Enlargement of the African Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Life in the African Union
Citizenship Culture Demographics Economy Education Enlargement Foreign relations	Geography History Languages Military Politics Sport Statistics

African Union

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the African Union

Institutions of the African Union Casablanca Group Union of African States Organisation for African Unity African Economic Community African Unification Front Executive Assembly Commission Chairperson Conference and Events Peace & Sec. Pol. Affairs Infra. & Energy Soc. Affairs HR, Sci., & Tech. Trade and Industry Rural Econ. & Agri. Economic Legal Counsel Executive Council Rep. Committee Legislature Pan-African Parliament President Bureau Secretariat List of members Permanent Committees Rural Econ., Agri., Resources, Eviron. Monetary & Financial Trade, Customs, & Immigration Cooperation, IR, & Conflict Transport, Industry, Communications,   Energy, Science, & Tech. Health, Labour, & Social Educ., Culture, Tourism, & HR Gender, Family, Youth, Disabilities Justice & Rights Rules, Privileges, & Discipline Judiciary Sirte Declaration Constitutive Act of the AU Law Charter on Rights Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Court of Justice Court on Human and Peoples' Rights List of judges Advisory bodies Peace and Security Council Economic, Social, and Cultural Council Specialized Technical Committees Rural Econ., Agri. Monetary & Financial Trade, Customs, and Immigration Industry, Sci. & Tech., Energy... Transport, Comm., Tourism Health, Labor, Social Edu., Culture, & Human Resources Financial bodies AEC Pillars (Abuja Treaty) CEN-SAD COMESA EAC ECCAS/CEEAC CEMAC ECOWAS UEMOA WAMZ IGAD SADC SACU AMU/UMA African Central Bank African Monetary Fund African Investment Bank New Partnership for Africa's Development African Peer Review Mechanism Decentralised bodies Agencies of the AU AU-related topics Elections Enlargement Foreign relations

Other countries · Atlas  Politics Portal view • talk • edit

When the African Union (AU) was founded in 2001, it represented almost the entire African continent. As the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), founded in 1963, its membership was inherited from that body. Currently, the AU has the same 53 member states as when it was founded. Growth in the OAU typically came from post-colonial independence; as decolonization ended, the borders of the OAU had overlapped almost all of Africa.

Contents 1 Membership 2 Chronology 3 Possible growth 3.1 Southern Sudan 3.2 Darfur 4 Notes 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Membership

Article 29 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (ratified July 11, 2000), states:

1. 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.
2. The Chairman of the Commission shall, upon receipt of such notification, transmit copies thereof to all Member States. Admission shall be decided by a simple majority of the Member States. The decision of each Member State shall be transmitted to the Chairman of the Commission who shall, upon receipt of the required number of votes, communicate the decision to the State concerned.

The following two articles discuss the suspension and cessation of membership:

Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union.

and

1. Any State which desires to renounce its membership shall forward a written notification to the Chairman of the Commission, who shall inform Member States thereof. At the end of one year from the date of such notification, if not withdrawn, the Act shall cease to apply with respect to the renouncing State, which shall thereby cease to belong to the Union.
2. During the period of one year referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, any Member State wishing to withdraw from the Union shall comply with the provisions of this Act and shall be bound to discharge its obligations under this Act up to the date of its withdrawal.

The former of these two clauses has only applied to Mauritania after its 2005 coup d'etat and Togo. Madagascar was suspended during the dissolution of the OAU and formation of the AU (2001-2003). The only state to leave the OAU/AU was Morocco, who withdrew in 1984, following the admission of Western Sahara's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1982. It is the only African state not currently an AU member.

[edit] Chronology

• Founding Members of the OAU: May 25, 1963
  •  Algeria
  •  Burundi
  •  Cameroon
  •  Central African Republic
  •  Chad
  •  Congo
  •  Democratic Republic of the Congo^[1]
  •  Benin^[2]
  •  Egypt
  •  Ethiopia
  •  Gabon
  •  Ghana
  •  Guinea
  •  Côte d'Ivoire^[3]
  •  Liberia
  •  Libya
  •  Madagascar^[4]
  •  Mali
  •  Mauritania^[5]
  •  Morocco (withdrew November 12, 1984)
  •  Niger
  •  Nigeria
  •  Rwanda
  •  Senegal
  •  Sierra Leone
  •  Somalia
  •  Sudan
  •  Tanganyika^[6]
  •  Togo^[7]
  •  Tunisia
  •  Uganda
  •  Upper Volta (Burkina Faso)^[8]
  •  Zanzibar^[6]
• December 13, 1963
  •  Kenya
• July 13, 1964
  •  Malawi
• November 1, 1964
  •  Tanzania^[6]
• December 16, 1964
  •  Zambia
• October 1965
  •  Gambia
• October 31, 1966
  •  Botswana
  •  Lesotho
• August, 1968
  •  Mauritius
• September 24, 1968
  •  Swaziland
• October 12, 1968
  •  Equatorial Guinea
• November 19, 1973
  •  Guinea-Bissau
• February 11, 1975
  •  Angola
• July 18, 1975
  •  Cape Verde
  •  Comoros
  •  Mozambique
  •  São Tomé and Príncipe
• June 29, 1976
  •  Seychelles
• June 27, 1977
  •  Djibouti
• June 1980
  •  Zimbabwe
• February 22, 1982
  •  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
• June 1990
  •  Namibia
• May 24, 1993
  •  Eritrea
• June 6, 1994
  •  South Africa

[edit] Possible growth

The only African state which could join (or more precisely re-activate its membership) is Morocco. On the African continent, the only dependencies that remain are the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. These territories would very likely never achieve independence; they are more likely to be ceded to the Kingdom of Morocco, and the two states have had diplomatic tension over these regions since Moroccan independence in 1956.

Off-shore islands which could otherwise be considered African include France's French Southern Territories, Mayotte, Réunion, and various islands in the Indian Ocean; most are uninhabited and there is a possibility that Mayotte will join Comoros or Réunion will be ceded to Mauritius, but none of these territories would likely become independent. Portugal's Madeira islands are also likely to remain an autonomous community. Spain's uninhabited plazas de soberanía, and the Canary Islands are off the coast of north Africa. The latter will likely remain an autonomous community, but Morocco has expressed interest in both.

The United Kingdom's British Indian Ocean Territory is closer to Africa than any other continent and is claimed by Mauritius, making secession to that state a possibility. In addition, the UK's islands of Ascension, Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha (administered together) are closest to Africa and might be a possible candidate for future membership.

[edit] Southern Sudan

Main article: Second Sudanese Civil War

By the terms of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement^[9], Southern Sudan received autonomy from the Sudanese government, against which the Sudan People's Liberation Army had fought for over two previous decades. A six-year transition period ensued, to be followed by a 2011 referendum in which the citizens of Southern Sudan will decide whether or not to attain full independence from the government in Khartoum. However, there has been no formal discussion on whether or not, upon the possible passing of the referendum, Southern Sudan will file an application for admittance into the African Union.

[edit] Darfur

Main article: Darfur conflict

While it is a primarily ethnic conflict, the Darfur conflict has gained a political dynamic in recent years, as the region has been traditionally distant from the Khartoum government until recent times. Until 1916, when it was forcibly integrated into the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, Darfur had exercised a high degree of autonomy apart from the ruling colonial government; relations between the region and the government deteriorated after Sudan's independence in 1956. One of the leading rebel groups in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement, originally started as a secessionist group, but later changed its goal to that of overthrowing the Khartoum regime. Furthermore, the African Union has stationed a small peacekeeping mission in the region, a mission which has experienced multiple difficulties in the maintenance of stability in the region. An explicit bid for independence by the rebels, as of 2007, remains to be seen, thus precluding any hints of a theoretical "Republic of Darfur" joining the African Union for the time being.

For other areas, see the African section at the List of active autonomist and secessionist movements.

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Foreign relations of the African Union
• List of African Union member states by political system
• Enlargement of the European Union

[edit] External links

• The official AU site

v • d • e African Union (AU)

Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cameroon · Cape Verde · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire · Djibouti · Egypt · Eritrea · Ethiopia · Equatorial Guinea · Gabon · The Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · Sudan · Swaziland · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe