Emblem of the African Union

The emblem of the African Union consists of a gold ribbon bearing small interlocking red rings, from which palm leaves shoot up around an outer gold circle and an inner green circle, within which is a gold representation of Africa. The red interlinked rings stand for African solidarity and the bloodshed for the liberation of Africa; the palm leaves for peace; the gold, for Africa’s wealth and bright future; the green, for African hopes and aspirations. To symbolise African unity, the silhouette of Africa is drawn without internal borders.

The African Union adopted its new flag at its 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government taking place in Addis Ababa 2010. During the 8th African Union Summit which took place in Addis Ababa on 29 and 30 January 2007, the Heads of State and Government decided to launch a competition for the selection of a new flag for the Union. They prescribed a green background for the flag symbolising hope of Africa and stars to represent Member States.

Pursuant to this decision, the African Union Commission (AUC) organised a competition for the selection of a new flag for the African Union. The AUC received a total of 106 entries proposed by citizens of 19 African countries and 2 from the Diaspora. The proposals were then examined by a panel of experts put in place by the African Union Commission and selected from the five African regions for short listing according to the main directions given by the Heads of State and Government.

At the 13th Ordinary Session of the Assembly, the Heads of State and Government examined the report of the Panel and selected one among all the proposals. The flag is now part of the paraphernalia of the African Union and replaces the old one.

The old flag of the African Union bears a broad green horizontal stripe, a narrow band of gold, the emblem of the African Union at the centre of a broad white stripe, another narrow gold band and a final broad green stripe. Again, the green and gold symbolise Africa’s hopes and aspirations as well as its wealth and bright future, and the white represents the purity of Africa’s desire for friends throughout the world. The flag has led to the creation of the “national colours” of Africa of gold and green (sometimes together with white). These colours are visible in one way or another in the flags of many African nations. Together the colours green, gold, and red constitute the Pan-African colours.

The African Union has adopted the anthem, “Let Us All Unite and Celebrate Together”.

Celebration

Africa Day, formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day, is an annual commemoration regarding the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), on 25 May 1963, and occurring on the same date of the month each year. Other celebrations include the following:

The Fez Festival of World Sacred Music: a weeklong celebration for harmony between cultures with dancing, Moroccan music, art exhibitions and films.[125]

• The Knysna Oyster festival: held in Knysna and focused around sport, food and their oyster heritage.[126]
• Lake of Stars Festival: three-day celebration that takes place in Lake Malawi, showcasing African music and welcoming people from around the world.[127]
• Fête du Vodoun: also known as the Ouidah Voodoo Festival. It is centred around their rituals on voodoo temples, with entertainment that includes horse races and traditional drum performances.[128]
• Umhlanga (ceremony): is mainly a private event for young women but on the sixth and seventh days the traditions are done publicly.[129]
• Marsabit Lake Turkana Cultural Festival: held in Kenya and celebrates harmony amongst tribes with their culture, singing, dancing and traditional costumes.[130]
• Enkutatash is the word for the Ethiopian New Year in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. It occurs on 11 September in the Gregorian Calendar; except for the year preceding a leap year, when it occurs on 12 September.

Current issues

The AU faces many challenges, including health issues such as combating malaria and the AIDS/HIV epidemic; political issues such as confronting undemocratic regimes and mediating in the many civil wars; economic issues such as improving the standard of living of millions of impoverished, uneducated Africans; ecological issues such as dealing with recurring famines, desertification, and lack of ecological sustainability; as well as the legal issues regarding Western Sahara.

AIDS in Africa

The AU has been active in addressing the AIDS pandemic in Africa. In 2001, the AU established AIDS Watch Africa to coordinate and mobilise a continent-wide response.[131] Sub-Saharan Africa, especially southern and eastern Africa, is the most affected area in the world. Though this region is home to only 6.2% of the world’s population, it is also home to half of the world’s population infected with HIV.[132] While the measurement of HIV prevalence rates has proved methodologically challenging, more than 20% of the sexually active population of many countries of southern Africa may be infected, with South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, and Zimbabwe all expected to have a decrease in life expectancy by an average of 6.5 years. The pandemic has had massive implications for the economy of the continent, reducing economic growth rates by 2–4% across Africa.[133]

In July 2007, the AU endorsed two new initiatives to combat the AIDS crisis, including a push to recruit, train and integrate 2 million community health workers into the continent’s healthcare systems.[134]

In January 2012, the African Union Assembly requested that the African Union Commission would work out “a roadmap of shared responsibility to draw on African efforts for a viable health funding with support of traditional and emerging partners to address AIDS dependency response.” Once created, the roadmap (as it is officially known) provided a group of solutions that would enhance the shared responsibility and global solidarity for AIDS, TB, and Malaria responses in Africa by 2015. The roadmap was organised into three pillars which were: diversified financing, access to medicines, and enhanced health governance. The roadmap held stakeholders accountable for the realisation of these solutions between 2012 and 2015.

The first pillar, diversified financing, ensures that countries begin to develop a country specific financial sustainability plans with clear targets, and identify and maximise opportunities to diversify funding sources in order to increase the domestic resource allocation to AIDS and other diseases.

The second pillar, access to affordable and quality-assured medicines, tries to promote and facilitate investing in leading medicine hub manufacturers in Africa, accelerate and strengthen medicine regulatory harmonisation, and create legislation that would help to protect the knowledge of the researchers who develop these life-saving medicines.

The third pillar, enhanced leadership and governance, tries to invest in programs that support people and communities to prevent HIV and ensure that leadership at all levels is mobilised to implement the roadmap. There are several organisations that will ensure the smooth implementation of the roadmap, including NEPAD, UNAIDS, WHO, and several other UN partners.[135]

Corruption

Daniel Batidam, an anti-corruption advisory board member of the African Union, resigned after stating that the organisation had “multiple irregularities” and that “issues have come up over and over again” regarding corruption. The African Union quickly accepted his resignation, with Batidam saying that it was a sign that mismanagement towards corruption will “continue with business as usual”.[136]

In a story published on 12 March 2020, AU staff alleged that Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat was guilty of corruption and cronyism, as well as running of “a “mafia-style cartel” that operates with impunity.[137] The allegations were contained in a memo leaked to the South African Mail & Guardian. This followed sexual harassment allegations raised in late 2018.

Libya

In 2011, when the conflict in Libya began, the African Union was initially criticised for doing little to prevent the conflict’s escalation. Additionally, the AU hesitated to take a side. It was unclear whether the AU supported the Libyan regime or the rebels. This occurred as several human right violations were perpetrated against members of the Libyan regime. It was later realised that the AU’s hesitation was due to its lack of capacity and its inability to engage in democratic reform.[138]

The AU attempted to mediate in the early stages of the 2011 Libyan civil war, forming an ad hoc committee of five presidents (Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, South African President Jacob Zuma, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni) to broker a truce.[139] However, the beginning of the NATO-led military intervention in March 2011 prevented the committee from traveling to Libya to meet with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.[140] As a body, the AU sharply dissented from the United Nations Security Council’s decision to create a no-fly zone over Libya,[141] though a few member states, such as Botswana,[142] Gabon,[143] Zambia,[144] and others expressed support for the resolution.

As a result of Gaddafi’s defeat at the Battle of Tripoli (the war’s deciding battle), in August 2011, the Arab League voted to recognise the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council as the legitimate government of the country, pending elections.[145] The council has been recognised by several AU member states, including two Arab League members.[146][147] However, the AU Peace and Security Council voted on 26 August 2011 not to recognise it, insisting on a ceasefire and on the formation of a national unity government by both sides.[148]

A number of AU member states led by Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Rwanda requested that the AU recognise the NTC as Libya’s interim governing authority,[149][150] and several other AU member states have recognised the NTC regardless of the Peace and Security Council’s decision.[151][152] However, AU member states Algeria[153] and Zimbabwe[154] have indicated they will not recognise the NTC, and South Africa has expressed reservations as well.[155]

On 20 September 2011, the African Union officially recognised the National Transitional Council as the legitimate representative of Libya.[156] In post-Gaddafi Libya, the African Union believes it still has an important responsibility to the country despite its failure to contribute to the conflict when it originated. The AU is essentially fighting an uphill battle though because of their failure to support the Libyan rebels.

Although the African Union is there to keep peace, it is not a long-term solution. The goal, as stated by the AU, is to establish a Libyan government that is sustainable to ensuring the peace in Libya. To achieve some level of peace in Libya, the AU has to moderate peace talks which are aimed at achieving compromises and power sharing accommodations as well.[138]

Military

See also: List of African Union military interventions

Togo

In response to the death of Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of Togo, on 5 February 2005, AU leaders described the appointment of his son, Faure Gnassingbé, to the presidency to have been a military coup.[157] Togo’s constitution calls for the speaker of parliament to succeed the president in the event of his death. By law, the parliament speaker must call national elections to choose a new president within sixty days. The AU’s protest forced Gnassingbé to hold elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected president on 4 May 2005.

 

Mauritania

On 3 August 2005, a coup in Mauritania led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to hold elections within two years.[citation needed] These were held in early 2007, the first time that the country had held elections that were generally agreed to be of an acceptable standard. Following the elections, Mauritania’s membership of the AU was restored. However, on 6 August 2008, a fresh coup overthrew the government elected in 2007. The AU once again suspended Mauritania from the continental body.[158] The suspension was once again lifted in 2009 after the military junta agreed with the opposition to organise elections.[159]

Mali

In March 2012, a military coup was staged in Mali, when an alliance of Touareg and Islamist forces conquered the north, resulting in a coming to power of the Islamists. This resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Malian soldiers and the loss of control over their camps and positions.[160] After a military intervention with help from French troops, the region was in control of the Malian army.

To reinstall local authorities, the AU helped to form a caretaker government, supporting it and holding presidential elections in Mali in July 2013.[161] In 2013, a summit for the African Union was held and it was decided that the African Union was going to enlarge their military presence in Mali. The AU decided to do this because of increasing tensions between al-Qaeda forces and the Mali army. There have been several rebel groups that are vying for control of parts of Mali. These rebel groups include the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Azawad (FLNA), Ganda Koy, Ganda Izo, Ansar ad-Din, and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). AU forces have been tasked with counterinsurgency missions in Mali as well as governing presidential elections to ensure as smooth a transition of power as possible.[162]