With headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the African Union (AU) is a multinational union of 53 African countries or states. Their purpose is to promote democracy, Human Rights, financial stability, eradicate poverty and to end conflicts in Africa. The AU took over from the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 2002, which had been criticized for becoming largely ineffective.

On Monday, February 2, 2009, the African Union elected Moammar Gadhafi as their leader, a position that only lasts for a year and gives the appointee influence over the continent's politics but no real power. The meetings to select the chairman each year are held in private, and some of the diplomats that attended the closed-door meetings said several countries opposed of Gadhafi's selection. However, every year the AU chairman is from a different region and North Africa has not been represented since 2000, while Libya has not held the position in the African Union's entire 46-year history.Newsday.com: Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi Elected Leader of... (February 2, 2009)

The African Union was first conceived by the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who imagined a "United States of Africa" although its structure more closely resembles that of the European Union. In March 2004 it inaugurated a pan-African parliament - one of a number of proposed institutions. The body debates continent-wide issues and advises AU heads of state.

The underlying principal behind the AU is the belief that peace comes before prosperity. Far-reaching plans include setting up a human rights court, a single integrated defense force, a central bank and monetary fund, and by 2023 an African Economic Community with a single currency - the Afro.

• International Herald Tribune: "Unkept promises in Darfur" (January 27, 2008)

• Oromia Blog Post: African Union Neglected Oromo People (October 31, 2007)

• SudanTribune: "The Failure of the African Union in Darfur" (September 8, 2005)

• The Heritage Foundation: African Union: Another Club of Executives? (February 5, 2006)

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