Headquarters is in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. Since the days of the Organization for African Unity, the Institution has joined forces to fight for the best interests of the region, such as the fight it had against South Africa, for the application of the segregationist policy of Apartheid. The objectives established by the Organization are the following: 

«A) To achieve greater unity and solidarity among African countries and among the peoples of Africa;

B) Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of these member states;

C) Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;

D) Promote and defend common African positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;

E) Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

F) Promote peace, security and stability on the continent;

G) Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance;

H) Promote and protect the rights of man and of peoples in accordance with the African Charter of the Rights of Man and of Peoples, and other pertinent instruments relating to the rights of man;

I) Create the appropriate conditions that allow the continent to play the role that belongs to it in the world economy and in international negotiations;

J) Promote sustainable development in economic, social and cultural plans, as well as the integration of African economies;

K) Promote cooperation and development in all domains of human activity in view of increasing the standard of living of the African peoples;

L) Coordinate and harmonize policies between existing and future regional economic communities, in view of the gradual realization of the objectives of the Union;

M) Accelerate the development of the continent by promoting research in all domains, particularly in science and technology;

N) Work together with the other members of the international community with the objective of eradicating preventable diseases and promoting health in the continent.

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