African Union proclaimed
Regional, Politics, 3/3/2001

The 5th extraordinary summit of the OAU ended Friday in the Libyan city of Sirte with the proclamation of the African Union, a launching pad for greater continental unity and integration, AfricanNews.com reported.

OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim read the declaration, saying all the member states had signed the Constitutive Act of the Union, which was conceived in Sirte in September 1999 and adopted by the OAU July 2000 Summit in Lome, Togo.

Salim said that following the signing of the Constitutive Act, the assembly of Heads of State and Government "proudly declared the African Union by a unanimous decision."

He explained that the act would go into operation 30 days after all the members would have deposited their instruments of ratification with the OAU secretariat.

OAU current chairman, President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo described the proclamation as "a victory for Africa and a decisive step towards the realization of the African Union."

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