Constitutive Act of the African Union ^[*]

"Act" means the present Constitutive Act;

"AEC" means the African Economic Community;

"Assembly" means the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Union; "Charter" means the Charter of the OAU;

"Committee" means a Specialized Technical Committee of the Union;

"Council" means the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the Union;

"Court" means the Court of Justice of the Union;

"Executive Council" means the Executive Council of Ministers of the Union;

"Member State" means a Member State of the Union;

"OAU" means the Organization of African Unity;

"Parliament" means the Pan-African Parliament of the Union;

"Union" means the African Union established by the present Constitutive Act.

Achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African counties and the peoples of Africa;

Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States;

Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent;

Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples;

Encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent;

Promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance;

Promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments;

Ensure the effective participation of women in decision-making, particularly in the political, economic and socio-cultural areas;

Establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations;

Promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies;

Promote cooperation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples;

Coordinate and harmonize policies between existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union;

Advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology;

Work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent;

Develop and promote common policies on trade, defence and foreign relations to ensure the defence of the Continent and the strengthening of its negotiating positions;

Invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our Continent, in the building of the African Union.

Sovereign equality and interdependence among Member States of the Union;

Respect of borders existing on achievement of independence;

Participation of the African peoples in the activities of the Union;

Establishment of a common defence policy for the African Continent;

Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly;

Prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among Member States of the Union;

Non-interference by any Member State in the internal affairs of another;

The right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity as well as a serious threat to legitimate order to restore peace and stability to the Member State of the Union upon the recommendation of the Peace and Security Council;

Peaceful co-existence of Member States and their right to live in peace and security;

The right of Member States to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security;

Promotion of self-reliance within the framework of the Union;

Promotion of gender equality;

Respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance;

Promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development;

Respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities;

Condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments;

Restraint by any Member State from entering into any treaty or alliance that is incompatible with the principles and objectives of the Union;

Prohibition of any Member State from allowing the use of its territory as a base for subversion against another Member State.

The organs of the Union shall be:

Other organs that the Assembly may decide to establish.

The Assembly shall be composed of Heads of States and Government or their duly accredited representatives.

The Assembly shall be the supreme organ of the Union.

The Assembly shall meet at least once a year in ordinary session.

At the initiative of the Chairperson after due consultation with all Member States, or at the request of any Member State and upon approval by two-thirds majority of Member States, the Assembly shall meet in Extraordinary Session.

The Assembly shall elect its Chairperson from among the Heads of State or Government at the beginning of each ordinary session and on the basis of rotation for a period of one year renewable.

The Chairperson shall be assisted by a Bureau chosen by the Assembly on the basis of equitable geographical representation.

Where the Assembly meets at the Headquarters, an election of the Chairperson shall be held taking into account the principle of rotation.

The Assembly shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States of the Union. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Assembly.

The Chairperson shall represent the Union, during his/her tenure with a view to promoting the objectives and principles of the African Union as stipulated in Articles 3 and 4 of the Act. He/She shall also, with the collaboration of the Chairperson of the Commission, carry out the functions of the Assembly set out in Article 9(e) and (g) of the Act.

The Chairperson may convene the meeting of the other organs through their Chairpersons or Chief Executives and in accordance with their respective Rules of Procedure.

The functions of the Assembly shall be to:

The Assembly may delegate any of its powers and functions to any organ of the Union.

The Executive Council shall be composed of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs or such other Ministers or Authorities as are designated by the Governments of Member States.

Council shall meet at least twice a year in ordinary session. It shall also meet in an extra-ordinary session at the request of any Member State and upon approval by two-thirds of all Member States.

The Chairperson of the Executive Council shall be assisted by a Bureau chosen by the Executive Council on the basis of equitable geographical representation.

The Executive Council shall take its decisions by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority of the Member States. However, procedural matters, including the question of whether a matter is one of procedure or not, shall be decided by a simple majority.

Two-thirds of the total membership of the Union shall form a quorum at any meeting of the Executive Council.

The Executive Council shall co-ordinate and take decisions on policies in areas of common interest to the Member States, including the following:

The Executive Council shall be responsible to the Assembly. It shall consider issues referred to it and monitor the implementation of policies formulated by the Assembly.

The Executive Council may delegate any of its powers and functions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article to the Specialized Technical Committees established under Article 14 of this Act.

There is hereby established the following Specialized Technical Committees, which shall be responsible to the Executive Council:

The Assembly shall, whenever it deems appropriate, restructure the existing Committees or establish other Committees.

The Specialized Technical Committees shall be composed of Ministers or senior officials responsible for sectors falling within their respective areas of competence.

Prepare projects and programmes of the Union and submit in to the Executive Council;

Ensure the supervision, follow-up and the evaluation of the implementation of decisions taken by the organs of the Union;

Ensure the coordination and harmonization of projects and programmes of the Union;

Submit to the Executive Council either on its own initiative or at the request of the Executive Council, reports and recommendations on the implementation of the provision of this Act;

and Carry out any other functions assigned to it for the purpose of ensuring the implementation of the provisions of this Act.

In order to ensure the full participation of African peoples in the development and economic integration of the continent, a Pan-African Parliament shall be established.

The composition, powers, functions and organization of the Pan-African Parliament shall be defined in a protocol relating thereto.

A Court of Justice of the Union shall be established;

The statute, composition and functions of the Court of Justice shall be defined in a protocol relating thereto.

The African Central Bank;

The African Monetary Fund;

The African Investment Bank.

There shall be established a Commission of the Union, which shall be the Secretariat of the Union.

The Commission shall be composed of the Chairperson, his or her deputy or deputies and the Commissioners. They shall be assisted by the necessary staff for the smooth functioning of the Commission.

The structure, functions and regulations of the Commission shall be determined by the Assembly.

There is hereby established, a Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the Union, which shall be the standing decision-making organ for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

The functions, powers, composition and organization of the PSC shall be determined by the Assembly and set out in a protocol relating thereto.

There shall be established a Permanent Representatives Committee. It shall be composed of Permanent Representatives to the Union and other Plenipotentiaries of Member States.

The Permanent Representatives Committee shall be charged with the responsibility of preparing the work of the Executive Council and acting on the Executive Council's instructions. It may set up such sub-committees or working groups as it may deem necessary.

The Chairperson of the Permanent Representatives Committee shall be assisted by a Bureau chosen on the basis of equitable geographical representation.

The Economic, Social and Cultural Council shall be an advisory organ composed of different social and professional groups of the Member States of the Union.

The functions, powers, composition and organization of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council shall be determined by the Assembly.

The Assembly shall determine the appropriate sanctions to be imposed on any Member State that defaults in the payment of its contributions to the budget of the Union in the following manner: denial of the right to speak at meetings, to vote, to present candidates for any position or post within the Union or to benefit from any activity or commitments therefrom.

Furthermore, any Member State that fails to comply with the decisions and policies of the Union may be subjected to other sanctions, such as the denial of transport and communications links with other Member States, and other measures of a political and economic nature to be determined by the Assembly.

The Headquarters of the Union shall be in Addis Ababa in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

There may be established such other offices of the Union as the Assembly may, on the recommendation of the Executive Council, determine.

The official languages of the Union and all its institutions shall be Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Kiswahili and any other African language.

The Executive Council shall determine the process and practical modalities for the use of official languages as working languages.

This Act shall be open to signature, ratification and accession by the Member States of the OAU in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures.

The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the OAU.

Any Member State of the OAU acceding to this Act after its entry into force shall deposit the instrument of accession with the Chairperson of the Commission.

Any African State may, at any time after the entry into force of this Act, notify the Chairperson of the Commission of its intention to accede to this Act and to be admitted as a member of the Union.

The Chairperson 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 Chairperson of the Commission who shall, upon receipt of the required number of votes, communicate the decision to the State concerned.

Any Member State may submit proposals for the amendment or revision of this Act.

Proposals for amendment or revision shall be submitted to the Chairperson of the Commission who shall transmit same to Member States within thirty (30) days of receipt thereof.

The Assembly, upon the advice of the Executive Council, shall examine these proposals within a period of one year following notification of Member States, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article.

Amendments or revisions shall be adopted by the Assembly by consensus or, failing which, by a two-thirds majority and submitted for ratification by all Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures. They shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the deposit of the instruments of ratification with the Chairperson of the Commission by a two-thirds majority of the Member States.

This Act shall replace the Charter of the Organization of African Unity. However, the Charter shall remain operative for a transitional period of one year or such further period as may be determined by the Assembly, following the entry into force of the Act, for the purpose of enabling the OAU/AEC to undertake the necessary measures regarding the devolution of its assets and liabilities to the Union and all matters relating thereto.

The provisions of this Act shall take precedence over and supersede any inconsistent or contrary provisions of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community.

Upon the entry into force of this Act, all necessary measures shall be undertaken to implement its provisions and to ensure the establishment of the organs provided for under the Act in accordance with any directives or decisions which may be adopted in this regard by the Parties thereto within the transitional period stipulated above.

Pending the establishment of the Commission, the OAU General Secretariat shall be the interim Secretariat of the Union.

This Act, drawn up in four (4) original texts in the Arabic, English, French and Portuguese languages, all four (4) being equally authentic, shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the OAU and, after its entry into force, with the Chairperson of the Commission who shall transmit a certified true copy of the Act to the Government of each signatory State. The Secretary-General of the OAU and the Chairperson of the Commission shall notify all signatory States of the dates of the deposit of the instruments of ratification or accession and shall upon entry into force of this Act register the same with the Secretariat of the United Nations.