An overview, 2003 3 african journal of human rights law journal 222. Constitutive act of the african union international. Parliament means the panafrican parliament of the union. It is the premier african human rights body, with responsibility for monitoring and promoting compliance with the african. The host president and the aus first president, thabo mbeki. Constitutive act of the african union 2000 protocol on amendments to the constitutive act of the african union links to the african union organs, agencies and instruments. Constitutive act of the african union this year marks the 50th anniversary of the oau. The protocol shall enter into force thirty days after the deposit of instruments of ratification by a twothirds majority of the member states.
The chairperson shall represent the union, during hisher tenure with a view to promoting the objectives and principles of the african union as stipulated in articles 3 and 4 of the act. Sirte summit 1999, which adopted the sirte declaration calling for the establishment of the au. The constitutive act of the african union, african courts and. The member states of the african union are the 55 sovereign states that have ratified or acceded to the constitutive act of the african union to become member states to the african union au. The role of the african union au in preventing conflicts in. Protocol to the au constitutive act, the official languages of the au and all its institutions are arabic, english, french, portuguese, spanish, kiswahili and any other african language african union 2002. The au constitutive act solemnises the declaration by africas leaders to uphold the ideals of the founding fathers of the oau and au and generations of panafricanists on the continent and the diaspora to promote unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of africa and african states. The right of intervention under the african unions constitutive act. The constitutive act of the african union sets out the codified framework under which the african union is to conduct itself. Constitutive act, and to discuss the limits of the comparison between the au and its. The eu as a model for the african union archive of european. Solemn declaration on a common african defence and security policy preamble we, the heads of state and government of member states of the african union, meeting in our second extraordinary session, in sirte, great libyan arab jamahiriya, on 28 february, 2004, 1.
Constitutive act of the african union wikisource, the free. It entered into force after two thirds of the 53 signatory states ratified the convention. Continental peace and security governance 157 india quarterly, 66, 2 2010. Lusaka summit 2001, which drew the road map for implementation of the au. The african union, too, has revisited the concept of sovereignty. Excerpted from constitutive act of the african union on wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Article 4h of the constitutive act of the african union grants the au the right to intervene in any member country pursuant to a decision of the assembly in respect of grave circumstances. Considering that since its inception, the organization of african unity has played a determining and invaluable role in the liberation of the continent, the affirmation of a common identity and the process of attainment of the unity of our continent and has provided a unique framework for our collective action in africa and in our relations with the rest of the world. The organization, simply called the african union union, comprises, among other institutions, the pan african parliament, the court ofjustice, and the central bank. The constitutive act of the african union, african courts. Pdf sovereignty and intervention under the constitutive act.
Guided by the principles enshrined in the constitutive act of the african union and in. The african unions transition from nonintervention to non. Article 2 establishment the african union is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of this act. Constitutive act of the african union, adopted july 11, 2000, oau doc. Protocol on amendments to the constitutive act of the african union adopted on. Although there have been cases of article 4htype interventions in africa, the au assembly has not yet invoked article 4h. Secretarygeneral of the organization of african unity. Heshe shall also, with the collaboration of the chairperson of the commission, carry out the functions of the assembly set out in article 9e and g of the act. The new african union and its constitutive act volume 96 issue 2 corinne a.
Any african state may, at any time after the entry into force of this act, notify the chairman of the commission of its intention to accede to this act and to be admitted as a member of the union. The constitutive act of the african union represents a serious commitment to the pro. The au was the successor to the organisation of african unity oau, and au membership was open to all oau member states. Constitutive act of the african union we, the heads of state and government of the member states of the organization of the african unity oau. The chairman of the commission shall, upon receipt of such notification, transmit copies thereof to all member states. Constitutive act of the african union the faculty of law.
It will raise a number of questions, including how the right of intervention is to be understood and why the heads of state and government thought it necessary to include it in the constitutive act, the only the author is legal adviser to the african union. Pdf icon constitutive act of the african union fr protocol on amendments to the constitutive act of the african union en protocol on amendments to the. Pdf the role of the african union in continental peace and. The president of the peoples democratic republic of algeria 2. Apr 17, 2011 the constitutive act of the african union was the codified framework by which the african union would conduct itself, it was signed in 2000 at lome, togo. Constitutive act of the african union we, heads of state and government of the member states of the organization of african unity oau. The african union is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of this act. Constitutive act the au constitutive act solemnises the declaration by africa s leaders to uphold the ideals of the founding fathers of the oau and au and generations of panafricanists on the continent and the diaspora to promote unity, solidarity, cohesion and cooperation among the peoples of africa and african states.
Parliament means the pan african parliament of the union. Naldi, the panafrican parliament of the african union. Challenges to the rule of aw in africa 7 executive summary the workshop on challenges to the rule of law in africa took place on 12 april 2016 in pretoria, south africa. To commemorate this important milestone, each day, we will feature one document from our archive of resources dating back to 1963. In total, four summits were held in the lead up to the official launching of the african union, the. The constitutive act of the union has established nine as opposed to four oau principal organs, including the assembly of the union the assembly, the executive council, the panafrican. The charter of oau and constitutive act of african union. Assembly means the assembly of heads of state and government of the. It is common knowledge that in africa the issue of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms has long been considered not an issue of the first priority and in any case as the exclusive province of states. The new african union and its constitutive act american journal of.
A pdf version of this book is available on the websites above. However, so far, only one intergovernmental organization, the african union au, has explicitly made the right to intervene in a member state part of its foundational text in article 4h of its constitutive act. However, while the footprint of the oau is still strong, the au constitutive act and protocols. The charter that created the oau was the result of several multinational african conferences held in the 1950s and 1960s aimed at supporting africans. Abbreviations african union member state names unless otherwise noted, the full names on the left are as listed in the african union au constitutive act of 2000, plus the republic of south sudan.
The constitutive act of the african union recognizes the right of the union to. Constitutive act of the african union african union. In the international arena, sovereignty becomes a secondorder norm and it is not as it used to be. Union means the african union established by the present constitutive act. African union, constitutive act public international law. Article 3 objectives the objectives of the union shall be to. Lome summit 2000, which adopted the au constitutive act. The purpose of the workshop was to identify the challenges that confront african union au member states with respect to the rule.
When a state ratifies the constitutive act, it formally becomes a member of the au. The african commission on human and peoples rights, in existence since 1986, is established under the african charter on human and peoples rights the african charter rather than the constitutive act of the african union. The african union constitutive act and the african union commission strategic plan 20042007 give due priority to youth development and empowerment. Constitutive act of the african union adopted 11 july 2000, entered into force 26 may 2001. Constitutive act of the african unionafrican union peace. Its predecessor was the organization for african unity oauestablished in 1963. The african union by makaria green the african union au was established on july 8, 2001.
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