TRANSFORMATION OF THE ORGANIZATION OF
AFRICAN UNITY INTO AFRICAN UNION
BY
ABRAHAM A. FOFANA
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Human
Sciences (Political Science)
Kulliyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human
Sciences
International Islamic University
Malaysia
NOVEMBER 2008
ABSTRACT
The research studies the international and domestic factors and forces that led to the
transformation of Organization of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU).
Furthermore, it examines the structural and functional differences between the defunct
OAU and the newly emerge AU that replaces the OAU. In order to reach at
independent findings we investigate various theories in Human Sciences and finally
settle at Easton’s system theory. Easton System theory describes, identifies and
predicts the transformation in the society at both national and international level. The
theory is based on persistence and adaptation of the system. Easton believes that there
is a form of a political system in every society. And this system is not defenseless
against disturbances from the environment. According to this theory systems are
capable of reacting to disturbances and of creating action to adopt either in response to
or in anticipation of disturbances. In this context, the OAU was under constant
pressure from both national and international environments. Nationally, there were
many conflicts within and among nations of Africa and increase in number of those
living on the continent in object poverty. Internationally, the foreign debt owed
primarily to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) lending
institutions. This massive economic burden hinders the development of Africa, and is
behind poor educational institutions. Furthermore, it impedes economic integration on
the continent. This heavy debt burden is a major impediment to achieve economic
integration within and across regional and sub regional groupings in Africa. It doesn’t
only obstruct regional integration, but also it erodes previous development
achievements. In addition, the forces of globalization were another means to pressure
the OAU to transform and adapt to rising disturbances. Consequently the OAU was
transform into AU. The newly structure political geography is a giant step in the
direction of offering practical transformation. Promoting long-term commitments to
the African Renaissance vision, including the construction of a full participatory AU,
which may be more conducive to economic development, integration and peacebuilding on the continent.
ii
‫ﻣﻠﺨﺺ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ‬
‫ﺗﻘﻮم هﺬﻩ اﻟﺪراﺳﺔ ﺑﺘﺤﻠﻴﻞ اﻟﻌﻮاﻣﻞ اﻟﺪوﻟﻴﺔ واﻹﻗﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ أدت إﻟﻰ ﺗﺤﻮل ﻣﻨﻈﻤﺔ اﻟﻮﺣﺪة‬
‫اﻻﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﻪ إﻟﻰ اﻻﺗﺤﺎد اﻹﻓﺮﻳﻘﻲ‪ .‬آﻤﺎ ﺗﻘﻮم اﻟﺪراﺳﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺮآﻴﺰ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻔﺮوﻗﺎت ﺑﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﻨﻈﻤﺘﻴﻦ‬
‫ﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ اﻟﻬﻴﻜﻞ واﻟﻮﻇﻴﻔﺔ‪ .‬وﻣﻦ أﺟﻞ اﻟﺘﻮﺻﻞ إﻟﻰ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ ﻣﻮﺿﻮﻋﻲ ﻟﻬﺬا اﻷﻣﺮ ﻗﺎم اﻟﺒﺎﺣﺚ‬
‫ﺑﺎﺳﺘﻌﺮاض ﻋﺪد ﻣﻦ اﻟﻨﻈﺮﻳﺎت ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺎل اﻟﻌﻠﻮم اﻹﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ ووﻗﻊ اﺧﺘﻴﺎرﻩ ﻋﻠﻲ ﻧﻈﺮﻳﺔ اﻟﻨﻈﻢ‬
‫ﻟﻤﺆﻟﻔﻬﺎ دﻳﻔﻴﺪ إﺳﺘﻮن ‪ .David Easton‬وﺗﻘﻮم هﺬﻩ اﻟﻨﻈﺮﻳﺔ ﺑﺎﻷﺳﺎس ﺑﻮﺻﻒ واﻟﺘﻨﺒﺆ‬
‫ﺑﺎﻟﺘﺤﻮﻻت اﻟﺘﻰ ﺗﻄﺮأ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﺳﻮاء آﺎن ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺼﻌﻴﺪ اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻲ أو اﻟﺪوﻟﻲ‪ ،‬ﺣﻴﺚ ﺗﻨﺒﻨﻲ‬
‫أهﻢ اﻓﺘﺮاﺿﺎت هﺬﻩ اﻟﻨﻈﺮﻳﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺒﺪأﻳﻦ هﻤﺎ ؛ اﺳﺘﻤﺮار اﻟﻨﻈﺎم وﺗﻜﻴﻔﻪ‪ .‬وﻳﺮى أﺳﺘﻮن ﻓﻲ‬
‫ﻼ ﻣﻦ أﺷﻜﺎل اﻟﻨﻈﻢ اﻟﺴﻴﺎﺳﻴﺔ ﺗﻮﺟﺪ ﻓﻲ آﻞ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎت‪ ،‬وأن هﺬﻩ‬
‫ﻧﻈﺮﻳﺔ اﻟﻨﻈﻢ أن هﻨﺎك ﺷﻜ ً‬
‫اﻟﻨﻈﻢ ﻟﻴﺴﺖ ﻣﻌﺰوﻟﺔ ﻋﻦ ﺑﻴﺌﺘﻬﺎ‪ ،‬وأﻧﻬﺎ ﺗﺘﺸﻜﻞ وﺗﺘﺄﺛﺮ ﺑﺘﻠﻚ اﻟﺒﻴﺌﺔ‪ .‬ووﻓﻘﺎ ﻟﻬﺬﻩ اﻟﻨﻈﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﺈن‬
‫اﻟﻨﻈﻢ ﻗﺎدرة ﻋﻠﻲ اﻟﺘﻮاؤم ﻣﻊ ﺗﻐﻴﻴﺮات اﻟﺒﻴﺌﺔ واﻹﺳﺘﺠﺎﺑﺔ ﻷي ﻣﺴﺘﺠﺪات ﺗﻨﺘﺞ ﻋﻦ هﺬﻩ‬
‫اﻟﺘﻐﻴﻴﺮات وﺑﻨﺎء ﻋﻠﻰ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻨﻈﺮﻳﺔ ﻳﺮى اﻟﺒﺎﺣﺚ أن ﻣﻨﻈﻤﺔ اﻟﻮﺣﺪة اﻹﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺔ وﻣﻨﺬ ﻣﻮﻟﺪهﺎ‬
‫آﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﺘﻌﺮض ﻟﻀﻐﻂ ﻣﺴﺘﻤﺮ ﻣﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ اﻟﻘﻮى اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻴﺔ واﻟﺪوﻟﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﺷﻜﻠﺖ ﺑﻴﺌﺘﻬﺎ‪ .‬ﻓﻌﻠﻰ ﺳﺒﻴﻞ‬
‫اﻟﻤﺜﺎل‪ ،‬واﺟﻬﺖ اﻟﻤﻨﻈﻤﺔ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺼﺮاﻋﺎت داﺧﻞ اﻟﻘﺎرة و إﺿﺎﻓﺔ إﻟﻰ ﻋﺐء زﻳﺎدة أﻋﺪاد‬
‫اﻟﻔﻘﺮاء ﻓﻲ ﻣﺠﺘﻤﻌﺎت اﻟﻘﺎرة‪ .‬أﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺼﻌﻴﺪ اﻟﺪوﻟﻲ ﻓﻘﺪ واﺟﻬﺖ اﻟﻘﺎرة اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺸﺎآﻞ‬
‫آﺎن ﻓﻲ ﻣﻘﺪﻣﺘﻬﺎ اﻟﺪﻳﻮن اﻟﻤﺘﺮاآﻤﺔ اﻟﺘﻰ اﺳﺘﺪاﻧﺘﻬﺎ اﻟﺪول اﻷﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺔ ﺧﺎﺻﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺻﻨﺪوق اﻟﻨﻘﺪ‬
‫ﻼ ﻋﻠﻰ‬
‫اﻟﺪوﻟﻲ واﻟﺒﻨﻚ اﻟﺪوﻟﻲ ‪ .‬وواﺟﻬﺖ اﻟﻘﺎرة ﻣﺸﻜﻠﺔ ﺳﺪاد هﺬﻩ اﻟﺪﻳﻮن واﻟﺘﻲ ﻣﺜﻠﺖ ﻋﺒﺌًﺎ ﺛﻘﻴ ً‬
‫اﻗﺘﺼﺎدﻳﺎت دول اﻟﻘﺎرة وﻋﺮﻗﻠﺖ ﺗﻨﻤﻴﺔ ﻣﻮارد اﻟﻘﺎرة اﻟﻄﺒﻴﻌﻴﺔ وآﺎﻧﺖ ﺿﻤﻦ اﻷﺳﺒﺎب‬
‫اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻴﺔ ﻟﻀﻌﻒ اﻷداء اﻷﻗﺘﺼﺎدى و ﺿﻌﻒ ﻣﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ‪ .‬آﻤﺎ ﺷﻜﻠﺖ ﻣﺸﻜﻠﺔ اﻟﺪﻳﻮن‬
‫ﻋﺒﺌًﺎ إﺿﺎﻓﻴًﺎ ووﻗﻔﺖ ﻋﺎﺋﻘًﺎ آﺒﻴﺮًا أﻣﺎم ﺗﺤﻘﻴﻖ اﻟﺘﻜﺎﻣﻞ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدي ﻟﺪول اﻟﻘﺎرة‪ ،‬آﻤﺎ ﻗﻮﺿﺖ‬
‫اﻧﺠﺎزات اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻰ ﺗﻤﺖ ﻓﻲ وﻗﺖ ﺳﺎﺑﻖ‪ .‬وﻣﺜﻠﺖ اﻟﻌﻮﻟﻤﺔ وﺗﺪاﻋﻴﺎﺗﻬﺎ ﻣﺼﺪر ﺿﻐﻂ ﺁﺧﺮ‬
‫ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﺎرة‪ .‬آﻞ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻀﻐﻮط ﺳﺎهﻤﺖ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ أو ﺁﺧﺮ ﻓﻲ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﺗﺤﻮل ﻣﻨﻈﻤﺔ اﻟﻮﺣﺪة‬
‫اﻹﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺔ إﻟﻰ اﻻﺗﺤﺎد اﻹﻓﺮﻳﻘﻲ‪ .‬ﺣﻴﺚ ﻳﺮي اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﻠﻠﻴﻦ أن هﺬا اﻟﺠﻬﺎز اﻟﺠﺪﻳﺪ‬
‫هﻮﺧﻄﻮة ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻃﺮﻳﻖ ﺗﻌﺰﻳﺰ ﻧﻬﻀﻬﺔ إﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﺔ ﺗﺆدى ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺪي اﻟﺒﻌﻴﺪ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺰﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ‬
‫اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ اﻻﻗﺘﺼﺎدﻳﺔ واﻟﺘﻜﺎﻣﻞ وﺑﻨﺎء اﻟﺴﻼم ﻓﻲ رﺑﻮع اﻟﻘﺎرة‪.‬‬
‫‪iii‬‬
APPROVAL
I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion; it conforms
to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (Political
Science)
………………………………………...
El Fatih Abdullahi Abdelsalam
Supervisor
I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable
standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences in Political Science
………………………………………...
Md. Moniruzzaman
Examiner
This dissertation was submitted to the Department of Political Science and is accepted
as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Human Sciences
in Political Science
………………………………………
Wahabuddin Ra’ees
Head, Department of Political Science
This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Political Science
………………………………………...
Hazizan Md. Noon
Dean, Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed
Knowledge and Human Sciences
iv
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except
where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently
submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.
Abraham A. Fofana
Signature …………………………
Date……………………...................
v
INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION
OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH
Copyright © 2008 by Abraham A. Fofana. All rights reserved.
TRANSFORMAION OF ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY (OAU)
INTO AFRICAN UNION (AU)
No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except
as provided below.
1- Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may only
be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.
2- IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or
electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.
3- The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system and
supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities
and research libraries.
Affirmed by Abraham A. Fofana.
…………………………….
Signature
………………..
Date
vi
I dedicate this piece of work solely to my Father Sheik Abdul-Rahman Fofana who
passed away about half way during my studies. He encouraged me to come Malaysia
to continue my studies. I regret that he is not alive today to see this work but may
Allah bless him.
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The process of writing this thesis: “The Transformation of the Organization of African
Unity (OAU) into African Unity (AU)” has been extremely rewarding, but at some
time frustrating. Though my name is on the cover as the author, the finish product
involved the contribution of many people. So, my most pleasant task is to
acknowledge those people who in various ways have assisted in the project.
First and foremost is my mentor Professor Dr. Elfatih Abdullahi Abdel Salam who
enthusiastically read and commented on various drafts along the way. May Allah
shower you with his blessings for your fatherly and timely advice.
I owe a profound gratitude to one of the greatest academics in the International
Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain that I know and
made important changes to my proposal which serve as the guiding post to me
throughout the entire project. Prof. I am short of word to express my deepest feeling
for you but God is not short of reward. May He make paradise your abode.
Finally, my gratitude goes to Prof. A/Rashid Moten, Assit. Prof. Dr. Md.
Moniruzzaman and Assistant Prof. Dr. Wahabuddin Raees the Head of Department of
Political Sciences who encouraged me during the process.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ..................................................................................................................... ii
Abstract in Arabic ...................................................................................................... iii
Approval Page ............................................................................................................ iv
Declaration Page ........................................................................................................ v
Copyright Page........................................................................................................... vi
Dedication .................................................................................................................. vii
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1
1.1 Problem Statement ................................................................................... 5
1.2 Research Objectives ................................................................................ 8
1.3 Justification of the Study .......................................................................... 8
1.4 Literature Review ..................................................................................... 9
1.5 Theoretical Framework............................................................................. 27
1.6 Globalization ............................................................................................ 27
1.7 New Institutional Economics.................................................................... 30
1.8 Easton’s System Theory ........................................................................... 34
1.9 Environment ............................................................................................. 35
1.10 International Environment ...................................................................... 36
1.11 Domestic Environment ........................................................................... 36
1.12 Inputs and Outputs .................................................................................. 37
1.13 Scope and Limitation of the study .......................................................... 39
1.14 Methodology ........................................................................................... 39
CHAPTER TWO: FACTORS THAT LED TO TRANSFORMATION............ 40
2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 40
2.1.1 The African Continent ................................................................... 41
2.2 Conflicts in Africa .................................................................................... 42
2.2.1The Root of Conflicts in Africa ...................................................... 43
2.3 Poverty ...................................................................................................... 47
2.3.1 The Causes of Poverty ................................................................... 50
2.4 Education .................................................................................................. 53
2.4.1 Pre- Colonial education .................................................................. 53
2.4.2 Colonial Education in Africa ......................................................... 56
2.4.3 Post-colonial Period ....................................................................... 58
2.4.4 Problems of Education in Africa .................................................... 59
2.5 Democratization of Africa ........................................................................ 61
2.6 Summary ................................................................................................... 64
ix
CHAPTER THREE: INTL. FACTORS TO THE TRANSFORMATION ....... 66
3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 66
3.2 IMF and World Bank ................................................................................ 67
3.3 Structural Adjustment Program in Africa ................................................. 70
3.4 Debt crisis ................................................................................................. 76
3.5 Summary ................................................................................................... 78
CHAPTER FOUR: TRANSFORMATION .......................................................... 80
4.1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 80
4.2 The difference between OAU and AU ..................................................... 81
4.3 Structure.................................................................................................... 81
4.4 General Secretariat ................................................................................... 85
4.5 Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution ......... 85
4.6 The Executive Council and Permanent Representative Committee ......... 87
4.7 Goals ......................................................................................................... 88
4.8 Civil Society’s Participation ..................................................................... 90
4.9 Leadership ................................................................................................ 96
4.10 Other Matters .......................................................................................... 97
4.11 Summary ................................................................................................. 101
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ..................... 103
5.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 103
5.2 Recommendations .................................................................................... 107
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 109
x
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Today, in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean,
there are over forty economic integration groupings. Nearly half of these are in Africa.
This rather large number is but a reflection of the continuing faith that integration
efforts will accelerate economic development among less developed countries
(LDCs).1 In this study we trace the roots of one such grouping, known as the African
Union (AU).
Africa has influenced the world community since the very origin of
humankind. Africans participated in the growth and development of knowledge, the
arts, and spirituality. The Pan-African movement was essentially anchored in this
historical legacy and the imperative necessity of the continent and its Diaspora to
regain its dignity after centuries of slavery followed by colonial rule. The interaction
between the Africans in the Diaspora and African researchers and political leaders has
greatly influenced the struggle for independence in Africa, of which the search for
unity and collective action was part and parcel. Since most Africans became
politically independent, they made efforts to individually address the economic and
social challenges they all face but with little or no success. Therefore, they express the
willingness to act collectively on issues of common interest. As a result the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established on May 25 1963, as a
compromise between supporters of a full political integration and those preferring a
1
Onwuka, Ralph I (April 1982), The ECOWAS Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons: A Threat
to Nigerian Security?, Lagos: Published by African Affairs 81 P. 23
1
loose cooperation organization. The OAU remained the only continental organization
not only in Africa but in the whole world until its replacement by the African Union in
2002 at Durban, South Africa. Its membership includes all the 53 countries of the
continent except Morocco.
The OAU quest for collective development strategy and integration schemes
are documented in the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA), the Final Act of Lagos (FAL) and
the Abuja Treaty establishing an African Economic Community (AEC), was also an
initiative of the OAU supported by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Those documents stressed the need to develop AEC in six period of 34 years and
establishment of continental institutions including a Pan African Parliament (PAP), an
Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) and an African Central Bank
(ACB). Against this background, African countries resolved to move towards political
union by establishing, in 2002, the African Union (AU) to replace the OAU.
However, some scholars believe that the demise of the OAU was due to its
failure to achieve its objectives including its sovereignty and thus non-interference in
a member’s internal affairs.2 And the OAU’s failure to resolve the numerous civil
wars in Africa.3 Also, the deliberate decision by the drafters to constrain the powers of
the Secretary-General to administrative issues.4 Finally, the differences over the major
political issues confronting Africa,5 and the ideological divide between the
Casablanca and Monrovia groups over the pace and objectives of regional cooperation
under the OAU ’ s umbrella.
2
B. Akinyemi, (1972 – 73) “The Organization of African Unity and the concept of non-interference in
the internal affairs of member states”, 46 British Yearbook of International Law 393 – 400.
3
T. M. Mays, (2002) Africa’s First Peacekeeping Operation: The OAU in Chad, 1981 – 1982,
Westport, CT: Praeger.
4
B. D. Myers, (1976) “ The OAU’s Administrative Secretary-General”, 30 International Organization
509 – 520,at 510 – 513.The Secretary General ’ s role is set out in Article XVIII of the OAU Charter.
2
In 1994 South African President Nelson Mandela addressed a summit meeting
of the OAU in Tunis. He sought to rally African leaders behind the vision of a united
Africa that could command a larger share of global power and trade. He described this
geopolitical vision as the ‘African Renaissance’. This stimulated debate and led to
agreements, policies and practices aimed at a continent-wide development plan. By
1999,the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments in Africa adopted the Sirte
Declaration in which it declared its intention to dissolve the OAU and reconstitute it
as the AU. On 9 September 1999 Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi called an
extraordinary session of the OAU Assembly at Sirte, Libya. ‘[ to] discuss ways and
means of making the OAU effective so as to keep pace with the political and
economic developments taking place in the world and the preparation required of
Africa within the context of globalization so as to preserve its social, economic and
political potentials’.6 It was in the light of these discussions that the OAU Assembly,
inter alia, decided to establish an AU, in conformity with the ultimate objectives of the
OAU Charter and the Abuja Treaty.
On 11 July 2000 in Lome, Togo, the thirty-sixth ordinary session of the
Assembly of Heads of States and Governments of the OAU adopted the constitutive
act of the AU. Art. 28 of the constitutive act provides: ‘this Act shall enter into force
thirty (30) days after the deposit of instruments of ratification by two-thirds of the
Member States of the OAU’. On 26 April 2001 Nigeria became the thirty-sixth
signatory state to deposit its instrument of ratification with the OAU SecretaryGeneral. Therefore, the Constitutive Act accordingly entered into force on 26 May
5
E.M buyinga, (1982) Pan-Africanism or Neo-Colonialism?: the Bankruptcy of the OAU ,London:
Zed Books, 142 – 143.
6
See Decision AHG/Dec.140 (XXXV) adopted by the thirty-fifth ordinary session of the OAU
Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Algiers, Algeria, on 14 July 1999.
3
2001. In terms of Article 33(1), upon its entry into force the Constitutive Act replaced
the OAU Charter. However, in accordance with the same provision, the Charter, and
thereby the OAU, remained operational for a transitional period of one year, following
a decision adopted to that effect by the Assembly at its thirty-seventh ordinary session
in Lusaka, Zambia, on10 July 2001. Thus the thirty-eighth ordinary session of the
Assembly held in Durban on 8 July 2002 was the last summit of the OAU. This
manifested the turning of a significant page in the modern history of Africa, marking,
as it did, a critical moment in the quest of African peoples for a politically united and
economically integrated continent. At the meeting in Durban South Africa, African
leaders on July 9, 2002 replaced the OAU with the AU. Rather than continuing the
dominant state-centered process of integration, the AU has written into its
Constitutive Act a commitment to transform itself into a people-centered organ. The
vehicle of this transformation is envisaged to be the active participation of civil
society.
The idea of reviewing and reforming the OAU has a long history and is
certainly not the brainchild of the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi alone as
some have alleged, even if he is currently its most vocal advocate. There is no doubt
that, in recent times, he is the ‘accelerator of the engine for the transformation and
reconstruction’ of African unity and the spiritual father ’ of the African Union.7
President Gaddafi and other African leaders believe that there is a need to reinvigorate
the quest for a more united and cohesive Africa. They criticise postcolonial African
state as an illegitimate product of the balkanization policy of European colonialism
and his questioning of the legitimacy of the inherited colonial territorial divisions
which have, in many cases, split peoples and communities that in previous times
4
belonged to the same polities. Similarly, The Ghanaian first president Kwame
Nkrumah made similar pronouncements in the early 1960s. He challenged Africans to
rethink the whole question of the inviolability of the boundaries inherited at
independence by the postcolonial African states. In this sense, the transformation of
the OAU into the AU has its antecedents in the pan-Africanist movement of the preindependence era. The project is, therefore, not one individual country’s sole
initiative, or one particular leader’s obsession with personal aggrandizement. To insist
otherwise is to run the risk of missing the historical context in which current debates
about African unity and integration must be located. The OAU, now the AU, is
entering from political liberalization to phase two by focusing on the economic
integration and finally to continental unity. It, therefore, has a new mandate and new
responsibilities which will by no means make it abandon its political character and its
resolve to sustain peace and security on the continent which are crucial for the socioeconomic development process as a step of gradual integration.
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The transformation of the OAU into the AU is a milestone by African leaders and its
peoples for a politically united and economically integrated continent. At the same
time, however, it has given rise to many questions, relating both to the substantive
aspects of the proclaimed objectives of the AU, in particular the project of African
integration, and to the modalities and processes for carrying them out. Some of these
questions have revolved around the following issues: firstly, the extent to which the
AU offers a qualitative difference from the organization it has replaced. Secondly, the
extent to which the establishment of the AU represents a credible collective African
7
Jeune Afrique Economie 314 (7 Aug.– 3 Sept.2000), 59.
5
response to the challenge of globalization, as has been claimed by African leaders
themselves. The aim of this thesis is not to address all these questions or, indeed, the
many others that arise. My aim is to analyse the forces and factors that led to the
transformation of the OAU into the AU. Therefore, the research will answer the
following questions:
a)
What are the domestic factors that led to the transformation of the OAU
into the AU?
b)
What are the international factors that influenced the transformation of the
OAU into the AU?
c)
What are the structural differences between the OAU and the AU?
At independence, African states found themselves with poor prospects for
sustained economic growth. Most exported primary commodities whose values were
determined by world markets control led by capitalists. The new states inherited
colonial boundaries that grouped many diverse ethnicities into single artificial states.
These internal differences among the population often resulted in civil wars leading to
even greater economic and social misery for the people. Conflict and misery in one
state tended to spill over into its neighbours due to refugees, trans-border movement
of guerrilla groups, the disruption of transportation routes, or the involvement of
external governments in the "internal affairs" of another country. African leaders
realised that conflict in one state affected its neighbours.
Then the OAU was tasked to cater for those growing problems of Africa, and
unite the continent. But the OAU was criticized because of its narrowly defined
concept of sovereignty, which was seen to protect dictators hiding behind the
principle of non-interference in the Charter:
6
“The Member States, in pursuit of the purposes stated in Article II
solemnly affirm
and declare their adherence to the following principles:
1. The sovereign equality of all Member States.
2. Non-interference in the internal affairs of States”.8
This principle, drawn up in the 1960s at a time of cold war tension in Africa,
was by both African leaders and their various extra-African allies, be they capitalist or
socialist, to bolster the position of incumbent elites, often against international
sanctions. The net effect of this for the average African citizen was largely negative as
it was widely observed that this principle, originally designed to prevent outside
interference in the era of decolonization and the Cold War, was exploited to defend
autocrats, often against their own people. It was perhaps this, more than anything else,
that made the OAU suspect in the eyes of many, particularly as “non-interference”
meant that the OAU only played a very limited role in quelling Africa’s conflicts.
This research studies the aforementioned problems in the light of the fact that
the AU represents a serious effort to build on the decisions taken in the aftermath of
the independence of almost all African countries. Those decisions were based on the
recognition of the interdependence of the countries of Africa and the reality that the
people of the continent share a common destiny. Today, Africa's leadership felt that
we could only achieve sustained progress in meeting common continental challenges
if the continent act together in an organized, structured and systematic manner.
Furthermore, these leaders were and are convinced that the successful future of our
continent lies in its unity. It was for these reasons that the OAU was formed in 1963.
It is for the same reasons that the decision was taken to advance unity to a higher
level, by transforming the OAU into the AU.
8
Article III(2) OAU Charter 1963
7
1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This study aims to achieve the following objectives:
1-
To understand the reasons at the international and domestic level that led
to the transformation of the OAU into the AU.
2-
To examine the differences between the OAU and the AU.
3-
And finally, to make some recommendations for the policy makers in the
newly formed organization.
1.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
At a time when the debate is going on, on how the continent is to be stable politically
and economically integrated and earns some benefits of globilisation, this study is
necessary in order to learn lessons from the past and contribute to the stability of the
continent. Furthermore, the people of the continent are experiencing a high degree of
poverty and conflicts. The study will suggest ways in which conflicts can be resolved
and poverty can be eradicated or reduced and to enhance the role of Africa in the
international community. Finally, the same model may be used in other parts of the
world.
The research proved to be very crucial and vital. However, the study is a
historical survey to examine the level of integration within the continent from the
famous1945 Manchester Summit that culminated in the formation of the OAU now
transformed into the AU The study will focus on the economic, political,
technological and social integration within the continent through international, local,
and organizational structures.
8
1.4 LITERATURE REVIEW
Recent past, and present literature from different academic disciplines and scholars
regarding pan-Africanism appears to underscore the existence of a strong relationship
of transformation of OAU into the AU and the pan-Africanism envisioned by the
founding fathers of pan-Africanism like Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. du Bois, George
Padmore and others. Most literature has focused on the conditions that led to the
transformation itself and the ability of the new organization to live according to the
wishes of its people. The literature review in this thesis will deal with the factors that
led to the transformation of OAU into AU. The transformation was not just about
dropping one letter “O” from the OAU but was a well organized and calculated plan
by Pan-Africanists and the neo pan-Africanists
There appears to be a plethora of literature relevant and related to the theme of
this research. Few of them are considered here. I believe that the outcome will be
relevant for us to ascertain what has caused the transformation.
Ali Mazrui examines the features of Africa’s experience in his book Towards a
pax Africana: A study of Ideology and Ambition. He noted that out of a new African
self-consciousness grew a body of ideas which came to influence African political
behavior at large. He said that self-recognition in African political behavior led to the
affirmation of the Pan-African tautology that all Africans are, in the final analysis,
‘fellow Africans’. The principle of an ‘indivisible Africa’ is reinforced by the general
fear of factionalism which one recurrently discerns in African political attitudes. The
dogma that imperial powers once divided in order to rule has affected several aspects
of African thought. It has given Pan-Africanism itself an additional rationale as a
defense against the divisive tactics of colonialism. The ethics of the one-party state
9
also includes within it the general principle of anti-factionalism. The mystique of a
classless Africa, as well as the denigration of ‘tribalism’, is a further manifestation of
the same principle of ‘African onenesses. So is the choice of ‘socialism’ presumed to
be a centralizing ideology suitable for national integration. On the other hand, in
relations among African states a modest step towards Pax Africana was taken when
the OAU set up its Commission of Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration. The
machinery was used in the border conflicts between Algeria and Morocco and
Ethiopia and Somalia. The commission did not succeed in resolving the issues
involved in the disputes. What it succeeded in providing was what has been called ‘a
modus vivendi’ for avoiding the settlement of the disputes by force.9
In another book The African Condition; the Reith Lectures by Ali A. Mazrui,
he explained the African problem in a lecture titled The Burden of Underdevelopment
as the pathology of a fragmented economy. The learned scholar explores the social
political and economic situations of Africa and concluded that the continent as a
whole is rich in resources but it is so fragmented that it includes the majority of the
poorest nations of the world. The paradox here is a rich continent which contains
many poverty-stricken societies.10
Similarly, Gino J. Naldi’s book The Organization of African Unity: An
Analysis of its Role analyses the legal context of the OAU and the various areas in
which it plays a part. To him the OAU is only as good as the sum of its parts. This
follows from the inherent structure of the OAU itself. Its founding fathers jealous of
their sovereign rights ensured that it would be an organization with few powers.
9
Mazrui, Ali, (1967), Towards a pax Africana A study of Ideology and Ambition, Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 200 - 213
10
Mazrui, Ali, (1980), The African Condition The Reith Lectures, London: Heinemann Educational
Books Ltd , 65 - 71
10
Alternatively, it seeks to operate by consensus and it relies on exhortations to member
states to achieve the end results. Mr. Naldi said that the OAU, is therefore, dependent
on the political willingness of its members; therein quote “lies its main weakness”.11
On the other hand, the writer praised the OAU for its achievements which he
described as great success. According to him, these successes include the drafting of a
convention for the protection of refugees that is the most progressive in existence. The
fact remains that the biggest problems in dealing with the situation continue to be the
lack of resources and an adequate infrastructure. To this end the OAU and the UN
have sponsored a number of conferences to accentuate the alleged principle of burden
sharing.
He stressed that the OAU has also achieved considerable success with the
coming into force of the Banjul Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.12 Gino J.
Naldi’s book The Organization of African Unity: An Analysis of its Role did not only
blame the internal problems but attributed the root of trouble in the OAU not to be
found in human failure but in international failure. Above all, they were to be found in
the methods and means and systems of government or development which Africa had
used in its new-found independence. To him they inherited colonial boundaries,
system of government and imperialist developmental strategies that were not rooted in
the African society.
Looking ahead to the 21st Century, Africa needs new approach to Africa’s
problems, which will be reflected in a new vision of the future, the vision to foster
effective decolonization: decolonization, this time, of minds and attitudes such could
11
Naldi, Gino J. (1989), The Organization of African Unity An Analysis of its Role, England: Ansell
Publishing Limited, 80
12
Ibid 81
11
promote a decolonization of institutions. As our tumultuous 20th Century is closed, the
prophecy and promise of this vision might well find a widening acceptance.13
The book The Mind of Africa by W.E. Abraham argued that the present
problems of Africa are needless consequences of the contact with Europe. Again
many of the problems arise largely from the absence of planning and of any
seriousness about the values and native institutions of Africa. The attitude to Africa
was, from Africa’s viewpoint, casual, amateurish, and unprincipled. He accused
Europe of bringing racism into Africa.
The variegations in the problems in Africa even when they have been
categorized are due to an appreciable extent to the differences in policies of Britain,
France, Portugal and Spain. The British policy was that its civilization should be
cultivated by graft on to the African cultures, traditions, languages and where
possible, ideals. France had a diametrically opposed policy. It believed in a
centralized type of colonial government. It discouraged cheifship, as having no role to
play in the assimilation of France’s colonies into French culture. France saw her
subjects as falling into an elite group and an indigenous group. The elite received a
thorough French education, and became Frenchmen. The indigenes received an
impoverished education at what were referred to as schools of initiation. The French,
therefore, believed in standardization and the British did not. Belgium followed a line
that was similar to France’s line in its distinction between elite and the indigenes. But
it saw its African territories purely as a possession. The education, which Belgium
offered her territories, raised little above the elementary school. While the Portuguese
and Spanish continued to see their African territories as one of their natural resources,
and they are exploited. The same was true of Germany when she was a colonial power
13
Ibid 195 - 200
12
in Africa. These differences in attitude towards Africa survive today in the pattern and
gravity of problems involved in change into the new Africa.
He argued that though pan-Africanism is recommended, but the means of its
attainment is one which obviously ought to be discussed and examined. He concluded
that nothing could be disastrous for Africa than that of haphazard unification. It is said
that it took the United States of America a hundred and seventy years to achieve unity.
At the same, however, the pressures, both internal and external, bearing upon Africa
are greater than those on the United States.14
Rachel Murray wrote a book Human Rights in Africa from the OAU to the
African Union. The book examines the role of the OAU, now the AU, and how it has
dealt with human rights since its inception in 1963. It considers the key African
political institutions from a human rights perspective. The author examines various
themes including the concept of democracy and the right to development.
She argued that the transformation of the OAU into the AU has brought with it
huge potential for human rights to play a greater part in the political institutions.
Although human rights have been a concern to the OAU throughout its history, there
is little sign of a coherent and comprehensive approach to the elaboration of standards
and their implementation.
The AU has developed a vision for the continent, something which was lacking
in the later years of the OAU. In order to ensure that the opportunity for human rights
is not lost at this crucial stage, certain actions need to be taken.15
Similarly the book Modern Africa A Social and Political History by Basil
Davidson studies the problems of building unity inside new Africa and efforts made
14
Abraham, W.E. (1962), The Mind of Africa, Chicago: the University of Chicago Press, 150 - 160
13
by the past leaders also to overcome the legacies of division. He saw that further
efforts and experiments would be needed. But other problems of unity were now
coming into the foreground of discussion.
In his study questions that were asked are: could the African nations defend
themselves, and make progress, if they stayed in rivalry with one another or even in
conflict? Were frontiers of the African nations, the old colonial frontier, to act as
barriers against solidarity and common action? Or were these frontiers to be downgraded, gradually, so as to become a liberating framework for regional and, later on,
even for continental co-operation? If so, how could this be done? And in what ways,
then, could new nations gain from joint planning, development, diplomacy? To
answer those questions he turns to the history of Pan-Africanism. He said in earlier
times, during the colonial period, the ideas of Pan-African unity were far from the
reality of the daily life of the African masses. Few persons knew about them; fewer
supported them. The main task for the nationalists then, as people rightly saw it, was
to free each country from its colonial rule or system. So majority of the African
leaders believed at the time that the building of intra-African unity, or unity between
Africa’s nations, had to remain a task for the future, even the distant future. This
perhaps must be a reason why OAU was not given a mandate to interfere into the
internal affair of its members.
According to Davidson now, in and after the 1980s, this second task came
closer. The ideas of unity between nations, of regional unity or even of still wider
unity, began to seem usefully possible. He concluded that the OAU was unavoidably
an organization controlled “from the top” of the new states, and not nourished ‘from
15
Murray, Rachel, (2004), Human Rights in Africa from the OAU to the African Union, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 260 - 267
14