Sirte declaration pdf

It also helped in achieving unity as a bloc speaking with one voice. Likewise, the organisation was accused of being a club of leaders who were despots and as such, the organisation encouraged repressive regimes. Also, it was seen as a toothless bulldog that could not do much compared to other regional bodies as poverty was increased and economic development became a mirage.

The strengths and weaknesses of the OAU however it may seem, paved way for a union that is beyond politics of unity and solidarity with a resolve towards economic integration and development of the continent. The Constitutive Act of contains 33 Articles and also established seventeen 17 key institutions while it created nine 9 organs of the Union.

Objectives The objectives as stated in Article 3 of the Union shall be to: a. Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; b. Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states; c.

Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent; d. Promote and defend African common 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 democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; h. Establish the necessary conditions which will enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; j.

Promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; living standards of African peoples; k. Coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future regional economic communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the union; l. Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields in particular, in science and technology; m.

Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. Principles The principles are spelt in Article 4. The Constitutive Act states that, organs of the union shall be: a. The Assembly of the Union; b. The Executive Council; c. The Pan-African Parliament; d. The Court of Justice; e. The Commission; f. The Permanent Representatives Committee; g. The Specialized Technical Committees; h. The Economic, Social and Cultural Council; i.

The Financial Institutions. Composition, Powers and Functions of the Organs of the African Union The Assembly Articles 6 of the Constitutive Act of stipulate that, the composition of the assembly is as follows; 1.

The Assembly shall be composed of Heads of States and Government or their duly accredited representatives. The Assembly shall be the supreme organ of the Union. The Assembly shall meet at least once a year in ordinary session. At the request of any member state and on approval by a two thirds majority of the member states, the assembly shall meet in extraordinary session.

The office of the chairman of the assembly shall be held for a period of one year by a head of state or government elected after consultations among the member states. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

Article 7 2 states that, two-thirds of the total membership of the union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the assembly. Article 8 states that; the assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure. Article 9 1 stipulates the powers and functions of the Assembly thus; The functions of the Assembly shall be to: a. Determine the common policies of the Union; b. Consider requests for membership of the union; d.

Establish any organ of the union; e. Monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the union as well ensure compliance by all member states; f.

Adopt the budget of the union; g. Give directives to the executive council on the management conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace; h. Appoint and terminate the appointment of the judges of court of justice; i. Appoint the chairman of the commission and his or her deputy or deputies and commissioners of the commission and determine their functions and terms of office.

Article 9 2 stipulated further that, the assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the union. The Executive Council Article 10 1 of the Constitutive Act of stipulates that; the executive council shall be composed of the ministers of foreign affairs or such other ministers or authorities as are designated by the governments of member states.

Article 10 2 further states that, the executive council shall meet at least twice a year in ordinary session. It shall also meet in an extra-ordinary session at the request of any member state and upon approval by two-thirds of all member states. Article 11 1 , states that, the executive council shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

Article 11 2 further states that, two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Executive Council. Article 12 stipulates that; the executive council shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure. Article 13 2 states that; the executive council shall be responsible to the assembly. It shall consider issues referred to it and monitor the implementation of policies formulated by the Assembly.

Article 13 3 states that; the executive council may delegate any of its powers and functions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article to the Specialized Technical Committees established under Article 14 of this Act. The Pan African Parliament Article 17 1 of the Constitutive Act of state that; In order to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent, a Pan African Parliament shall be established while the same Article 17 2 The composition, powers, functions and organization of the Pan African Parliament shall be defined in a protocol relating thereto.

The Court of Justice Article 18 1 of the Constitutive Act of established the Court of Justice while Article 18 2 stipulated that, the statute, composition and functions of the Court of Justice shall defined in a protocol relating thereto. A protocol to set up this Court of Justice was adopted in and entered into force in However, it was superseded by a protocol creating an African Court of Justice and Human Rights, which will incorporate the already established African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and have two chambers: one for general legal matters and the other one for rulings on the human rights treaties.

A prototype of the European Commission, an organ of the European Union, it is responsible for the administration and co- ordination of the union's activities, Summits or meetings.

Article 20 1 of the Constitutive Act of state that; there shall be established a Commission of the Union, which shall be the Secretariat of the Union. Article 20 2 further stated that, the Commission shall be composed of the Chairman, his or her deputy or deputies and the Commissioners.

They shall be assisted by the necessary staff for the smooth functioning of the Commission. Permanent Representative Committee Article 21 1 of the Constitutive Act of stipulates that; there shall be established a Permanent Representatives Committee.

It may set up such sub- committees or working groups as it may deem necessary. Specialized Technical Committees The Abuja Treaty of and Article 14 1 of the Constitutive Act stipulate that; the establishment and composition of the Specialized Technical Committees shall be responsible to the Executive Council and these committees are: a.

The Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs; c. The Committee on Transport, Communications and Tourism; f. Article 14 3 provided that; the Specialized Technical Committees shall be composed of their respective areas of competence. Article 15 articulated the functions of the Specialized Technical Committees as follows; a Prepare projects and programmes of the Union and submit it to the Executive Council; b Ensure the supervision, follow-up and the evaluation of the implementation of decisions taken by the organs of the Union; c Ensure the coordination and harmonization of projects and programmes of the Union; d Submit to the Executive Council either on its own initiative or at the request of the Executive Council, reports and recommendations on the implementation of the provisions of this Act; and e Carry out any other functions assigned to it for the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Act as Article 16, provided that, subject to any directives given by the Executive Council, each Committee shall meet as often as necessary and shall prepare its Rules of Procedure, and submit them to the Executive Council for approval.

The Economic, Social and Cultural Council Article 22 1 of the Constitutive Act of established that, the Economic, Social and Cultural Council shall be an advisory organ composed of different social and professional groups of the Member States of the Union. Article 22 2 provided for the functions, powers, composition and organization of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council as shall be determined by the Assembly.

Steering Committees working on founding of these banks have been constituted but these banks are yet to become a reality as these financial institutions are supposed to work towards a unified single currency of the African Union called the Afro. Article 4 e and 4 d of the Principles of the AU also facilitated the establishment of this organ of the AU. The protocol established that the PSC shall be a collective security and early warning arrangement to facilitate timely and effective response to conflict and crisis situations in any part of Africa.

The AU through its Protocol conferred on the PSC certain responsibilities to handle such situations that include prevention, management and resolution of conflicts as well as post- conflict peace building by developing common defence policies.

AU has included all the objectives purpose of the OAU, aside from mentioning the eradication of colonialism with additions in Articles, g, and h of the AU Constitutive Act and the principles of the OAU have also been included in the AU except for the emancipation of African territory from colonial power but with additions in Articles c, d, k, i, m, n, p, f, h, and j.

Onuoha further stressed that, the difference between the two organisations lies in the important provisions of the AU Constitutive Act that never existed in the OAU Charter and these include; Article 17, 18, Article 19, 22, Article 23 2 , Article 30, Article 33 2 of the AU Constitutive Act, While the OAU was concerned and rigid on the non interference principle, the AU has allowed for collective intervention in grave circumstances such as war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.

The OAU stance on non interference allowed the acts of impunity in the Rwanda genocide of and there is theoretically the African Court of Justice that can prosecute errant leaders for crimes in their countries or in other States. The OAU also differs from the AU because, the AU constitutive Act, contains provisions that allows respect for democratic principles, human rights, rule of law and good governance through the APRM peer review mechanism or process unlike the OAU Charter that hardly made clear cut provisions on these clauses but protected despotic regimes with no semblance of democracy, rule of law or good governance.

The theory according to Lee , basically have two theoretical approaches to regional and sub-regional integration. The first approach being market integration while the second approach is developmental regionalism or economic integration, Lee the posited that, countries of the Global South Latin America, Asia and Africa tends to tilt towards market integration and this is because, market integration involves a gradual and step by step progression from Free Trade Areas FTAs through Customs Unions CUs to Common Market, Economic Union to economic integration.

Market integration is the linear progression of degrees of integration beginning with a free trade area or in some cases a preferential trade area and ending with total economic integration.

The linear market or Bela Belassa integration model has suited the integration model of the European Union EU but has failed in Africa. Accordingly, Lee said, market integration in the continent has failed for several reasons: 1 lack of comparative advantage and economies of scale; 2 huge economic disparity between Member States; 3 the unequal distribution of benefits, resulting in the regional giant s been the main beneficiary of integration efforts; 4 the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programms- SAPs that have been counterproductive to the regional agenda; 5 overlapping membership in regional economic organizations resulting in contradictions in policy objectives and goals; 6 lack of political commitment to regionalism; 7 dependence on external donors to fund the regional agenda, thus giving them the autonomy to determine policy; and 8 the failure to address the realities of the African environment.

She further stated that, developmental integration or regionalism is an arrangement which involves cooperation in scientific and technological spheres, cooperation in developing infrastructures, cooperation in the development and use of raw materials, and cooperation in regional industrialisation. According to the theory, the objective of integration becomes economic and social development, and it is therefore linked with development theories.

Development integration requires more state intervention than market integration. States must first and foremost make a political commitment to integration, since such commitment is seen as laying the foundation for cooperation. It is anticipated that this will help member states work toward implementing policies that will help with problems created as a result of the unequal distribution of benefits, one of the major causes of the failure of market integration.

With the view to providing a remedy for the unequal distribution of benefits, policies that are of a compensatory and corrective nature are to be implemented. Although designed to correct the problems of market integration, development integration has proven more difficult to implement than market integration Lee, For a region to develop there must be the need for timely formulation and implementation of sound policies geared towards socio-economic and political interest where there exist a relationship with other foreign countries in the international system.

Industrialization is a far cry in the continent and the lack of cutting edge in the diversification of economies of States in the continent as well as reliance on the production of primary commodities has further weakened the economic base of the continent. These countries are facing serious crises at the moment. Libya is at the moment enmeshed in civil conflict and Nigeria is witnessing economic recession and Egypt is yet to recover from her own crises in the last the last years even though she has a new leader now.

This situation has made the AU an organisation begging for the needed financial muscle to stand. Meanwhile, effort towards achieving regional integration in Africa through the path of market integration has rather not yield the favourable path to integration in the continent as there exist an unfavourable balance of trade between Africa and the rest of the world especially countries of the Global North.

The focus of the African Union in terms of development of the region is promising compared to the OAU. Rather than embark on market integration, focus should be more on regional cooperation leading to development which will then enhance the success of regional integration and the key to this are; strong political commitment towards regionalism, economic and political stability in Member States as well as the region as a whole and a focused and committed regional planning.

Lee further stated that, the partial or lack of commitment to regional cooperation, development and integration is vividly expressed in the effort and desire by States in Africa to enter into a unique relationship with the European Union EU outside the stipulated framework drawn for the operations of regional and sub-regional organizations in the continent.

Lee had argued that, regionalism becomes successful only where there is economic and political stability at national and regional levels as political instability brought about by the constant changes of socio-political and economic policies and leading to prevalent economic crises will not allow for a successful regional integration. NEPAD as a body of the AU responsible for development of the region is supposed to facilitate the process of economic development in the region but the assertion of Lee in the theory of development integration suggests that the African Union and its Member States commitment at the moment is minimally yielding results as they are yet to wake up from the slumber of the linear integration model because Member States of the Union have been depending heavily on external relations in terms of trade which has been hugely characterized by preferential trade relations and reciprocal schemes such as the Generalised System Preferences GSP , African Growth and Opportunity Act AGOA and the European Union; EU-Africa, Caribbean and Pacific EU-ACP preferences.

In essence, this means determining how regionalism and globalization can coexist and be conduits for, rather than hindrances to, growth and development in Africa Lee, This fact is encapsulated in ideological differences in colonial experience of the continent by different colonial powers and their diverse culture and religious affinities.

This issue or subject of concern has been plaguing the African continent right from the days of the OAU and the complexity in the socio-political and cultural make of the continent have been responsible for why development have rather stagnated.

This socio- political and cultural make up of Africa was partly responsible for the divisive stands between the two blocs or groups that initiated the unification of the Member states of the African region. The African Union has been facing issues and challenges since its emergence in but most of these issues and challenges existed during the active years of the OAU. Critical attempt will be employed in the course of this paper presentation to situate the issues and challenges of the Union in a more objective perspective.

Financial burden remains a key aspect of the AU conundrum and the most important challenge facing the African Union is how to raise the huge amount of money required running the continental organisation. The 48 countries that make up Sub-Saharan Africa are home to the 10 per cent of the world's population that have struggled to survive on 1 per cent of the world's income.

It is also estimated that, 51 per cent of the people that live in African nations live under the world poverty line. On foreign aid, borrowing and indebtedness, Africa has struggled to cope with this issue and in the views of Farah and Mazongo they argued that, the third world including Africa has acquired substantial amount of both internal and external debt, partly caused by foreign aid from countries in the West.

The aid relationship has created a condition of economic subservience and of a master-servant relationship that could generate persistent seeking and lobbying for foreign aid through borrowing. Ampaw A was quoted in Andrews where he argued that, as far back as , foreign aid is said to have accounted for She argued further that, aid was not working in Africa because it interfered with development as the money always ended up in the hands of a small chosen few, making aid a form of taxing the poor in the west to enrich the new elites in former colonies.

It has been estimated that, Malaria undermines the health and welfare of families, endangers the survival and education of children, debilitates the active population and impoverishes individuals and countries. Margaret Chan said that, An estimated million people in Africa still live in households without a single insecticide-treated bed net, and about 15 million pregnant women remain without access to preventive treatment for malaria.

Malaria is still responsible for over , child deaths in Africa every year. Emerging drug- and insecticide-resistance continues to pose a major threat, and if left unaddressed, could trigger an upsurge in deaths Dr. Margaret Chan, The socio- economic aspects of a disease is a significant factor in the epidemiology and control of the disease.

Malaria causes significant economic losses, and can decrease gross domestic product GDP by as much as 1. Over the long term, these aggregated annual losses have resulted in substantial differences in GDP between countries with and without malaria, particularly in Africa Okwa, During the eleventh session Ghana, Morocco, the Sudan, and Tunisia were admitted to the UN, and almost two years later Guinea joined the small group of Africans.

In , Sierra Leone became the th member of the UN and there were already 24 African member states and with the admission of Gambia before the close of the nineteenth session, the African states will number 35 out of the total membership of This increase in the African membership has been a result of the dissolution of the French and British colonial empires. Hence, it is not surprising to find that the majority of African countries regard representation at the UN as their most important diplomatic assignment Karefa-Smart, During this time, the African states had no such influence as a separate group.

They finally joined forces with the Asian countries to share their interests in economic development, human rights, and the struggle against colonialism. After that, the African nations began to express themselves as a separate entity. Therefore, after the admission of the first large aggregation of the newly independent countries, the African delegations began to meet monthly at the UN.

By rotating the chairmanship, they followed a similar practice with the UN. At the Addis Ababa Conference in May , it was given a formal identity by the Organization of African Unity OAU and the African UN delegations were authorized to establish a secretariat and to cooperate with any other group that shared its objectives Karefa- Smart, Its main interest was the liberation of white-ruled Africa, especially southern Africa.

In terms of identity, the foundation of the organization was a major achievement. Security also was a major concern for the founders of the OAU, but they viewed it in terms of state interests, especially territorial integrity, state sovereignty, and the protection of boundaries Makinda and Okumu, With 53 founding members all African countries joined except Morocco and a wide-ranging agenda, the AU replaced the Organization of African Unity OAU and reflects a fundamental shift in thinking for African leadership Holt, This declaration provided a framework for the African leaders to work together towards the peaceful and rapid resolution of conflicts.

According to the report from Victoria K. Holt with Moira K. Nevertheless, the persisting inadequacy and structural incapacity of the OAU led to a further realization that Africa needed a new organization that could take risks and responsibility in promoting development, peace, and security. The leaders discussed the proposals made by Colonel Gaddafi and the predominant opinion was that Africa was not yet ready for ad federation or confederation, as there were many preparatory activities that had to be undertaken before these proposals could be actualized.

At the end of the debate, the leaders agreed that an African union be established in conformity with the ultimate objectives of the OAU and the treaty establishing the African Economic Community Abuja Treaty Kioko, Among the 14 objectives of the AU, at least 6 address human rights issues directly or impliedly Nmehielle, The OAU was in principle a political organization that also discussed matters of economic and social concern, the AU should be an organization aimed at economic integration and social development which should lead to political unity1.

Makinda and Okumu, The day-to-day work on peace and security issues is conducted by the AU Commission, a role that parallels that of the UN Secretariat. This body can intervene in conflicts to protect the security of the continent. It has fifteen member states, elected for two or three year terms, with equal voting rights.

The African Standby Force concept which carries out peace support operations under Article 4 h and j of the Constitutive Act, approved in , is a priority for the PSC as the primary means of future AU peace operations.

The ASF is envisioned with civilian and military components stationed in their home countries and ready for call-up and deployment. The ASF is being designed in two phases. The first phase, originally to be completed in , aims to give the AU capacity to offer advice to political missions and manage the strategic requirements of co-deployment. The second phase is scheduled for completion in and builds on AU capacity to manage observer missions Holt, The force will operate at three possible levels: as an African Force under the AU; as a Regional Brigade at the level of a Regional Mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution; or at the level of a lead nation intervening on behalf of the African Union Kioko, The Commission reports to the Executive Council.

The Assembly, comprised of heads of state. It meets at least once a year and is the AU's main decision-making body. Assembly members elect an AU chairperson, who holds office for one year. The Executive Council, comprised of foreign affairs ministers of individual states. The Executive Council is responsible to the Assembly.

It currently has advisory powers only, but there are plans to grant it legislative powers in the future. It includes African social groups, professional groups, NGOs, and cultural organizations. The Court of Justice. As of August , the merger of the two courts was still in process. The Financial Institutions. Of these, only the African Investment Bank has been established, but it is not yet functional. It will be headquartered in Tripoli, Libya. Chapter VII of its Charter allows the Security Council to take enforcement action in cases of a threat to or breach of international peace and security.

According to Kioko, the AU was given the right to decide on intervention outside the UN framework by its Constitutive Act, if this is the case, then what the role of the UN in such interventions would be is a matter of question. However, the AU will also lead to political and socio-economic integration as member States progressively cede their sovereignty To maintain would be to misinterpret Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and to ignore the inherent institutional shortcomings and limitations of regional institutions.

While the regional organizations are able to deploy faster than the United Nations and are able to adopt a more robust approach to peace enforcement , only the UN has the capability to pull together the various components needed to form a complex integrated peace building response that can address the long-term post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction needs of the conflict zones. Moreover, only the UN has the resources to sustain peace operations over longer periods of time.

When questions were raised as to whether the Union could possibly have an inherent right to intervene other than through the Security Council, they were rejected. This caused a frustration with the slow pace of reform of the international order, and with instances in which the international community tended to focus attention on other parts of the world.

Furthermore, shortly after the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government had adopted the Ouagadougou decision defying the sanctions imposed by the Security Council on Libya in connection with the Lockerbie crisis, the signing process of the Constitutive Act took place. The leaders have shown themselves willing to push the frontiers of collective stability and security to the limit without any regard for the authorization of the Security Council.

It would appear that the UN Security Council has never complained about its powers being extorted because the interventions were in support of popular cases and were carried out partly because the UN Security Council had not taken action or was unlikely to do so at that time.

The cost of interventions will be quite high, and the African Union which is not a financially self-sustained organization has to involve and work with the international community at large and the UN in particular for its operations to succeed. While the interventions in Burundi, Liberia and Darfur have shown that a division of labour between the United Nations and African organizations can work, many related issues still require clarification.

For example, a doctrine of co-existence and cooperation needs to formalize the legal, operational and financial details of regionalizing peace operation responsibility in Africa while also ensuring that the additional burdens for African states are kept as light as possible. The AU Constitutive Act pledges to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of member states.

If the AU organs defined peace, security primarily in terms of the protection of the state boundaries, the ruling elites and territorial integrity the AU approach would not differ much from that of the OAU.

This is a major departure from the OAU, which did not take democratic governance seriously. Since its formation, the AU has assumed an increasing role in the observation and monitoring of elections. However, there have been criticisms about the results of some of the AU election reports.

One of the most embarrassing moments for the Union took place in May when it refused to observe the Ethiopian elections but went ahead and endorsed the election results, which were widely believed to have been tampered with. However, the continuing violation of human rights in Darfur and Zimbabwe in has raised questions as to whether the AU has the capacity to pursue this goal conclusively and consistently.

In addition, the AU aims to establish the necessary conditions that enable Africa to play a greater role in the global economy, and to promote sustainable development at the economic, social, and cultural levels Makinda and Okumu, , However, there is little evidence that Africa is investing adequately in research and knowledge creation Makinda and Okumu, , Security and Peace building Security and peace have been in the current agenda in Africa.

The creation of the African Union AU raised hopes that African governments and civil society organizations would be able to deal with insecurity problems more quickly and effectively. On the other hand, although the AU face fundamental gaps in planning and management capacity to lead peace operations and successfully deployed troops in peace operations, they are not yet self-sustaining and require outside logistical support.

It is reliant on external sources to finance much of its headquarters and operations, since it lacks sufficient funding from its member states Holt, 2. Since the s, Africa has witnessed many wars, conflicts, and crises. Many of these have taken place within states. Some intra-state conflicts have crossed the borders and exerted pressure on neighboring countries.

African states have also witnessed different levels of terrorism- both local and transnational. Some of the wars, conflicts, and other sources of insecurity have continued into the twenty-first century. For example, the civil war in southern Sudan started in and not resolved until early Before the conclusion of this war, another conflict erupted in the Darfur region in The civil war in Somalia, which started in the late s and intensified following the overthrow of former dictator Siad Barre in , had not been resolved by early Somalia was invaded by Ethiopia on Christmas Eve in Moreover, the civil war in the DRC, which started in the mids, continued into , notwithstanding the fact that the country held its first free presidential elections in late In Algeria, a civil war which erupted in when the military intervened in politics and nullified the general elections, has continued into the twenty-first century Makinda and Okumu,, The AU was established partly for the purpose of finding solutions to these, and similar, problems.

Makinda and Okuumu, , The document also recommended a number of measures to strengthen and streamline United Nations peacemaking and peacekeeping processes, and it discussed the changing roles of UN peacekeeping in the modern world Langholtz, , It is increasingly apparent that the United Nations cannot address every potential and actual conflict troubling the world.

Regional or sub- regional organizations sometimes have a comparative advantage in taking the lead role in the prevention and settlement of conflicts and to assist the United Nations in containing them.

Although violent conflicts in Africa are not new, they have drawn special attention due to the fact that they are intense and extensive in scope, highly destructive, and produce large numbers of civilian victims and refugees.

For instance, the war in southern Sudan claimed more than two million deaths. In the Rwandan genocide of , an estimated one million people perished in about two months. Violence in Africa has taken various forms ranging from genocide, as in Rwanda and Darfur between and , to interpersonal violence. Besides their extremism in brutality, armed conflicts in Africa have also been characterized by warlordism, the targeting of vulnerable groups, such as children, women and refugees, using children as soldiers, state sponsorship of violence and war economies Makinda and Okumu, , Soon after, the African Union launched its first peacekeeping operation in Burundi.