MOROCCO AND
THE AFRICAN
UNION
OUTLINES:
I. INTRODUCTION:
1. AFRICAN UNION
2. OBJECTIVES
II. BENEFITS vs DRAWBACKS
1. ADVANTAGES
2. DISADVANTAGES
III. THE MOROCCAN CASE
IV. CONCLUSION:
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. AFRICAN UNION:
Background:
On 25 May 1963, in ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) was established with 32 African nations that have achieved independence at that
time. A further 21 members joined gradually, reaching a total of 53 states. The OAU main
objectives were to promote the unity and solidarity of all African states to achieve a better
life for the people of Africa, as well as protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
member states.
Through the 1990s, African leaders of OAU began to debate the need to amend the
OAU structures to reflect the challenges of a changing world. In fact, the former Libyan
leader Muammar Ghaddafi, in particular, favoured Pan-Africanism and pushed for a united
Africa in the mode of the United States and the European Union. It’s worth mentioning
that in 1999, the OAU heads of state and government issued the Sire Declaration calling
for the establishment of a new African Union (AU). In the lead up to the disbandment of
the OAU and launching of the AU four summits took place; Sirte (1999), Lomé (2000),
Lusaka (2001), and Durban (2002) where the union was officially established.
Foundation of AU:
African Union is a geopolitical continental cooperation of 55 African states that was
founded on 26 May 2001 and officially launched on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South
Africa, to replace the OAU (1963-1999). The African Union Commission is based in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Parliament sits in Midrand, South Africa. The Heads of
State and Government of the AU have elected H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic
of Senegal, as the new Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2022.
The AU emblem comprises four elements. The palm leaves shooting up on either side
of the outer circle stand for peace. The gold circle symbolises Africa’s wealth and bright
future. The plain map of Africa without boundaries in the inner circle signifies African
unity. The small interlocking red rings at the base of the emblem stand for African
solidarity and the blood shed for the liberation of Africa.
The current African Union flag was adopted in June 2010 at the Assembly of Heads of
State and Government 12th ordinary session. The design is a dark-green map of the
African continent on a white sun, surrounded by a circle of 53 five-pointed gold (yellow)
stars, on a dark-green field. The green background symbolises the hope of Africa, and the
stars represent Member states.
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2. OBJECTIVES:
To achieve greater unity, cohesion and solidarity between the African
countries and the African nations.
To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of its
Member States.
To accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent.
To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the
continent and its peoples.
To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter
of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent.
To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living
standards of African peoples.
To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all
fields, in particular in science and technology.
To work with relevant international partners in the eradication of
preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.
II. BENEFITS vs DRAWBACKS
1. ADVANTAGES:
In general, we can say that the African union benefits its member countries by
promoting unity and solidarity of African States, eradicating colonialism, and
facilitating international cooperations with other organizations such as the UN in
their objective of achieving world peace by sending peacekeepers (Blue Helmets)
in highly disputed territories like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mali,
South Soudan, etc...
Regarding the economic integration of African countries, the union helps them in
developing infrastructures, creating an ideal environment for industrialization and
economic growth but also in sustainable utilization of natural resources.
The African Union has been helping Africa by removing restrictions on Africans'
ability to travel, work and live within their own continent by transforming
restrictive laws and promoting visa free travel to enhance movement of all African
citizens and freight in all African countries.
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The AU could also be credited with boosting the perception that coups are an
illegitimate means of acquiring power in Africa.
Most recently, the African Union suspended the membership of Mali, Burkina
Faso, Guinea and Sudan after military coups.
2. DISADVANTAGES:
One of the main disadvantages that African countries faces when joining the AU
resides in the nature of the African continent itself being extremely large with many
very different cultures and a lot of conflict areas, civil wars, and recurrent coups.
The AU is highly fragmented with too many focus areas.
The African union’s problems can be summed into five main issues:
The low level of trade exchange among African countries.
A plethora of subregional organizations that supersede each other.
Unpaid dues by member states.
Political instability and conflicts.
Attachment to national sovereignty at the expense of the regional or
continental organizations that results in the failure to apply policy
agreements.
Since its foundation in 2002 the organization experienced some obstacles: Its
complicated structure and limited managerial capacity made it inefficient and
unaccountable and was never financially independent nor self-sustaining.
These were the reasons many problems such as nonfunctioning institutional organs,
mismanagement, budget shortfalls, conflicts between the AU commission
leadership and heads of state existed.
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III. THE MOROCCAN CASE
After decades of an unchanged position from Morocco which refused categorically to
adhere the African Union (AU) - known until July 2002 as the Organisation of African
Unity (OAU) - because the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was granted a seat
within this pan African organization in 1984, King Mohamed 6th changed the course of
Moroccan diplomacy and submitted a formal request in September 2016 to join the AU.
Aware of the prominent role the African Union could play in the resolution process of the
Western Sahara conflict, Morocco opted for a policy shift and chose to defend its claim
over the Western Sahara and break many African leaders’ support of the SADR.
This new direction was considered from Morocco because it saw that it could be more
effective to act within the AU as many African leaders on several occasions extended the
invitation to Morocco to step up to the plate and join the organization to better defend its
national cause.
On January 31st, 2017, Morocco became the 55th member of the African Union (AU) but
it was not an easy task as it expected. Morocco’s return to the African Union witnessed the
culmination of a yearlong extensive and fervent diplomatic battles because of the
resistance that both Algeria and South Africa provided against Morocco’s membership.
Whereby South Soudan membership was accepted within three weeks of its submission to
the AU, Morocco which was one of the core founders of the OAU in 1963 had to wait for
nearly four months before it could adhere and win back its seat in the AU.
