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[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 155 Introduced in House (IH)]

108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 155

             Concerning the formation of the African Union.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2003

    Mr. Meeks of New York (for himself, Mr. Fattah, and Mr. Payne) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                       on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
             Concerning the formation of the African Union.

Whereas upon the conclusion of World War II, the United Nations Charter 
        committed all colonial powers to develop full self-governance and free 
        political institutions in the territories under their control;
Whereas on May 25, 1963, 32 newly independent African states signed the Charter 
        of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to promote African solidarity 
        and intensify efforts to improve living standards;
Whereas some of Africa's first democratically elected Presidents such as Ghana's 
        Kwame Nkrumah, envisioned Africa's future as a ``United States of 
        Africa'';
Whereas such efforts to promote solidarity and stability on the continent were 
        undermined by regional conflicts, military coups, and civil wars, many 
        of which were exacerbated by the Cold War and a general policy of 
        noninterference and respect for territorial integrity in their relations 
        with other member states;
Whereas the OAU's efforts to promote peace, stability, and prosperity were 
        further stymied by internal and external structural constraints on 
        addressing the human, political, social, and economic legacies of 
        colonialism;
Whereas economic growth and sustainable socioeconomic development in sub-Saharan 
        African countries remain constrained by monumental foreign debts, 
        increasing trade imbalances, and Africa's inability to benefit from 
        greater amounts of international capital and trade flows;
Whereas in May of 1994, the ratification of the OAU's Abuja Treaty provided for 
        the African Economic Community to be set up through a gradual process, 
        which would be achieved by coordination, harmonization, and progressive 
        integration of the activities of existing and future regional economic 
        communities;
Whereas the United States enacted several initiatives to improve United States 
        economic relations with sub-Saharan Africa, including the African Growth 
        and Opportunity Act, which offers trade and other economic benefits to 
        sub-Saharan African countries which meet certain criteria;
Whereas on September 9, 1999, the OAU drafted the Constitutive Act of the 
        African Union, establishing the legal basis of the African Union;
Whereas the 2000 OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government Summit in Lome, 
        Togo adopted the Constitutive Act of the African Union;
Whereas a decision declaring the establishment of the African Union, based on 
        the unanimous will of member states, was adopted by the 5th 
        Extraordinary OAU Summit held in Sirte, Libya on March 1-2, 2001;
Whereas the African Union was created as a successor organization to the OAU to 
        further encourage economic growth and accelerated integration into the 
        global economy;
Whereas the objectives of the African Union as stipulated in the Constitutive 
        Act are the following: to achieve greater unity and solidarity between 
        the African countries and the peoples of Africa; to defend the 
        sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of its member 
        states; to accelerate the political and socioeconomic 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 African continent; to promote democratic principles 
        and institutions, popular participation, and good governance; to promote 
        and protect human rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human 
        and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; to 
        establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play 
        its rightful role in the global economy and in international 
        negotiations; to promote sustainable development at the economic, 
        social, and cultural levels as well as the integration of African 
        economies; to promote cooperation in all fields of human activity to 
        raise the living standards of African peoples; to coordinate and 
        harmonize the policies between the existing and future regional economic 
        communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; 
        to advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all 
        fields, in particular in science and technology; and to work with 
        relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable 
        diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent;
Whereas South African President Thabo Mbeki was selected as chairman of the 
        newly formed African Union;
Whereas the African Union has declared that it will abandon the OAU's policy of 
        nonintervention into the internal affairs of member states in favor of a 
        new policy of intervention in cases of genocide, war crimes, or gross 
        violations of human rights;
Whereas the African Union will create various organs, including an African 
        Central Bank, an African Investment Bank, a Commission at least half of 
        the members of which will be African women, a peacekeeping force, a 
        security council, and a Pan African Parliament to develop and implement 
        the new policies of the African Union; and
Whereas the African Union has declared that the New Partnership for African 
        Development (NEPAD) will be the continent's plan for economic 
        development: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) member states of the newly formed African Union should 
        be commended for their efforts in creating an organization 
        dedicated to establishing democratic societies and promoting 
        socioeconomic development through regional integration and 
        economic policy reforms;
            (2) the President should encourage domestic and 
        international support of the African Union and the 
        implementation of the New Partnership for African Development 
        (NEPAD) plan that fully involves Africa's civil societies;
            (3) the President should encourage both foreign and 
        domestic private investment, broad based economic growth, and 
        socioeconomic development in Africa; and
            (4) the United States should continue to establish and 
        carry out economic governance and initiatives that strengthen 
        transparent public-private partnerships to support the building 
        of the necessary regional and national institutions for 
        developing efficient and competitive markets in Africa.
                                 <all>
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