Constitutive Act of the African Union (2000)

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Pages: 105-115
• Date: 05 December 2017
• Citation: 2016 JOLGA 105
• Published date: 05 December 2017
• Author: None

105

CONSTITUTIVE ACT OF THE

AFRICAN UNION

1

We, Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the

Organization of African Unity (OAU):

[…]

INSPIRED by the noble ideals which guided the founding fathers of

our continental organization and generations of Pan-Africanists

in their determination to promote unity, solidarity, cohesion

and cooperation among the peoples of Africa and African States;

CONSIDERING the principles and objectives stated in the Charter

of the Organization of African Unity2 and the Treaty Establishing

the African Economic Community;3

RECALLING the heroic struggles waged by our peoples and our

countries for political independence, human dignity and

economic emancipation;

CONSIDERING that since its inception, the Organization of African

Unity has played a determining and invaluable role in the

liberation of the continent, the affirmation of a common identity

and the process of attainment of the unity of our continent and

has provided a unique framework for our collective action in

Africa and in our relations with the rest of the world;

DETERMINED to take up the multifaceted challenges that confront

our continent and peoples in the light of the social, economic

and political changes taking place in the world;

CONVINCED of the need to accelerate the process of implementing

the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community in or-

der to promote the socio-economic development of Africa and

to face more effectively the challenges posed by globalization;

GUIDED by our common vision of a united and strong Africa and

by the need to build a partnership between governments and

1 The Act came into effect in 2001 and is also available at http://www.

au.int/en/treaties/constitutive-act-african-union (accessed on 10 January

2016). The 2003 Protocol on Amendments to the Constitutive Act of

the African Union (available at http://www.au.int/en/treaties/protocol-

amendments-constitutive-act-african-union, accessed on 10 January

2016) has not come into effect yet. The following footnotes have been

added by the editors.

2 479 UNTS 39.

3 (1991) 30 ILM 1241.

2016 JOLGA 105

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