Africa Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === African Union === {{Main|African Union}} [[File:Regions of the African Union.png|thumb|[[Regions of the African Union]]:<br /> {{Color box|#DAA520|'''Northern Region'''|border=darkgray}}, {{Color box|#87CEEB|'''Southern Region'''|border=darkgray}}, {{Color box|#90EE90|'''Eastern Region'''|border=darkgray}}, {{Color box|#FA8072|'''Western Regions A and B'''|border=darkgray}}, {{Color box|#B88FFF|'''Central Region'''|border=darkgray}}]] The [[African Union]] (AU) is a [[continental union]] consisting of 55 [[Member states of the African Union|member states]]. The union was formed, with [[Addis Ababa]], Ethiopia, as its headquarters, on 26 June 2001. The union was officially established on 9 July 2002<ref name="African Union 2002">{{cite web|url=http://www.africa-union.org/official_documents/Speeches_&_Statements/HE_Thabo_Mbiki/Launch%20of%20the%20African%20Union,%209%20July%202002.htm |title=Launch of the African Union, 9 July 2002: Address by the chairperson of the AU, President Thabo Mbeki |author=Mbeki, Thabo |date=9 July 2002 |publisher=africa-union.org |location=ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa |access-date=8 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503210549/http://www.africa-union.org/official_documents/Speeches_%26_Statements/HE_Thabo_Mbiki/Launch%20of%20the%20African%20Union%2C%209%20July%202002.htm |archive-date= 3 May 2009}}</ref> as a successor to the [[Organisation of African Unity]] (OAU). In July 2004, the African Union's [[Pan-African Parliament]] (PAP) was relocated to [[Midrand]], in South Africa, but the [[African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights]] remained in Addis Ababa. The African Union, not to be confused with the [[African Union Commission|AU Commission]], is formed by the [[Constitutive Act of the African Union]], which aims to transform the [[African Economic Community]], a federated commonwealth, into a state under established international conventions. The African Union has a parliamentary government, known as the [[Assembly of the African Union|African Union Government]], consisting of legislative, judicial and executive organs. It is led by the African Union President and Head of State, who is also the President of the [[Pan-African Parliament]]. A person becomes AU President by being elected to the PAP, and subsequently gaining majority support in the PAP. The powers and authority of the President of the African Parliament derive from the Constitutive Act and the [[Pan-African Parliament|Protocol of the Pan-African Parliament]], as well as the inheritance of presidential authority stipulated by African treaties and by international treaties, including those subordinating the Secretary General of the [[Organisation of African Unity|OAU]] Secretariat (AU Commission) to the PAP. The government of the AU consists of all-union, regional, state, and municipal authorities, as well as hundreds of institutions, that together manage the day-to-day affairs of the institution. Extensive [[Human rights in Africa|human rights abuses]] still occur in several parts of Africa, often under the oversight of the state. Most of such violations occur for political reasons, often as a side effect of civil war. Countries where major human rights violations have been reported in recent times include the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Liberia]], [[Sudan]], [[Zimbabwe]], and [[Ivory Coast]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page