The African Union Explained: Is Africa's 55 Member Union the 'European Union' of Africa? - TLDR News

hello and welcome to another tldr eu video on the african union yes we know the african union doesn't actually have anything to do with the european union but the parallels between the two are developing so we thought it was time that we actually looked at what the african union is and take a look into the similarities between the two unions before we start be sure to subscribe to channel if you want more updates on issues like this as well as europe and the eu more generally this week we're set to have videos on the eu's budget standoff and the ongoing war of words between france and turkey so be sure to subscribe for all of that first things first though some background the african union isn't actually that much younger than the european union formed in may of 1963 just five years after the formation of the european economic community the organization of african unity as it was known back then consisted of a whopping 32 independent african states making it much much bigger than the eec by a factor of six established in the aftermath of decolonization the organization had explicit aims of promoting unity and solidarity intensifying cooperation to achieve a better life for the people of africa the defending of sovereignty territorial integrity and independence as well as the eradication of all forms of colonialism in africa the issue was though that the oau faced a number of setbacks in its infancy for nearly the first decade of the oau's existence a number of african states remained colonies notably the colonies of portugal and it was only after the fall of the dictatorship of portugal that the likes of angola guinea bissau mozambique and saltoman principe managed to gain independence to further add problems to the mix there was significant political disagreement as to how fast the oau ought to promote integration and unification a problem it and the european union continue to have to this day but what really added the fuel to the fire that would engulf the whole organization was the non-interference clause article 3 of the organization's charter stressed that member states would adhere to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the states the issue being what exactly counts as interference is calling out a fellow member states in action over protecting human rights and interference in the words of ghanaian economist george artier it was this protection afforded by its non-interference clause that caused the oau to be conspicuously silent over grotesque violations of human rights in the post-colonial period in turn the oau had to be overhauled it had to be reviewed so in september 1999 leaders from across africa met to discuss and subsequently issue the cert declarations which called for the creation of an african union as the declaration notes as we prepare to enter the 21st century and cognizant of the challenges that will confront our continent and people we emphasize the imperative need and high sense of urgency to rekindle the aspirations of our peoples for stronger unity solidarity and cohesion in a larger community of peoples transcending cultural ideological ethnic and national differences in our deliberations we've been inspired by the important proposals of colonel muammar gaddafi by his vision for a strong and united africa just like in europe the notion of a united states of africa is far from alien with none other than colonel gaddafi yes that colonel gaddafi advocating for deeper cooperation and integration at the heart of the african union in 2002 the dreams of african leaders became a reality with the african union formally established a union of over 54 african states guided by a vision of an integrated prosperous and peaceful africa driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena just like its preceding oaun the african union has a number of core aims at its heart this time once widely beefed up from before ranging from promoting peace security and stability on the continents to advancing the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields two ensuring the effective participation of women in decision making particularly in the political economic and socio-cultural areas the african union has been inspired by the european union to say the least in march 2004 the union inaugurated a pan-african parliament and the underlying constitutive act of the african union the de facto constitution of the union explicitly making plans for institutions that look very very similar to the eu's article 5 states the organs of the union shall be the assembly the executive council the pan-african parliament the court of justice the commission the economic social and cultural council and financial institutions including the likes of the african central bank african monetary fund and african investment bank and by 2023 through the african economic community the groundwork for a single currency is expected to begin crucially and in spite of the constitutive act including the non-interference policy that plagued the oaun in 2004 a peace and security council was established with explicit permission to intervene in conflicts and deploy military forces if necessary marking a shift away from non-interventionist to non-indifference though the union wasn't without it tensions libya allegedly wished to host the pan-african parliament in spite of not actually having a parliament military institutions political parties unions ngos or elections and in the end addis abda in ethiopia was originally selected to be the seat of parliament before moving to johannesburg in south africa the parliament does not yet however consist of any directly elected representatives rather members are designated by the legislature of their country though it is the explicit goal of the pan-african parliament to be an institution with full legislative powers whose members are elected by universal suffrage until such time the pan-african parliament has consultative advisory and budgetary oversight powers within the au the african union's commission almost identically to that of the european commission is entitled to represent the wider union coordinate and harmonize its programs provide operational support as well as instate and implement proposals there are main concerns however when it comes to the role of china in the union as is the case with the european union none of the members really wanted to fund the union themselves an issue made worse given how many members of the african union are facing dire economic conditions already in turn china agreed to fund the creation of the union's headquarters in ethiopia to the tune of 200 million dollars an action that has invariably led to the question of whether china is trying to buy influence among union member states in spite of this the union has come together in recent weeks and months in june of this year countries united to create the africa medical supplies platform two in the words of the president of south africa and chair of the union address the shortages and security of supply ensure price competitiveness and reduce logistical delays but what do you think is the african union a future challenger to the european union can it bring peace and prosperity to the region or is it destined to fail as always let us know your thoughts in the comments below be sure to subscribe to channel and hit the bell icon to be notified every time we release a new video special thanks to our patreon backers who make videos like this one possible and if you want to see your name at the end of videos then you too can back us on patreon the link to that in the description

Channel: TLDR News EU

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Length: 8min 40sec (520 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 24 2020