Its intended purpose was to promote the unity and solidarity of the African States and act as a collective voice for the continent. It was also dedicated to the eradication of colonialism and established a Liberation Committee to aid independence movements.
Its headquarters were established at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the invitation of its emperor, Haile Selassie I. The Charter of the Organisation was signed by 32 independent African states. At the time of its disbanding, 53 out of the 54 countries in Africa were members; Morocco left in 1985 following the admission of Western Sahara in 1982.
Though widely derided as a bureaucratic "talking shop" with little power, GhanaianUnited Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan praised the OAU for bringing Africans together. Nevertheless, in its 39 years of existence critics argue that the OAU did little to protect the rights and liberties of African citizens from their own political leaders.
Autonomous specialised agencies working under the auspices of the OAU were:
"OAU After Twenty Years"; Pub. Praeger; ISBN 0030624738; (May 1984)
"Africa's First Peacekeeping Operation: The OAU in Chad, 1981-1982" by Terry M. Mays, Pub. Praeger; ISBN 0275976068; (April 30, 2002)
"African Exodus: Refugee Crisis, Human Rights, & the 1969 OAU Convention" by Chaloka Beyani, Chris Stringer, Pub. Lawyers Committee for Human Rights; ISBN 0934143730; (July 1995)
The OAU mediated a border dispute between Algeria and Morocco in 1964 and 1965.
The OAU formed the African Liberation Committee in 1963 to channel financial support to movements trying to defeat Portuguese colonial rule in Guinea-Bissau, Angola, and Mozambique.
South Africa was excluded from OAU membership until 1994, when white minority rule and apartheid (the policy of racial segregation) ended.
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