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Enlargement of the African Union

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When the African Union (AU) was founded in 2001, it represented almost the entire African continent. As the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), its membership was inherited from that body. Currently, the AU has the same 53 member states as when it was founded. Growth in the OAU typically came from post-colonial independence; as decolonization ended, the borders of the OAU had overlapped almost all of Africa.

Contents

[edit] Membership

Article 29 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (ratified July 11, 2000), states:

  1. Any African State may, at any time after the entry into force of this Act, notify the Chairman of the Commission of its intention to accede to this Act and to be admitted as a member of the Union.
  2. The Chairman of the Commission shall, upon receipt of such notification, transmit copies thereof to all Member States. Admission shall be decided by a simple majority of the Member States. The decision of each Member State shall be transmitted to the Chairman of the Commission who shall, upon receipt of the required number of votes, communicate the decision to the State concerned.

The following two articles discuss the suspension and cessation of membership:

Governments which shall come to power through unconstitutional means shall not be allowed to participate in the activities of the Union.

and

  1. Any State which desires to renounce its membership shall forward a written notification to the Chairman of the Commission, who shall inform Member States thereof. At the end of one year from the date of such notification, if not withdrawn, the Act shall cease to apply with respect to the renouncing State, which shall thereby cease to belong to the Union.
  2. During the period of one year referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, any Member State wishing to withdraw from the Union shall comply with the provisions of this Act and shall be bound to discharge its obligations under this Act up to the date of its withdrawal.

The former of these two clauses has only applied to Mauritania after its 2005 coup d'etat and Togo. Madagascar was suspended during the dissolution of the OAU and formation of the AU (2001-2003.) The only state to leave the OAU/AU was Morocco, who withdrew in 1984, following the admission of Western Sahara's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in 1982. It is the only African state not currently an AU member.

[edit] Chronology

Image:Organisation of African unity.PNG
The current AU covers almost the entirety of Africa.
The current AU covers almost the entirety of Africa.

[edit] Possible growth

The only African state which could join (more precisely re-activate its membership) is Morocco. On the African continent, the only dependencies that remain are the Spanish autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. These territories would very likely never achieve independence; they are more likely to be ceded to the Kingdom of Morocco, and the two states have had diplomatic tension over these regions since Moroccan independence in 1956. Off-shore islands which could otherwise be considered African include France's French Southern Territories, Mayotte, Réunion, and various islands in the Indian Ocean; most are uninhabited and there is a possibility that Mayotte will join Comoros or Réunion will be ceded to Mauritius, but none of these territories would likely become independent. Portugal's Madeira islands are also likely to remain an autonomous community. Spain's uninhabted plazas de soberanía, and the Canary Islands are off the coast of north Africa. The latter will likely remain an autonomous community, but Morocco has expressed interest in both. Canary independentists defend a sovereign state integrated in the African Union. The United Kingdom's British Indian Ocean Territory and Saint Helena are closer to Africa than any other continent, and there is a chance that some of them would be ceded to African states at some point.

[edit] Notes

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[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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Member states of the African Union
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Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara (SADR) • Zambia • Zimbabwe

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