Enlargement of the African Union
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011) |
 |
This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (January 2012) |
|
|
| African Union |
 This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Advisory bodies
Financial bodies
Decentralised bodies
|
|
Other countries · Atlas Politics portal |
When the African Union (AU) was founded in 2002, it represented almost the entire African continent. As the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), founded in 1963, its membership was inherited from that body. Currently, the AU has 54 member states.[1] 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:
- 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.
- 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
- 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 At the end of one year from the date of such notification, if not withdrawn, the Act shall cease to apply with respect to the renouncing State, which shall thereby cease to belong to the Union.
- 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'état 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
Membership suspended Membership withdrawn
| Flag |
Common name |
Official name |
Accession |
Population |
Area (km²) |
Capital |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Algeria | People's Democratic Republic of Algeria | 1963 May 25 | 33,769,669 | 2,381,741 | Algiers | ||
 |
Angola | Republic of Angola | 1979 February 11 | 16,941,000 | 1,246,700 | Luanda | ||
 |
Benin | Republic of Benin | 1963 May 25 | 6,769,914 | 112,622 | Porto-Novo |
|
|
 |
Botswana | Republic of Botswana | 1966 October 31 | 1,639,833 | 600,370 | Gaborone | ||
 |
Burkina Faso | Burkina Faso | 1963 May 25 | 13,228,000 | 274,000 | Ouagadougou |
|
|
 |
Burundi | Republic of Burundi | 1963 May 25 | 3,589,434 | 27,830 | Bujumbura | ||
 |
Cameroon | Republic of Cameroon | 1963 May 25 | 17,795,000 | 475,442 | Yaoundé | ||
 |
Cape Verde | Republic of Cape Verde | 1975 July 18 | 503,000 | 4,033 | Praia | ||
 |
Central African Republic | Central African Republic | 1963 May 25 | 4,216,666 | 622,984 | Bangui | ||
 |
Chad | Republic of Chad | 1963 May 25 | 10,780,600 | 1,284,000 | N'Djamena | ||
 |
Comoros | Union of the Comoros | 1975 July 18 | 798,000 | 2,235 | Moroni | ||
 |
Côte d'Ivoire | Republic of Côte d'Ivoire | 1963 May 25 | 18,373,060 | 322,460 | Yamoussoukro |
|
|
 |
DR Congo | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 1963 May 25 | 62,600,000 | 2,344,858 | Kinshasa |
|
|
 |
Congo | Republic of the Congo | 1963 May 25 | 3,999,000 | 342,000 | Brazzaville | ||
 |
Djibouti | Republic of Djibouti | 1977 June 27 | 496,374 | 23,200 | Djibouti | ||
 |
Egypt | Arab Republic of Egypt | 1963 May 25 | 75,500,662 | 1,002,450 | Cairo | ||
 |
Equatorial Guinea | Republic of Equatorial Guinea | 1968 October 12 | 504,000 | 28,051 | Malabo | ||
 |
Eritrea | State of Eritrea | 1993 May 24 | 4,401,009 | 117,600 | Asmara |
|
|
 |
Ethiopia | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | 1963 May 25 | 85,254,090 | 1,104,300 | Addis Ababa | ||
 |
Gabon | Gabonese Republic | 1963 May 25 | 1,454,867 | 267,745 | Libreville | ||
 |
Gambia | Republic of The Gambia | 1965 October | 1,700,000 | 10,380 | Banjul | ||
 |
Ghana | Republic of Ghana | 1963 May 25 | 23,000,000 | 238,535 | Accra | ||
 |
Guinea | Republic of Guinea | 1963 May 25 | 10,211,437 | 245,857 | Conakry |
|
|
 |
Guinea-Bissau | Republic of Guinea-Bissau | 1973 November 19 | 1,586,000 | 36,544 | Bissau | ||
 |
Kenya | Republic of Kenya | 1963 December 13 | 37,953,840 | 580,367 | Nairobi | ||
 |
Lesotho | Kingdom of Lesotho | 1966 October 31 | 1,795,000 | 30,355 | Maseru | ||
 |
Liberia | Republic of Liberia | 1963 May 25 | 3,489,072 | 111,369 | Monrovia | ||
 |
Libya | National Transitional Council | 1963 May 25 | 6,173,579 | 1,759,541 | Tripoli | ||
 |
Madagascar | Republic of Madagascar | 1963 May 25 | 20,042,551 | 587,041 | Antananarivo |
|
|
 |
Malawi | Republic of Malaŵi | 1964 July 13 | 13,931,831 | 118,484 | Lilongwe | ||
 |
Mali | Republic of Mali | 1963 May 25 | 11,995,402 | 1,240,192 | Bamako | ||
 |
Mauritania | Islamic Republic of Mauritania | 1963 May 25 | 3,069,000 | 1,030,700 | Nouakchott |
|
|
 |
Mauritius | Republic of Mauritius | 1968 August | 1,264,866 | 2,040 | Port Louis | ||
 |
Morocco | Kingdom of Morocco | 1963 May 25 | 31,352,000 | 446,550 | Rabat |
|
|
 |
Mozambique | Republic of Mozambique | 1975 July 18 | 21,397,000 | 801,590 | Maputo | ||
 |
Namibia | Republic of Namibia | 1990 June | 2,088,669 | 825,418 | Windhoek | ||
 |
Niger | Republic of Niger | 1963 May 25 | 13,272,679 | 1,267,000 | Niamey | ||
 |
Nigeria | Federal Republic of Nigeria | 1963 May 25 | 152,217,341 | 923,768 | Abuja | ||
 |
Rwanda | Republic of Rwanda | 1963 May 25 | 10,186,063 | 26,798 | Kigali | ||
 |
SADR | Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | 1982 February 22 | 267,405 | 266,000 | El Aaiún (under Moroccan administration) Bir Lehlou (temporary capital) Tindouf Camps (de facto) Tifariti (proposed new provisional capital) |
||
 |
São Tomé and Príncipe | Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe | 1975 July 18 | 157,000 | 964 | São Tomé | ||
 |
Senegal | Republic of Senegal | 1963 May 25 | 11,658,000 | 196,723 | Dakar | ||
 |
Seychelles | Republic of Seychelles | 1976 June 29 | 82,247 | 451 | Victoria | ||
 |
Sierra Leone | Republic of Sierra Leone | 1963 May 25 | 6,294,774 | 71,740 | Freetown | ||
 |
Somalia | Federal Republic of Somalia | 1963 May 25 | 9,558,666 | 637,661 | Mogadishu | ||
 |
South Sudan | Republic of South Sudan | 2011 July 28 | 8,260,490 | 619,745 | Juba | ||
 |
South Africa | Republic of South Africa | 1994 June 6 | 47,900,000 | 1,221,037 | Pretoria (executive) Bloemfontein (judicial) Cape Town (legislative) |
||
 |
Sudan | Republic of Sudan | 1963 May 25 | TBD | 1,886,068 | Khartoum | ||
 |
Swaziland | Kingdom of Swaziland | 1968 September 24 | 1,141,000 | 17,364 | Lobamba (royal and legislative) Mbabane (administrative) |
||
 |
Tanzania | United Republic of Tanzania | 1964 January 16 | 40,000,000 | 945,203 | Dodoma |
|
|
 |
Togo | Togolese Republic | 1963 May 25 | 6,585,000 | 56,785 | Lomé |
|
|
 |
Tunisia | Tunisian Republic | 1963 May 25 | 10,327,800 | 163,610 | Tunis | ||
 |
Uganda | Republic of Uganda | 1963 May 25 | 30,900,000 | 241,038 | Kampala | ||
 |
Zambia | Republic of Zambia | 1964 December 16 | 11,668,000 | 752,618 | Lusaka | ||
 |
Zimbabwe | Republic of Zimbabwe | 1980 June | 13,349,000 | 390,757 | Harare |
[edit] Possible growth
Morocco could re-activate its membership. 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 (due to its claim), 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 region. Spain's uninhabited 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.
The United Kingdom's British Indian Ocean Territory is claimed by Mauritius, making secession to that state a possibility. In addition, the UK's islands of Ascension, Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha (administered together) are closest to Africa and might be a possible candidate for future membership although this is very unlikely.
[edit] South Sudan
A referendum took place in South Sudan from 9 January to 15 January 2011 on whether the region should remain a part of Sudan or become independent. The referendum was one of the consequences of the 2005 Naivasha Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M). On 7 February 2011, the referendum commission published the final results, with 98.83% voting in favour of independence and on 9 July 2011 became a sovereign nation. The new state of South Sudan joined the African Union on 28 July 2011.[2]
[edit] Darfur
While it is a primarily ethnic conflict, the Darfur conflict has gained a political dynamic in recent years, as the region has been traditionally distant from the Khartoum government until recent times. Until 1916, when it was forcibly integrated into the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, Darfur had exercised a high degree of autonomy apart from the ruling colonial government; relations between the region and the government deteriorated after Sudan's independence in 1956. One of the leading rebel groups in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement, originally started as a secessionist group, but later changed its goal to that of overthrowing the Khartoum regime. Furthermore, the African Union has stationed a small peacekeeping mission in the region, a mission which has experienced multiple difficulties in the maintenance of stability in the region. An explicit bid for independence by the rebels, as of 2007, remains to be seen, thus precluding any hints of a theoretical "Republic of Darfur" joining the African Union for the time being.
[edit] Morocco
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} |
This section requires expansion. |
It is possible that in the future, Morocco may rejoin the African Union.
For other areas, see the List of active separatist movements in Africa.
[edit] See also
- Foreign relations of the African Union
- List of African Union member states by political system
- Enlargement of the European Union
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles
- ^ "South Sudan Becomes African Union's 54th Member". Voice of America News. 28 July 2011. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/South-Sudan-Becomes-African-Unions-54th-Member-126320433.html. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
