Introduction

In 2002, a new pan-continental regional institution for Africa, the African Union (AU), came into being, succeeding the discredited Organization of African Unity (OAU) which was dissolved. This notable event had its origins in the Sirte Declaration adopted by the OAU in September 1999, where African leaders had met to discuss the future of the OAU. There was an acceptance that the OAU, as originally conceived in the early 1960s, could no longer serve or satisfy the needs and aspirations of the Continent, and it was decided to replace it with a more dynamic organisation capable, on the one hand, of preserving and building upon the OAU's achievements and, on the other hand, of promoting Africa's role in the twenty-first century. The Sirte Declaration sought, inter alia, to address in an effective manner the new social, political and economic realities in Africa through a revitalised pan-African organisation that would have an enhanced role in meeting the needs of the peoples of the Continent. The AU, in all essential regards a political and economic institution, is loosely modeled on the European Union and constitutes the expression of a renewed determination in Africa to expedite political co-operation and economic integration. The AU is designed to provide the African continent with the legal and institutional framework to tackle successfully the twin challenges of the post-Cold War age and globalisation.