Membership

 Member states of the African Union

All UN member states based in Africa and on African waters are members of the AU, as is the disputed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Morocco, which claims sovereignty over the SADR’s territory, withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity, the AU’s predecessor, in 1984 due to the admission of the SADR as a member. However, on 30 January 2017, the AU admitted Morocco as a member state.^[31]

 

Members

Algeria

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia

Libya

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

São Tomé and Príncipe

Senegal

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Africa

South Sudan

Sudan

Tanzania

Togo

Tunisia

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

 

Regions of the African Union:

 

 Northern Region (Sahara) ,  Southern Region (Kalahari) ,  Eastern Region (Nile) ,  Western Regions A and B (Niger and Volta Niger) ,  Central Region (Congo)

Governance

The principal topic for debate at the July 2007 AU summit held in Accra, Ghana, was the creation of a Union Government,^[32] with the aim of moving towards a United States of Africa. A study on the Union Government was adopted in late 2006 and proposes various options for “completing” the African Union project.

There are divisions among African states on the proposals, with some (notably Libya) following a maximalist view leading to a common government with an AU army; and others (especially the southern African states) supporting rather a strengthening of the existing structures, with some reforms to deal with administrative and political challenges in making the AU Commission and other bodies truly effective.

Following a heated debate in Accra, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government agreed in the form of a declaration to review the state of affairs of the AU with a view to determining its readiness towards a Union Government.[35] In particular, the Assembly agreed to:

• Accelerate the economic and political integration of the African continent, including the formation of a Union Government of Africa;
• Conduct an audit of the institutions and organs of the AU; review the relationship between the AU and the RECs; find ways to strengthen the AU and elaborate a timeframe to establish a Union Government of Africa.

The declaration lastly noted the “importance of involving the African peoples, including Africans in the Diaspora, in the processes leading to the formation of the Union Government.”

Following this decision, a panel of eminent persons was set up to conduct the “audit review”. The review team began its work on 1 September 2007. The review was presented to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government at the January 2008 summit in Addis Ababa. No final decision was taken on the recommendations, however, and a committee of ten heads of state was appointed to consider the review and report back to the July 2008 summit to be held in Egypt.[36] At the July 2008 summit, a decision was once again deferred, for a “final” debate at the January 2009 summit to be held in Addis Ababa.