Basic Information: Birth of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development

The birth of the African Union (AU) goes hand-in-hand with the launch of the New Partnership for Africa's Development, popularly known as NEPAD, and the implementation of the Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Co-operation in Africa (CSSDCA) initiative. Although these three processes represent different Continental initiatives, success in one area will influence success in the others, and all of them are meant to fast-track African Renaissance and make an African century a reality.

The formation of the African Union (AU)
The African Union will replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The African Heads of State confirmed the establishment of the African Union on March 2001, during the Extraordinary Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Sirte, Libya. South Africa signed-in on 23 April 2001, agreeing to the formation and the law establishing the African Union called the Constitutive Act of the African Union. By doing so, South Africa joined other 35 African countries that are the founding members of the African Union. This is South Africa's proud achievement, as it did not have the opportunity to be part of the founding members of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) because apartheid had left it out of international affairs. Now, South Africa can rightfully take part in the fight to build a better life for all in Africa.

The Constitutive Act of the African Union replaces the Charter of the OAU, however, the Charter will remain operative from 11 July 2001 to 10 July 2002, until the African Union is in operation. The African Union will not be the continuation of the Organisation of African Unity under a different name, but it will have the capacities built into it to improve the economic, political and social development of the African people. It will also help ensure that the Continent is more prepared to deal with the challenges of the 21st Century and to achieve the ultimate goal of a complete African Unity. On July 2002, South Africa will host the first Summit of the African Union.

What is the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)?
The New Partnership for Africa's Development is an African programme for African development. The Partnership is the result of the joining together of the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) and the OMEGA Plan at the request of the Organisation of African Unity. The New African Initiative (MAP), which is now officially referred to as NEPAD, was approved by the Lusaka Summit on 11 July 2001. The Partnership is a commitment by African leaders to get rid of poverty and to place the African continent on a path of lasting growth and development. It is founded on African States practising good governance, democracy and human rights, while working to prevent and resolve situations of conflict and instability on the continent.
The founding document of NEPAD contains both a strategic policy framework and a detailed Programme of Action. The Partnership will deal with the following:

Requirements for development
· Peace, security, democracy and political governance
· Economic and corporate governance, with a focus on public finance management
· Regional co-operation and integration

Priority sectors
· Infrastructure
· Information and communications technology (ICT)
· Human development, with a focus on health, education and skills development
· Agriculture
· Promoting diversification of production and exports, with a focus on market access for African exports to industrialised countries

Mobilising resources
· Increasing savings and capital inflows via further debt relief, increased Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows and private capital, as well as better management of public revenue and expenditure.

South Africa and other role-player African States have been undertaking a broad programme to build international support for NEPAD. They have already succeeded in their efforts by gaining support for the Partnership from the major international and multinational bodies and conferences - such as the UN Economic and Social Council, the G8 Summit, as well as at the UN World Conference Against Racism that was held in Durban. In 2002, they will take the Partnership to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Financing for Development Conference to be held in Mexico.

Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Co-operation in Africa (CSSDCA)
The CSSDCA process is another important initiative in the plans to develop the ideal African Continent because it will build an important link between the various activities currently carried out by the Organisation of African Unity/African Economic Community (OAU/AEC). The Report of the First Ministerial Meeting of the CSSDCA that was held in Abuja from 8 to 9 May 2000, was approved by the OAU/AEC Summit in Lomé during the same year (2000). The CSSDCA will help to bring about a much-needed link to the work of the OAU/AEC in the areas of peace, security, stability, development and co-operation

The four Calabashes (Security, Stability, Development, and Co-operation) will carry out discussions during the various Calabashes meetings around the implementation of the CSSDCA process. At the end of all these meetings, a ministerial meeting will be held to examine what the Calabashes meetings recommend. This will be followed by the bi-annual standing Summit that will happen around the same time with the first Summit of the African Union to be held on July 2002, in South Africa.

The CSSDCA will provide a policy development forum for discussions and the advancement of common values within the main policy groups of the OAU/AEC. To ensure that the CSSDCA continues to exist productively and that it is implemented within the set standards of the OAU/AEC, it has been agreed that a Standing CSSDCA Conference would be established, to meet and assess the CSSDCA every two years during the Summit. A unit will also be established within the OAU/AEC Secretariat to look after CSSDCA activities.

Department of Foreign Affairs

October 2001