Organisation of African Unity

<p>The Organisation of African Unity  was an African <a href="/facts/Intergovernmental_organization/5ELbyRm6">intergovernmental organization</a> established on 25 May 1963 in <a href="/facts/Addis_Ababa/8TmdnlmM">Addis Ababa</a>, <a href="/facts/Ethiopia/LVujNp5v">Ethiopia</a>, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and <a href="/facts/Economic_integration/wJsysnYY">economic integration</a> among member states, and to eradicate <a href="/facts/Colonialism/kvqx2DaV">colonialism</a> and <a href="/facts/Neo-colonialism/LetJm7zX">neo-colonialism</a> from the <a href="/facts/African_continent/XkqQUP9s">African continent</a>.
</p><p>The absence of an armed force like the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> <a href="/facts/United_Nations_peacekeeping/pfhrl5Wq">peacekeepers</a> left the organization with no means to enforce its decisions. It was also unwilling to become involved in the internal affairs of member nations, prompting some critics to claim the OAU as ineffective in taking decisive action. Recognizing this, in September 1999 the OAU issued the <a href="/facts/Sirte_Declaration/0sM7UHM9">Sirte Declaration</a>, calling for a new body to take its place. On 9 July 2002, the OAU's <a href="/facts/Chairperson_of_the_Organisation_of_African_Unity/PNlNsA6n">Chairman</a>, <a href="/facts/President_of_South_Africa/ntwQLU03">South African President</a> <a href="/facts/Thabo_Mbeki/t2Q4Wa8n">Thabo Mbeki</a>, formally dissolved the OAU and replaced it with the <a href="/facts/African_Union/Pz1DVnDN">African Union</a> (AU), its immediate successor, which upholds many of the founding principles of the OAU.
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Organisation of African Unity open-in-new

Organisation of African Unity