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Constitutive Act of the African Union

The Constitutive Act

We, Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Organization of African Unity (OAU):

The President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

2. The President of the Republic of Angola

3. The President of the Republic of Benin

4. The President of the Republic of Botswana

5. The President of Burkina Faso

6. The President of the Republic of Burundi

7. The President of the Republic of Cameroon

8. The President of the Republic of Cape Verde

9. The President of the Central African Republic

10. The President of the Republic of Chad

11. The President of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros

12. The President of the Republic of the Congo

13. The President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

14. The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo

15. The President of the Republic of Djibouti

16. The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

17. The President of the State of Eritrea

18. The Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

19. The President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea

20. The President of the Gabonese Republic

21. The President of the Republic of The Gambia

22. The President of the Republic of Ghana

23. The President of the Republic of Guinea

24. The President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau

25. The President of the Republic of Kenya

26. The Prime Minister of Lesotho

27. The President of the Republic of Liberia

28. The Leader of the 1st of September Revolution of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

29. The President of the Republic of Madagascar Constitutif Act of African Union 2

30. The President of the Republic of Malawi

31. The President of the Republic of Mali

32. The President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania

33. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius

34. The President of the Republic of Mozambique

35. The President of the Republic of Namibia

36. The President of the Republic of Niger

37. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

38. The President of the Republic of Rwanda

39. The President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

40. The President of the Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

41. The President of the Republic of Senegal

42. The President of the Republic of Seychelles

43. The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone

44. The President of the Republic of Somalia

45. The President of the Republic of South Africa

46. The President of the Republic of Sudan

47. The King of Swaziland

48. The President of the United Republic of Tanzania

49. The President of the Togolese Republic

50. The President of the Republic of Tunisia

51. The President of the Republic of Uganda

52. The President of the Republic of Zambia

53. The President of the Republic of Zimbabwe

Article 1 (Definitions)

Article 2 (Establishment)

The African Union is hereby established in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Article 3 (Objectives)

(b) defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States;

c) accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;

d) promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;

e) encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

f) promote peace, security, and stability on the continent;

g) promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance;

h) Promote and protect human and people’s rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;

i) establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations;

j) promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies;

k) promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples;

l) coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union;

m) advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology;

n) work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases nad the promotion of good health on the continent.

Article 4 (Principles)

The Union shall function in accordance with the following principles:

(a)  sovereign equality and interdependence among Member States of the Union;

(b)  respect of borders existing on achievement of independence;

participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union;

establishment of a common defense policy for the African Continent;

peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly;

prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States of the Union;

non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another;

the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity;

peaceful co-existence of Member States and their right to live in peace and security;

the right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security;

promotion of self-reliance within the framework of the Union;

promotion of gender equality

respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance;

promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development;

respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities;

condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments

Article 5 (Organs of the Union)

2. Other organs that the Assembly may decide to establish

1. The organs of the Union shall be:

 The Assembly of the Union; 

The Executive Council;

The Pan African Parliament;

 The Court of Justice;

 The Commission;

 The Permanent Representatives Committee;

 The Specialized Technical Committees;

The Economic, Social and Cultural Council;

The Financial Institutions;

Article 6 (The Assembly)

Article 7 (Decisions of the Assembly)

1. The Assembly shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two- thirds majority of the Member States of the Union. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

2. Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall forma quorum at any meeting of the Assembly.

Article 8 ( Rules of Procedure of the Assembly)

The Assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure.

Article 9 ( Rules of Procedure of the Assembly

1. The functions of the Assembly shall be to:  determine the common policies of the Union;  receive, consider and take decisions on reports and recommendations from the other organs of the Union;  consider requests for Membership of the Union;  establish any organ of the Union;  monitor the implementation of policies and decisions of the Union as well as ensure compliance by all Member States;  adopt the budget of the Union;  give directives to the Executive Council on the management of conflicts, war and other emergency situations and the restoration of peace;  appoint and terminate the appointment of the judges of the Court of Justice;  appoint the Chairman of the Commission and his or her deputy or deputies and Commissioners of the Commission and determine their functions and terms of office.

2. The Assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the Union.

Article 10 (The executive Council)

2. The Executive Council shall meet at least twice a year in ordinary session. It shall also meet in an extraordinary session at the request of any Member State and upon approval by two-thirds of all Member States

1. The Executive Council shall be composed of Ministers of Foreign Affairs or such other Ministers or Authorities as are designated by the Governments of Member States.

Article 11 (Decisions of the Executive Council)

1. The Executive Council shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority. 2. Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Executive Council.

Article 12 (Rules of Produre of the Executuve Council)

Article 13 (Functions of the Executive Council)

1. The Executive Council shall coordinate and take decisions on policies in areas of common interest to the Member States, including the following:  foreign trade;  energy, industry and mineral resources;  food, agricultural and animal resources, livestock production and forestry;  water resources and irrigation;  environmental protection, humanitarian action and disaster response and relief;  transport and communications;  insurance;  education, culture, health and human resources development;  science and technology  nationality, residency and immigration matters;  social security, including the formulation of mother and child care policies, as well as policies relating to the disabled and the handicapped;  establishment of a system of African awards, medals and prizes.

2. The Executive Council shall be responsible to the Assembly. It shall consider issues referred to it and monitor the implementation of policies formulated by the Assembly.

3. The Executive Council may delegate any of its powers and functions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article to the Specialized Technical Committees established under Article 14 of this Act.

Article 14 (The Specialized Technical Committees Esablishment and Composition)

1. There is hereby established the following Specialized Technical Committees, which shall be responsible to the Executive Council:  The Committee on Rural Economy and Agricultural Matters;  The Committee on Monetary and Financial Affairs;  The Committee on Trade, Customs and Immigration Matters;  The Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, Energy, Natural Resources and Environment;  The Committee on Transport, Communications and Tourism;  The Committee on Education, Culture and Human Resources.

2. The Assembly shall, whenever it deems appropriate, restructure the existing Committees or establish other Committees.

3. The Specialized Technical Committees shall be composed of Ministers or senior officials responsible for sectors falling within their respective areas of competence.

Article 15 (Functions of the Specialized Technical Committees)

Each Committee shall within its field of competence:  prepare projects and programmes of the Union and submit it to the Executive Council;  ensure the supervision, follow-up and the evaluation of the implementation of decisions taken by the organs of the Union;  ensure the coordination and harmonization of projects and programmes of the Union;  submit to the Executive Council either on its own initiative or at the request of the Executive Council, reports and recommendations on the implementation of the provisions of this Act; and  carry out any other functions assigned to it for the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Act.

Article 16 (Meetings)

Article 17 (The Pan-African Parliment)

Article 18 (The Court of Jusitce)

Article 19 (The Financial Institutions)

Article 20 (The Commission)

Article 21 (The Permanent Representatives Committee)

Article 22 (TheEconomic, Social and Cultural Council)

Article 23 (Impostion of Sanctions)

Article 24 (The Headquarters of the Union)

Article 25 ( Working Languages)

Article 26 (Interpretation)

Article 27 (Signature, Ratification and Accession)

Article 28 (Entry into Force)

Article 29 (Admision to Membership)

Article 30 (Suspension)

Article 31 (Cessation of Membership)

Article 32 (Amendment and Rivision)

Article 33 (Transitional Arrangements and Final Provisions)