Is the African Union Living Up to Its Promise?

Saturday, 15th March 2025

By an AU Insider

When the AU succeeded the OAU in 2002, it promised a more proactive, people-centered organization that would solve Africa’s problems – from conflicts to poverty – with African leadership. Two decades on, how does it fare? There have been successes: the AU deployed peacekeepers in Somalia (AMISOM) who, with international help, pushed back Al-Shabaab; it has mediated in crises like Sudan’s and brokered political transitions at times. The AU’s ambitious Agenda 2063 sets out an inspiring long-term vision of prosperity and unity.

However, on pressing issues, the AU often falls short. The recent coup epidemic in West Africa saw the AU suspend those countries, but unable to prevent the trend – ECOWAS took front stage while the AU was relatively quiet. The principle of “non-indifference” in internal affairs, adopted to avoid past failures like Rwanda 1994, is inconsistently applied; some accuse the AU of being a “club of leaders” protecting each other. Funding is a perennial Achilles heel: the AU depends heavily on external donors (over 50% of its budget), which can compromise autonomy. On continental integration, the AfCFTA is a genuine milestone attributable to AU convening power – credit where due.

But ordinary Africans ask: what has the AU done for rising youth unemployment, or for the migration crisis where Africans risk their lives crossing the Sahara and Mediterranean? The AU has initiatives (Youth Charter, migration policy frameworks) but tangible impact is limited on the ground. Perhaps the AU’s biggest contribution is intangible – providing a forum where Africa speaks in one voice (like at the UN, now as a permanent G20 member).

Skeptics might say that’s just talk; yet in global diplomacy, a unified voice matters. To truly fulfill its promise, the AU must reform: reduce bureaucracy, enforce norms (like against unconstitutional changes of government) impartially, and engage civil society. The Pan-African Parliament should be empowered to hold leaders to account, not just be consultative. In summary, the AU is indispensable but not sufficient – it reflects the collective political will of its member states, which means it can only be as effective as those states allow. Africans must demand more of it, and of their own leaders at home, to turn the promise of unity into the reality of progress.