Zuma 's speech on the 50th anniversary of the African Union

| Monday May 27, 2013 00:00

On that historical day, African Leaders met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to give birth to the Organisation of African Unity. Today, precisely 50 years on, we celebrate this historical event of May 25, 1963.It is well documented that the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union (AU), prioritised the decolonisation of Africa as its main objective. In this regard, the OAU established the African Liberation Committee.

The people of Africa, within the framework of the OAU Charter, took a conscious and deliberate decision to wage a united struggle against colonialism and apartheid.Our fellow Africans, in collaboration with revolutionary forces of the world, persistently supported our liberation movements as we fought to end the abhorrent system of apartheid in our country. It was in the pursuit of African Unity that apartheid in South Africa continued to experience intensified international isolation from the 1960s until its demise in the 1990s.

We recall with pride and gratitude, the role of the Frontline States whose leaders and people were at the forefront of this campaign which subsequently led to the formation of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), or the Southern African Development Community as we know it today.?

It was against this background that the ANC was granted observer status in the OAU attended by the Late Oliver Tambo, one of the gallant sons of our continent and later the President of the ANC. We are grateful of the gesture from the founders of our Union, which proved that we were not alone in our plight and that we were joined side-by-side by our fellow Africans.

As South Africa, we can proudly attest that South Africa, guided by the oldest liberation movement in Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), has a long and a proud tradition of working for African Unity as former President Nelson Mandela and the late ANC President Oliver Tambo played an important role in the process of the establishment of the OAU.

Today we recall that the OAU was founded against the backdrop of promoting the unity and solidarity of African States; to co-ordinate and intensify their co-operation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa; defend their sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence; eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; promote international co-operation, giving due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and co-ordinate and harmonise members' political, diplomatic, economic, educational, cultural, health, welfare, scientific, technical and defence policies.

Thus, 25 May, celebrated as Africa Day , marks the quest for the unity of the continent and for the political and economic emancipation of its people. Following the defeat of the scourge of apartheid, a fully democratic South Africa was officially admitted as the 53rd Member State of the AU. The 50th anniversary of the OAU would be distorted without alluding to the Berlin Conference which opened on 15 November 1884 and ended in 1885.

Historical accounts reveal that at the request of Portugal, the then German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck called-upon on all the European powers, to apportion the African continent amongst them and finally lay to rest the confusions over the coloniSation and control of the continent.

The Berlin Conference created a platform for the European powers to harmonise their colonial efforts and avert a possible military confrontation among them. The colonisers understood that for their continent to persist and subjugate Africans, they on their part must forge unity.The OAU therefore created a mechanism for the African intelligentsia and those at the forefront of the struggle against colonialism to coordinate and intensify their cooperation to emancipate the continent from colonial subjugation.

The OAU thus provided a sense of purpose for the African people to restore their freedom, dignity and to strive for a better life for all Africans, hence assuming the vehicle that carried the hopes and aspirations of all Africans.African hopes were revived that a day shall dawn, when all vestiges of colonialism will be obliterated from the African soil.

It is through the OAU that the need to harmonise members' political, diplomatic, economic, cultural, health, welfare, scientific, technical and defence policies was conceived and contemplated.As we mark the 50th Anniversary of the OAU, we must intensify our efforts and our calls for the reform of the governing global order.While we rightfully celebrate the 50th Anniversary, we are cognisant of the challenges we face.

The road ahead to attain peace, stability and prosperity on the African Continent for all her peoples is still arduous. This calls on all leaders of the continent to sharpen their resolve and through the African Union, raise our collective voices, and confront the challenges presented by the current global dispensation.