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JOURNAL OF AFRICAN UNION STUDIES Volume 1, Issue 1 2012 : Constructing African Unity: An Ascendant Architecture or Building On Shaky Foundations?

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ISSN : 2050-4306(Online) 2050-4292(Print)

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The African Union (AU) has placed important emphasis on the construction of a robust peace, security and governance architecture. There has been considerable progress in developing the blueprint, breaking ground and laying the first critical foundations upon which the continental body will construct the necessary structures to realise African integration and unity. The first critically important phases of this ambitious endeavour have already been initiated. The Decision of the 15^th Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (Assembly/AU/Dec.304 (XV), mandated the African Union Commission (AUC) to put in place a Pan-African Architecture on Governance. It is anticipated that the Architecture would provide the process and mechanism of enhancing policy dialogue, convergence, coherence, and harmonization amongst AU Organs, institutions and Member States as a way of speeding up the integration process on the continent (UNECA 2011). Given this mandate, the Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission initiated the process of articulating and developing the African Governance Architecture. The rationale for this architecture is stated as being that while there are several governance instruments, frameworks, and institutions at the regional, sub-regional and national levels, there is little or no effective synergy, coordination and harmonization amongst them.

This African Governance Architecture is seen as the overall political and institutional framework for the promotion of democracy, governance and human rights in Africa. The Architecture will seek to project the governance vision for the continent. This governance vision is embodied in the governance norms, standards, principles and practices both at the regional and continental levels which Member States of the AU have collectively and individually committed themselves to. The main vision encapsulated in all these instruments is to create a democratic, well-governed, stable and prosperous continent, where Member States and the peoples of the Continent will respect the values of human rights and the rule of law, democratic norms, culture and practices, free, fair and credible elections and absolute rejection of unconstitutional or illegal transfer or seizure of power (UNECA 2011).

As part of the first critical foundation to this project on the occasion of the 16^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union met in January 2011 under the theme “Towards Greater Unity and Integration Through Shared Values”. The AU Executive Council during its Eighteenth Ordinary Session in January 2011 with reference to the Decision on the Report of Member States’ Experts Consultations on the Theme of the Sixteenth Ordinary AU Assembly “Towards Greater Unity and Integration Through Shared Values endorsed the strengthening of the African Governance Architecture, through the launch of the Governance Platform as an informal and non-decision making mechanism to foster exchange of information, facilitate the elaboration of common positions on governance, strengthen the capacity of Africa to speak with one voice. The Executive Council also requested the AU Commission to ensure greater synergy and coherence between the African Governance Architecture and the Peace and Security Architecture and declared 2012 as the year of Shared Values in Africa.

The AU Heads of State and Government, after having debated the theme dedicated to the session, “Towards Greater Unity and Integration through Shared Values declared that:

We commit ourselves to enhancing efforts aimed at reinforcing a deeper understanding of Shared Values and their promotion and popularisation amongst the African peoples as a means of shaping Africa’s common future and mobilising the African people towards achieving the shared vision of continental integration and unity…We reaffirm our commitment to speeding up the ratification and domestication of instruments of Shared Values and call upon the African Union Commission (AUC) to put in place measures and modalities to support Member States to establish the required capacities and processes for monitoring and review of domestication efforts…(AU Assembly 2011).

The declaration furthermore called for the consolidation and full implementation of the instruments of Shared Values and called upon the AU Commission and other Organs to establish African ownership over Shared Values and that there is ongoing review of progress in the implementation of adopted Shared Values instruments.

The construction of robust institutions with the ability to enact the AU’s ambitious shared values agenda has posed significant challenges to the continental organisation, particularly in the face of continuing conflict, insecurity and instability in various parts of the continent, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan (now infamously known as the two “Sudans”) as well as Libya. The inaugural edition of the Journal of African Union Studies will probe aspects of the institutional architecture of the AU in order to initiate further consideration of and debate over the institutions currently being crafted in order to promote continental peace, security, unity and integration. Apart from the lofty ambitions and grand visions the AU has sought to promote on paper, several structural weaknesses within its institutions have threatened to undo much of the significant progress the continental body has achieved after replacing the defunct OAU in 2002 and also threaten to significantly constrain the ability of the AU to enact new and critically important initiatives in the near future.

The clarion call to achieve African unity and to promote African integration is well entrenched within the various declarations and communiques issued by the AU since its inception. A fundamental question that remains of tremendous salience is whether the structural integrity of this architecture remains sound and whether it will be able to withstand the considerable weight and burden of the plethora of challenges the continent is posing at present, and is likely to continue to pose in the immediate future.In this inaugural edition our Feature Articles will focus specifically on aspects of Africa’s peace, security and democratic governance architecture. In his contribution Keith Gottschalk provides an in-depth overview of the AU and its sub-regional structures. Annie Barbara Chikwanha & Eldred V. Masunungureundertakes an important analysis of the AU’s response to election-related conflicts, while Ademola O. Jegede reflects on present efforts to strengthen the Panel of the Wise in the AU’s peace and security architecture. In our Communique section, dedicated to shorter commentary pieces, Solomon A. Dersso provides an overview of the current tensions and conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. Tim Murithi refocuses attention on the AU and the Libya crisis, notably on the Responsibility to Protect vis-à-vis Africa, while Hussein Solomon examines the AU’s response to the changing nature of the terrorist threat on the African continent. Our final section, entitled Common Positions will be dedicated to contributions on issues of common interest to the African continent and its peoples and will focus on issues currently stirring vigorous debate, contemplation and reflection amongst AU member states. In this section JideoforAdibe focuses on the often controversial issue of same-sex marriage, which has garnered considerable attention in Nigeria, since the passage of a law banning same-sex marriage in the country in December 2011.

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