African Union (AU)

Multilateral not in force

Africa +

INTRODUCTION

The African Union (AU) was established in 2001 when the Constitutive Act of the African Union entered into force on May 26. This Act, which was adopted in Togo in 2000, officially launched the AU in 2002 as a replacement for the Organisation of African Unity, established in 1963. The AU’s primary goals are to achieve greater unity and solidarity among African countries and to accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent (Article 3, 2001 Treaty). All 55 Member States have ratified the Constitutive Act. Notably, the Act does not address the free movement of people.

In 1991, African countries adopted the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, which became effective in 1994. Fifty Member States have ratified it. According to Article 4(2)(i), the Community will gradually remove barriers to the free movement of people between Member States. Additionally, Article 43 includes the agreement to create a protocol on the free movement of people and the commitment by Member States to implement individual, bilateral, or regional measures to progressively achieve free movement, residence, and establishment of people.

In 2018, the AU adopted the Protocol on the free movement of persons. As of 1 January 2024, 32 countries have signed the Protocol, but only four out of the required fifteen have ratified it for it to enter into force. These countries are Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Thus, the Protocol on free movement of persons is not in force.

MEMBER STATES

The African Union (AU) consists of 55 member states representing all the countries on the African continent. These member states are divided into five geographic regions. Below is a list of all member states grouped by region in alphabetical order, along with their date of joining the AU or its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

CENTRAL AFRICA

  • REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON (1963)
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF CHAD (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (1963)
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA (1968)
  • GABONESE REPUBLIC (1963)
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE (1975)

EASTERN AFRICA

  • UNION OF THE COMOROS (1975)
  • REPUBLIC OF DJIBOUTI (1977)
  • STATE OF ERITREA (1993)
  • FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF KENYA (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF MADAGASCAR (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS (1968)
  • REPUBLIC OF RWANDA (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES (1976)
  • FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN (2011)
  • REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN (1963)
  • UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA (1963)
  • REPUBLIC OF UGANDA (1963)

NORTHERN AFRICA

  • PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA (1963)
  • ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT (1963)
  • LIBYA (1963)
  • ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF MAURITANIA (1963)
  • KINGDOM OF MOROCCO (1963/2017)
  • SAHRAWI ARAB DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (1982)
  • REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA (1963)

    SOUTHERN AFRICA

    • REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA (1975)
    • REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA (1966)
    • KINGDOM OF ESWATINI (1968)
    • KINGDOM OF LESOTHO (1966)
    • REPUBLIC OF MALAWI (1964)
    • REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE (1975)
    • REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA (1990)
    • REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA (1994)
    • REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA (1964)
    • REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE (1980)

        WESTERN AFRICA

        • REPUBLIC OF BENIN (1963)
        • BURKINA FASO (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF CABO VERDE (1975)
        • REPUBLIC OF CÔTE D´IVOIRE (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA (1965)
        • REPUBLIC OF GHANA (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF GUINEA (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF GUINEA-BISSAU (1973)
        • REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF MALI (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF NIGER (1963)
        • FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL (1963)
        • REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE (1963)
        • TOGOLESE REPUBLIC (1963)

        HEADQUARTERS

        Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

        DATE OF CREATION

        26 May 2001 and officially launched on 9 July 2002

        TIMELINE

        1963Creation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May
        1991Adoption of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community on 3 June 1991
        1994Entry into force of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community on 12 May
        2000Adoption of the Constitutive Act of the African Union on 11 July
        2001Entry into force of the Constitutive Act of the African Union on 26 May
        2002Official launch of the African Union on 9 July
        2018Adoption of the Protocol relating to free movement of persons on 29 January

        KEY LEGAL DOCUMENTS 

        Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, Abuja, 3 June 1991, entered into force 12 May 1994.

        Constitutive Act of the African Union, Togo 11 July 2000, entry into force 26 May 2001.

        Protocol to the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence and Right of Establishment, Addis Ababa, 29 January 2018.

        FURTHER READING

        Alan Hirsch, ‘The African Union’s Free Movement of Persons Protocol: Why has it faltered and how can its objectives be achieved?’, South African Journal of International Affairs, 2021, 28(4), pp. 497-517.

        Ikechukwu P. Chime, Edith Nwosu, Emmanuel Onyeabor, Collins C. Ajibo, Newman U. Richards, Fochi A. Nwodo, and Ndubuisi A. Nwafor, ‘The AU Free Movement Protocol: Challenges in its Implementation’, Journal of African Law, 2024, 68(1), pp. 3-17.

        George Mukundi Wachira, Study on the Benefits and Challenges of Free Movement of Persons in Africa, IOM and African Union Commission, Geneva, 2018.