The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Supra Mahumapelo, joins African countries in commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Sirte Declaration of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
The resolution was adopted on 9 September, 1999, in Sirte, Libya and called for the establishment of the African Union (AU) to accelerate continental integration and address Africa’s challenges with stronger unity and more unified solutions. This was the genesis of the creation of the AU, which officially launched in 2002, replacing the OAU to foster greater political and economic cooperation across the continent.
The Sirte Declaration decided, among other things, to establish the AU, speed up the implementation of the provisions of the Abuja Treaty, create an African Economic Community, African Central Bank, an African Monetary Union, an African Court of Justice and a Pan-African Parliament.
The Declaration was followed by summits at Lomé in 2000, when the Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted, and at Lusaka in 2001, when the plan for the implementation of the African Union was adopted. The first session of the Assembly of the African Union was held in Durban on 9 July 2002.
Mr Mahumapelo said commemoration of this day is an appreciation of the progressive gains that have been achieved in the implementation of this iconic resolution, which took the work of the OAU to the next level. “We are marking this day with deep optimism for more progressive movement in the area of unity of AU countries and their redefined and strengthened cooperation at all fronts,” said Mr Mahumapelo.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.