Organisation of African Unity

Organisation of African Unity
Organisation de l'Unité Africaine
←
1963–2002 →
Capital n/a a
Government Not specified
Secretary-general
 •  1963–1964 Kifle Wodajo
 • 1964–1972 Diallo Telli
 • 1972–1974 Nzo Ekangaki
 • 1974–1978 William Eteki
 • 1978–1983 Edem Kodjo
 • 1983–1985 Peter Onu
 • 1985–1989 Ide Oumarou
 • 1989–2001 Salim Ahmed Salim
 • 2001–2002 Amara Essy
History
 •  Charter 25 May 1963
 •  Disbanded 9 July 2002
a Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; French: Organisation de l'unité africaine (OUA)) was established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, with 32 signatory governments.[1] It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairperson, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union (AU).

Aims

The OAU had the following primary aims:

A Liberation Committee was established to aid independence movements and look after the interests of already-independent states. The OAU also aimed to stay neutral in terms of global politics, which would prevent them from being controlled once more by outside forces – an especial danger with the Cold War.

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History of the
African Union

The OAU had other aims, too:

Soon after achieving independence, a number of African states expressed a growing desire for more unity within the continent. Not everyone was agreed on how this unity could be achieved, however, and two opinionated groups emerged in this respect:

Some of the initial discussions took place at Sanniquellie, Liberia. The dispute was eventually resolved when Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I invited the two groups to Addis Ababa, where the OAU and its headquarters were subsequently established. The Charter of the Organisation was signed by 32 independent African states.

At the time of the OAU's disbanding, 53 out of the 54 African states were members; Morocco left on 12 November 1984 following the admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the government of Western Sahara in 1982.

The organisation was widely derided as a bureaucratic "talking shop" with little power. It struggled to enforce its decisions, and its lack of armed force made intervention exceedingly difficult. Civil wars in Nigeria and Angola continued unabated for years, and the OAU could do nothing to stop them.

The policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states also limited the effectiveness of the OAU. Thus, when human rights were violated, as in Uganda under Idi Amin in the 1970s, the OAU was powerless to stop them.

The Organisation was praised by Ghanaian former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan for bringing Africans together. Nevertheless, in its 39 years of existence, critics argue that the OAU did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders, often dubbing it as a "Dictators' Club"[2] or "Dictator's Trade Union".

The OAU was, however, successful in some respects. Many of its members were members of the UN, too, and they stood together within the latter organisation to safeguard African interests – especially in respect of lingering colonialism. Its pursuit of African unity, therefore, was in some ways successful.

Total unity was difficult to achieve, however, as the OAU was largely divided. The former French colonies, still dependent on France, had formed the Monrovia Group, and there was a further split between those that supported the USA and those that supported the USSR in the Cold War of ideologies. The pro-Socialist faction was led by Kwame Nkrumah, while Félix Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast led the pro-capitalists. Because of these divisions, it was difficult for the OAU to take action against states involved in internal conflicts because it could rarely reach an agreement on what was to be done.

The OAU did, however, play a pivotal role in eradicating colonialism and white minority rule in Africa. It gave weapons, training and military bases to rebel groups fighting white minority and colonial rule. Groups such as the ANC and PAC, fighting apartheid, and ZANU and ZAPU, fighting to topple the government of Rhodesia, were aided in their endeavours by the OAU. African harbours were closed to the South African government, and South African aircraft were prohibited from flying over the rest of the continent. The UN was convinced by the OAU to expel South Africa from bodies such as the World Health Organisation.

The OAU also worked with the UN to ease refugee problems. It set up the African Development Bank for economic projects intended to make Africa financially stronger. Although all African countries eventually won their independence, it remained difficult for them to become totally independent of their former colonisers. There was often continued reliance on the former colonial powers for economic aid, which often came with strings attached: loans had to be paid back at high interest-rates, and goods had to be sold to the aiders at low rates.

The USA and USSR intervened in post-colonial Africa in pursuit of their own objectives. Help was sometimes provided in the form of technology and aid-workers. While useful, such external assistance was often perceived as not necessarily in the best interests of the former colonies. Despite the fight to keep "Westerners" (Colonialists) out of African affairs,the OAU has failed to achieve to meet goals set up to advocate African affairs. The Organisation still heavily depends on Western help (Military and Economic) to intervene in African affairs despite African leaders displeasure dealing with the international community especially Western Countries.

Autonomous specialised agencies, working under the auspices of the OAU, were:

List of Chairpersons

List of Secretaries-general

OAU Summits

Egypt´s president Nasser at the Cairo summit 1964
African Union
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It includes ordinary and extraordinary summits.

OAU members by date of admission (53 states)

Algeria, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Léopoldville).[3] Dahomey,[4] Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast,[5] Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,[6] Mali, Mauritania,[7] Morocco,[8] Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somali Republic,[9] The Sudan, Tanganyika,[10] Togo,[11] Tunisia, Uganda, Upper Volta,[12] Zanzibar[10]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Organisation of African Unity.

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.dfa.gov.za/foreign/Multilateral/africa/oau.htm
  2. ↑ News.bbc.co.uk
  3. ↑ 1966-71 and from 1997 Congo (Kinshasa); 1971–97 Zaire.
  4. ↑ From 1975 Benin.
  5. ↑ From 1985 Côte d'Ivoire.
  6. ↑ Suspended December 2001 – 10 July 2003.
  7. ↑ Suspended 4 August 2005.
  8. ↑ Withdrew 12 November 1984.
  9. ↑ See Article 1 of Law No. 20 of 23 August 1963, ratification of the Charter of OAU by the Somali Republic,
  10. 1 2 Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged 26 April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which was renamed Tanzania 1 November 1964.
  11. ↑ Suspended from 25 February 2005.
  12. ↑ From 1984 Burkina Faso.
  13. ↑ African Parliamentary Union

Further reading

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