Tokunbo Awoshakin

Realizing that the scourge of conflicts in Africa constitutes a major impediment to the socio-economic development of the continent, 53 African nations, formerly jointly known as the Organization of African Unity, recently became the African Union.

The pertinent question of this article is whether the African Union has the prospect of being celebrated as the organization that will put an end to the series of structural and direct violence in the African continent.

In an attempt to answer this question, the article begins with a comparative analysis of the founding charter of the African Union and it’s mother body, the Organization of African Unity.

The article also attempts to identify, appraise and situate the substantive requirements for establishing continental peace and security in Africa both at the national and sub regional levels.

Since the African Union seems to be structurally fashioned after the European Union model, the article uses some historical analysis related to the emergence of the European Union to situate the peace project of the African Union.

Finally, this article proffers suggestions rooted in peace studies, as to how African Union can develop a comprehensive approach to achieving peace in the continent whereby it’s establishment may remembered and celebrated for peace and security in Africa.

The charter of the African Union states that the 53 African nations are guided by a common vision of a united and strong Africa. The charter adds that these nations realize the fact that the scourge of conflicts in Africa constitutes a major impediment to the socio-economic development of the continent. The leaders of African Union are conscious of the need to promote peace, security and stability as a prerequisite for the implementation of our development and integration agenda.

The 53 African leaders according to the charter are convinced of the need to accelerate the process of implementing the treaty establishing the African Economic Community in order to promote the socio-economic development of Africa and to face more effectively the challenges posed by globalization.

They are also determined to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights, consolidate democratic institutions and culture, and ensure good governance and the rule of law in the continent of Africa.

Simple name change to reflect modern trend! That is the first thing that comes to mind with the replacement of the Organization of African Unity with the African Union- composed of the same countries in the former body.

A closer look however suggests otherwise. Firstly, the Organization for African Unity is an establishment that simply strives for African unity, as the name implies. African Union, however, implies, semantically, that an actual union is in place. The name states its purpose and how it is established.

Beyond the semantic difference, the circumstances leading to and the charter establishing both bodies are not similar. During the Cold War individual African countries were important global diplomatic players, courted by both east and west eager to expand their spheres of influence. Since the end of the cold war in 1989, their international influence has been greatly reduced and there was a conscious acknowledgement of the fact that Africa must be united if it is to make its voice heard in the global economy. As Africa emerged from colonialism in the 1960s, some leaders such as Ghana’s Dr Kwame Nkrumah argued that Africa could only survive as a single entity. Others such as Felix Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast believed that the newly independent countries must first build strong nation states. The Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U) was created as a compromise between these points of view. (Munene ,1995)

The establishment of the Organisation of African Unity was therefore a way of giving a sense of oneness to newly independent African states. The charter of the organisation with it’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was silent on issues of democratic reform, peace, justice, and freedom of expression.

Consequently, a large number of the leaders of the O.A.U turned out to be military rulers and civilian dictators. This is the first point of departure between the new and old body. Although some of the leaders in the African Union, like Ghaddafi of Libya and Museveni are still military rulers, there are more democratically elected leades in the new organisation.

More importantly, the charter of A.U gives specific expression of the body’s determination to promote and protect human and peoples’ rights. There is also a statement of the determination to consolidate democratic institutions and culture, and ensure good governance and the rule of law.

The second thing that stands out in comparison of the charters of both O.A.U. and A.U. is that new African Union aims at political and economic union. The charter of the new organisation a hugely ambitious and wide ranging recovery programme to eradicate poverty and promote economic growth and development.

The blueprint, tagged "A New African Initiative" meant to transform the O.A.U. into the new African Union, is a plan which will include the establishment of a central bank, a court of justice and parliament, all along the lines of the European Union.

In theory, these will give ordinary Africans a greater say in their continental leadership. It will enable Africans create and run an Africa-wide economy and make abusers of human rights accountable for their actions.

The part of the charter that emphasises the promotion and protection of human and peoples rights especially the determination to consolidate democratic institutions and culture, and ensure good governance and the rule of law in individual nation states may prompt a quick conclusion that the African Union can end to conflicts and ultimately bring peace and security to the African continent.

At first glance, one could notice ideas and concepts similar to those that gave rise to the formation of the European Union, especially the early ideas of Emeric Cruce and Abbe de Saint Pierre. Some of these include; the sovereignty of member nations, the possibility of settling dispute through arbitration as well as trading among one another, using the same currency. (Archibugi, 1992).

African Union charter states the need for promotion and protection of human and peoples’ rights. It also stresses the consolidation of democratic institutions and culture to ensure good governance and the rule of law in individual nation states as conditions. These ideas are similar to Kant’s idea of republican constitution in his cosmopolitan model of attaining perpetual peace. (Held, 1995).

The African Union peace project seem to be an attempt to replicate the European experience which is based on complex institutional linkages between states and between them and regional and sub-regional organizations. The A.U. in theory seeks to follow the E.U that has a plethora of monitoring institutions, an explicit commitment to human rights and good governance, and a major role for civil society.

Commenting on the establishment of the African Union and the challenge of peace and security in Africa, United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan warned that if Africans wanted to follow the example of Europe after World War II and build a union, they would have to resolve their conflicts. (African Union Summit,2002)

True. Sustainable peace and security order across Africa requires the establishment of a ‘security community’ in Africa, that is, a community that transcends international boundaries in which the settlement of disputes by anything other than peaceful means is unthinkable.

To be sure, the biggest obstacle to the realisation of the African Union project of peace and economic growth is incessant conflict with several African nations and between and among nation states. (Burton ,1996) Similarly so is the issue of regional or hegemonic power. Powerful African countries like Nigeria and South African are wary of losing their own regional influence and concerned at any initiative that would weaken their sovereignty or ability to act independently. Nigeria, for example, enjoys its role as the dominant force in the existing West African grouping, the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS). South Africa similarly plays an important role in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

This appears to be a contrast to the E.U situation where European security was driven by the concerns of two dominant European states-Germany and France-under the umbrella of NATO, led by the United States. (Rapoport, 1992). Still, the formal structures of the African Union replicate those of the European Union. The conditions under which African countries are moving towards unity are however very different to those in Europe at the emergence of European Union.

The fact that the African Union will have a Peace and Security Council which will be the African equivalent of the UN Security Council except that none of the 15 members will be able to exercise a veto, may positively work positively to make member nations abide by it’ decisions. It will prevent a situation whereby key decision are made by regional powers .Given that the council’s stand-by force, drawn from African armies will also only intervene if crimes against humanity are being perpetrated after decisions have been taken by consensus, or by a two-thirds majority when such an issue is put to a vote, theoretically also makes the �rganization more prepared to prevent the kind of genocide and war crimes that the continent has experienced in the past.

It is however important to ask a number of questions about what are necessary to put in place to create an African ‘security community’ as a precondition for unity. Perhaps the first of these is an appraisal of the kind of peace and security that exist within the individual member nations of African Union.

There seem to be more reason to argue for prevailing internal peace as an essential precondition for an inter-state security order. This cannot be by-passed. At worst, the pursuit of internal peace should develop simultaneously. Similarly, while member nations retain their sovereignty, for the new union to achieve continental peace, internal conflicts within states should not be regarded as solely a domestic issue but as a question of international concern and engagement. Violent crime and banditry associated with proliferation of light weapons should also not be seen as only domestic problems.

In essence, the African Union may not be able to achieve peace and security in the continent of Africa until member nations seriously and genuinely address domestic issues of ethnic, religious and regional cleavages. These have become proliferated in many of the member nations of A.U. Also, Given that the underlying reasons for insecurity include poverty and thus conflict over scarce resources, member nations need to deal with the problem of insufficient institutional and constitutional structures to manage disputes peacefully. The problem of corruption and a militarized mentality that make many African leaders invariably resort to use of force to attempt to resolve issues that are better addressed through longer-term diplomatic processes, also have to be genuinely addressed.

Member nations should also work towards demilitarization. The present situation where one of the key nation in the A.U. initiative, Libya is still ruled by a government dominated by military elite that runs the country in a secretive and authoritarian manner, will have a negative influence on other member nations.

As mentioned earlier, the objective of internal peace and security can be pursued simultaneously with that of inter-state and continental rather than the illusory belief that continental peace can be achieved without having internal peace in member states. Similarly potential sources of conflict with neighbors such as undemarcated borders and contested natural resource control should be tackled diplomatically.

Already the African Union unlike the O.A.U. seem to be heading in the direction of intervening to settle disputes between member nations diplomatically. The efforts to end Burundi’s civil war, brokered by former South African President, Nelson Mandela is a good example. Hutus and Tutsis will serve in a transitional government to sustainable peace to that country.

Since the African Union is to eventually have a common parliament, central bank and court of justice, which in theory, will give ordinary Africans a greater say in their continental leadership, there is an urgent need for the remaining military leaders to allow for democratic representation.

Self development and social independence of citizens has been argued to be critical construct for democracy (Bangura, 1992). Consequently,participatory democracy within member states is as important as the ability of member States to delegate sovereignty for certain matters to independent institutions which represent the interests of the Union as a whole.

While the A.U. should not be a total replication of the E.U. because of obvious cultural and historical differences between the people of two continent,the position of (Vincent,1986) about certain universal concepts of international relations should apply in the fullest. Such concepts like human right, democracy and the rule of law should invaluable cornerstones of the African structure. This will lead to a situation whereby direct and structural violence within member states are dealt with in a "peaceful and lawful" manner (Galtung,1996).

To tackle the underlying reasons for insecurity such as poverty and conflict over scarce resources, governments of member nations of African Union need to give every a sense of belonging. Structural and cultural violence like marginalization of certain members of society based on ethnic or religious identities should end. Gender based discrimination in public spaces should also be addressed so that women are absorbed as equal members of the society. Even as member nations of African Union pursue these conditions that will ensure internal peace and security, a earlier idea in the works of Charles Beitz is still relevant (Beitz, 1979). The new organisation needs to work more on developing a mechanism to monitor and follow up on commitments and infringements made by member nations.

Finally, in line with the idea of evolving a cosmopolitan society, the A.U. may need to work out relationships with exiting regional, continental and international organizations like the European Union. And the United Nations and it’s agencies so than they can work in complementary ways.

Awoshakin is a development journalist and researcher

Nov 2002