The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The bloc was launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa. The intention of the AU was to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments; the OAU was disbanded on 9 July 2002. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The African economy is regionally integrated through this union.
The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. The largest city in the AU is Lagos, Nigeria, while the largest urban agglomeration is Cairo, in Egypt. The African Union has more than 1.5 billion people and an area of around 30 million km2 (12 million sq mi) and includes world landmarks such as the Sahara and the Nile. The primary working languages are Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili. Within the African Union, there are official bodies, such as the Peace and Security Council and the Pan-African Parliament. The AU is a member of the G20.
The objectives of the African Union are:
To achieve greater unity, cohesion and solidarity among the African countries and African nations.
To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States.
To accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent.
To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples.
To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent.
To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance.
To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments.
To establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations.
To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies.
To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African people.
To coordinate and harmonise the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union.
To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology.
To work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.
The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The Assembly is chaired by Évariste Ndayishimiye, President of Burundi. The AU also has a representative body, the Pan-African Parliament, which consists of 265 members elected by the national legislatures of the AU member states. Its president is Fortune Z. Charumbira.