The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).

The main objectives of the OAU were to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonisation and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity amongst African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development; to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation. The OAU Charter spelled out the purpose of the Organisation namely:

• To promote the unity and solidarity of the African States;
• To coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa;
• To defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity and independence;
• To eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; and
• To promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The AU is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”

The Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African Union lay out the aims of the AU which are:

• Achieve greater unity and solidarity between African countries and their the people
• Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States;
• Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;
• Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;
• Encourage international cooperation
• Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent;
• Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance;
• Promote and protect human and peoples’ rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;
• Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations;
• Promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies;
• Promote cooperation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples;
• Coordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union;
• Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology
• Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.
• Ensure the effective participation of women in decision-making, particularly in the political, economic and socio-cultural areas;
• Develop and promote common policies on trade, defence and foreign relations to ensure the defence of the Continent and the strengthening of its negotiating positions;
• Invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union.