Profile: African Union

The African Union, or AU, is a pan-African organisation whose goal is to propel a united continent towards peace and prosperity.
The AU supports political and economic integration among its 53 member nations. It aims to boost development, eradicate poverty and bring Africa into the global economy.
The AU succeeded the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 2002. In its later years the OAU - which originated in the decolonisation struggles of the early 1960s - had been criticised for becoming a mere talking shop.

OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
Conceived by the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who proposed a "United States of Africa", its structure is loosely modelled on that of the European Union.
It inaugurated a pan-African parliament in March 2004 - one of a number of proposed institutions. The body debates continent-wide issues and advises AU heads of state.
There are far-reaching plans to set up a human rights court, a central bank and monetary fund, and by 2023 an African Economic Community with a single currency.
The AU believes that conflicts must be settled before there can be a chance of achieving prosperity. To this end, it set up a Peace and Security Council in 2004. The council may intervene in conflicts, replacing the old OAU principle of non-interference with one of "non-indifference".
The council can deploy military forces in situations which include genocide and crimes against humanity. It can authorise peacekeeping missions. The council plans to have a stand-by rapid-reaction force in place by 2010.
AU peacekeepers have served in Burundi and AU ceasefire monitors have served in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. An AU force is also deployed in Somalia.
The AU oversees the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), an anti-poverty blueprint which offers a bargain with the West: the promotion of good political and economic practice in return for more aid and investment.
Morocco is the only African country not to have joined the AU. It left the Organisation of African Unity in 1984, after the OAU granted membership to the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic set up by the independence movement in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
In addition, the African Union suspended the membership of Mauritania and Guinea over coups in those countries in 2008.

FACTS
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
Annual budget: $43 million (2004 figure)
2000: AU constitution signed in Lome, Togo
2002: AU launched at Durban summit, South Africa
Headquarters: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Membership: 53 African nations

LEADERS
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
Current Chairman: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi
Structure:
Assembly: The assembly comprises the heads of state of member countries, who meet at least once a year. It is the AU's main decision-making body. Members of the assembly elect an AU chairperson, to hold office for 12 months.
Executive Council: The council comprises the foreign ministers of member states, who advise the assembly members.
Commission: The administrative branch comprises 10 commissioners, who hold individual portfolios. The commission implements AU policies and coordinates the body's activities and meetings. The commission elects its chairperson to a four-year term.

ISSUES
OVERVIEW FACTS LEADERS ISSUES
Its critics have questioned whether the AU can be more effective than its predecessor. They point out that many of its leaders are the same people who presided over the OAU, an organisation that became known as the "dictators' club".

AU argues that conflict resolution is an imperative
Money is another sticking point. There are doubts about whether the AU - many of whose member nations are struggling to tackle domestic poverty - can afford to fund some of its ambitious schemes.
The union, keen that its activities should be bankrolled by member countries, has eschewed the "begging bowl" principle. But in 2004 the commission chairman warned that the AU needed the kind of financial lifeline that the US gave to post-war Europe.
Under a voluntary "peer review" scheme, AU members are expected to ensure that each other's governments adhere to democratic principles and sound economic practice. But their political will to do so has been questioned by doubters. Sceptics point out that, while promoting pan-African democracy, some AU nations are run by autocrats.