1963–2002 CE · Africa · Rights
From the Organisation of African Unity to the African Union
Independent African states built continental institutions to support liberation, sovereignty and cooperation. The OAU and its successor, the AU, belong to different stages of that project.
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A continental institution after independence
In May 1963, leaders of 32 independent African states met in Addis Ababa to establish the Organisation of African Unity. Its programme linked solidarity among independent states with the elimination of colonialism and apartheid. Independence was becoming a collective diplomatic project as well as a series of national milestones.
From coordination to integration
The Sirte Declaration of 9 September 1999 called for an African Union. The AU was launched in Durban in July 2002 as the OAU’s successor. Its institutional programme placed greater emphasis on integration and cooperation across the continent. The change did not mean that sovereignty, uneven development or conflict had been resolved; it altered the institutions through which states sought to address them.
Read charters alongside outcomes
An institution’s account of its founding explains its declared purposes. Assessing its achievements requires separate evidence about implementation, resources and the experiences of citizens. Founding an organisation and fulfilling its programme are distinct historical questions.