Organisation of African Unity

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; French: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an African intergovernmental organisation established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Its main goals were to help political and economic integration among the countries that joined it, and to work toward ending colonialism and neo-colonialism across the African continent.

Because the OAU did not have its own armed force like the United Nations peacekeepers, it could not enforce its decisions. It also chose not to get involved in the internal matters of its member nations, which led some people to think it was not very effective in taking strong action when needed.

In September 1999, the OAU released the Sirte Declaration, asking for a new organization to replace it. On 9 July 2002, the OAU was officially ended by its chairman, South African president Thabo Mbeki, and was replaced by the African Union (AU). The AU continues many of the same ideas and goals that the OAU started.

History

See also: Union of African States and History of the African Union

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) began with a meeting in Sanniquellie, Liberia in 1959. Leaders from Liberia, Guinea, and Ghana promised to work together to help African countries become independent.

The OAU was officially created in May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 32 African countries. Its main goal was to unite African nations and solve problems on the continent. The first meeting happened on May 1, 1963. At this meeting, a leader from The Gambia gave a speech reminding everyone that Africa had been divided by other countries long ago. He urged the leaders to work together to keep Africa free from outside control and to restore respect and stability for the continent.

Aims

The OAU had several important goals. It wanted to work together to help people across Africa live better lives. It aimed to protect each country’s independence and borders. The OAU also worked to end colonialism and rule by a small group of people, especially in places like South Africa and Angola. It helped countries still fighting for freedom and stayed neutral in world conflicts.

The OAU also wanted to make sure everyone’s rights were respected and to improve living conditions. It tried to solve problems between countries without fighting, using talks instead. Some African leaders wanted a strong union of all countries, while others thought it should grow more slowly, starting with trade and economy. These different ideas were discussed, and finally, the OAU was created in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where leaders signed an agreement to work together.

Criticism and praise

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was often called a place for talking but not for doing much. It had trouble making its decisions stick, and without its own army, it could not step in to help during big problems. For example, civil wars in places like Nigeria and Angola kept going because the OAU could not stop them.

Some people praised the OAU for helping to bring African countries together. It did help fight against old rule by other countries and worked with the United Nations to support people who had to leave their homes. But it also had its problems. Because each country wanted to make its own decisions, it was hard for the OAU to agree on what to do, especially when there were fights inside countries.

The OAU helped in ending rule by other nations and governments led by a few, supporting groups that were working for change. It also set up banks to help African countries grow economically. Even so, many African countries still needed help from the countries that used to rule them, which sometimes came with difficult conditions.

Agencies

The Organisation of African Unity had several special groups to help its work. These groups focused on different areas like communication, transportation, and sports. Some of these groups included the Pan-African Telecommunications Union, the Pan-African Postal Union, the Pan-African News Agency, the Union of African National Television and Radio Organisations, the Union of African Railways, the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity, the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, and the African Civil Aviation Commission.

List of chairpersons

Main article: Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity

OAU summits

Host city	Host country	Date
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	22–25 May 1963
Cairo	Egypt	17–21 July 1964
Accra	Ghana	21–26 October 1965
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	5–9 November 1966
Kinshasa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	11–14 September 1967
Algiers	Algeria	13–16 September 1968
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	6–10 September 1969
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	1–3 September 1970
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	21–23 June 1971
Rabat	Morocco	12–15 June 1972
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	27–28 May 1973
Mogadishu	Somalia	1974
Kampala	Uganda	28 July–1 August 1975
Port Louis	Mauritius	2–6 July 1976
Libreville	Gabon	2–5 July 1977
Khartoum	Sudan	18–22 July 1978
Monrovia	Liberia	17–20 July 1979
Freetown	Sierra Leone	1–4 July 1980
Nairobi	Kenya	24–27 June 1981
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	6–12 June 1983
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	12–15 November 1984
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	18–20 July 1985
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	28–30 July 1986
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	27–29 July- 1987
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	Extraordinary Summit: October 1987
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	25–28 May 1988
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	24–26 July 1989
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	9–11 July 1990
Abuja	Nigeria	3–5 July 1991
Dakar	Senegal	29 June – 1 July 1992
Cairo	Egypt	28–30 June 1993
Tunis	Tunisia	13–15 June 1994
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	26–28 June 1995
Yaoundé	Cameroon	8–10 June 1996
Harare	Zimbabwe	2–4 June 1997
Ouagadougou	Burkina Faso	8–10 June 1998
Algiers	Algeria	12–14 July 1999
Sirte	Libya	Extraordinary Summit 6–9 September 1999
Lomé	Togo	10–12 July 2000
Lusaka	Zambia	9–11 July 2001, the last OAU summit

OAU members by date of admission (53 states)

Date	Countries
25 May 1963	Algeria
	Burundi
	Cameroon
	Central African Republic
	Chad
	Congo
	DR Congo
	Dahomey
	Egypt
	Ethiopia
	Gabon
	Ghana
	Guinea
	Ivory Coast
	Liberia
	Libya
	Madagascar
	Mali
	Mauritania
	Morocco
	Niger
	Nigeria
	Rwanda
	Senegal
	Sierra Leone
	Somalia
	Sudan
	Tanganyika
	Togo
	Tunisia
	Uganda
	Upper Volta
	Zanzibar
13 December 1963	Kenya
13 July 1964	Malawi
16 December 1964	Zambia
October 1965	Gambia
31 October 1966	Botswana
	Lesotho
August 1968	Mauritius
24 September 1968	Swaziland (now Eswatini)
12 October 1968	Equatorial Guinea
19 November 1973	Guinea-Bissau
11 February 1975	Angola
18 July 1975	Cape Verde
	Comoros
	Mozambique
	São Tomé and Príncipe
29 June 1976	Seychelles
27 June 1977	Djibouti
1 June 1980	Zimbabwe
22 February 1982	Western Sahara
3 June 1990	Namibia
24 May 1993	Eritrea
6 June 1994	South Africa