The African Union (AU): Key Issues and U.S.-AU Relations

Summary

U.S. relations with the African Union (AU), an intergovernmental organization to which all African countries except Morocco belong, have strengthened over the past decade. U.S.-AU cooperation has traditionally focused on peace operations and conflict prevention and mitigation. U.S. aid for AU democracy-strengthening initiatives is another key focus of engagement. Other areas of cooperation include economic development, health, governance, peace and security capacity building, and criminal justice. Direct U.S. aid to the AU Commission (AUC, the organization’s secretariat), which oversees AU program activity, is moderate; most U.S. aid in support of AU goals is provided on a bilateral basis or sub-regional basis. Consequently, such aid may not always be accounted for in analyses of U.S. support for the AU.

President George W. Bush formally recognized the AU as an international organization in 2005, and a U.S. mission to the AU was established in 2006, making the United States the first non-African country to have an accredited diplomatic mission to the AU. In 2007, the first AU ambassador to the United States was accredited. In 2010, an agreement on U.S. aid for the AU was signed and in 2013, the AU and the United States established annual partnership dialogues and extended the 2010 aid agreement. Later in 2013, President Obama met with the AUC Chairperson, marking the first exchange between an AUC chair and a U.S. president. In 2015, President Obama addressed the African Union at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, becoming the first U.S. president to do so. How the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress may view and potentially engage with the AU has yet to be determined.

The AU was established in 2002 as the successor to the now-defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU). The aim of the AU is to promote continental economic integration and socioeconomic development through shared political and economic institutions and the planned creation of a common African market. Other key AU goals include greater political and economic unity, peace and security, and stability within Africa; advocacy of common African positions in international forums; strengthened democratic governance and rule of law; respect for human rights; and gender equality and social justice, among others. The current AUC chair is Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa. Her priorities have centered on conflict resolution, support for transitional aid in post-conflict countries, AU monitoring of African elections, and efforts to boost economic growth and increase AU finance resources, among other goals.

In July 2016, Dlamini-Zuma’s tenure was extended until January 2017 after the AU Assembly (comprising heads of state and government) failed to agree on a successor. The Assembly also decided in July 2016 to impose a 0.2% levy on imports into Africa to fund AU programs and AU-led peacekeeping missions, to facilitate the intra-regional movement of persons through the expanded use of AU passports, and to speed the creation of a Continental Free Trade Area. It also addressed several country-level crises. Key AU challenges include organizational, technical, and skilled personnel capacity gaps and limited financial resources. Political tensions among member states, uneven commitment to AU goals and mandates across the region, and sovereignty concerns have also inhibited AU effectiveness.

The AU’s top decisionmaking organ is an Assembly of heads of state and government. Its decisions are overseen by an Executive Council, made up of AU members’ foreign affairs ministers. Other notable AU institutions include the Peace and Security Council (PSC), which manages the AU’s efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, which manages economic programs and projects. The AU is also endeavoring to address violations of international human rights law through an expansion of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a nascent continental court with a mandate to protect human rights and freedoms.