It began in Casablanca in January 1961 when Morocco’s King Mohamad V invited twelve independent African countries — plus delegates from three countries as observers — to discuss problems related to the African continent. Foremost were the problems in the Congo, Algeria’s independence and French nuclear tests in the North African desert. King Mohamad suggested a 10-point charter be issued, bringing together independent and neutral African states in a single organization. The organization’s aim was cooperation for the liberation of countries under Western military occupation and ending foreign interference in African countries’ internal affairs. The leaders of seven countries at the meeting in Casablanca agreed to this.
As time passed the need grew for a larger organization to work at solving Africa’s problems in order to achieve growth for countries impoverished by foreign military colonization. After talks with a number of African leaders, the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selasse invited the heads of independent African countries to a meeting in Addis Ababa from May 22 to 25, 1963. The meeting convened on schedule — it was the first of its kind on the continent. On May 25 resolutions were issued and among them was the Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). It was agreed that May 25 would be Africa’s National Day.
In the beginning, the aims of the organization were divided between political and economic ones. On the political front, the organization succeeded most notably in helping to liberate countries through the support of national liberation movements or through pressure and unification of Africans’ political stands on the world stage. These efforts culminated in the abolition of apartheid in South Africa. The organization’s aim, however, to free African countries from foreign interference failed. The West didn’t simply leave the continent with its vast natural resources, cheap labor and huge markets but made certain that it could retain a presence in one way or another.
We must note that the countries of Africa are unlike those of the European Union or Latin America. Their reality and historical circumstances are entirely different; the number of countries and the continent’s vast geographic area also distinguishes it in addition to the heritage of European colonization, the prevalent border disputes, tribal animosities and racial and religious sensitivities — all of which make union extremely difficult. It is therefore imperative that the next phase deal with the following issues:
• Internal reform of African countries, the settlement of disputes by a mechanism authorized by the OAU and for the OAU to have the jurisdiction to achieve this and confront external intervention.
• One OAU presidential council must be selected to speak in the continent’s name at international political meetings.
• Prioritizing economics in order to achieve the economic growth that the continent is needs.
If the OAU succeeds in achieving these three, it will be able to raise much of the African continent from its status as Third World. This depends on a real commitment by all countries on the continent and an end to interference in the continent’s affairs by foreign countries.
