The African Union (AU) was created in 1999 with the signature of the Sirte Declaration by the African Heads of State and Government meeting in Libya. The constitutive Act was signed at the São Tome Summit in 2000 and the implementation procedure was agreed to at the Lusaka Summit in 2001. The Durban Summit in 2002 marked the official launch of the African Union when leaders created the 1st Assembly of the Head of States of the African Union. The AU is the premier institution and principal organization for the promotion of socio-economic integration of the continent, with origins in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) created in 1963 and its Treaty of Abuja establishing the African Economic Community (AEC) signed in 1991.

The main institutions of the AU are the Assembly, the Executive Council, Permanent Representative’s Committee, the Peace and Security Council, the ECOSOCC, the Court of Justice and the Specialized Technical Committees. In the financial context there are three institutions: The African Central Bank, African Monetary Fund and African Investment Bank. The AU has a Commission directed by the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and 8 Commissioners with portfolios in Peace and Security, Political Affairs, Infrastructure and Energy, Social Affairs, Human Resources, Science and Technology, Trade Industry and Rural Economy and Agriculture and Economic Affairs. The Secretariat is located in Addis Ababa in Kenya and a Pan-African Parliament was established in Midrand, South Africa in 2004.