Africa has recorded a tremendous growth in its output of academic engineering research over the past 20 years. Greater collaboration can increase this growth even more.
President of the AU Alpha Conde, European Council President Donald Tusk (L) and President of the EU Jean-Claude Juncker.
Reuters/Luc Gnago
The transformation of the EU-Africa summit series into the EU-AU summit is more than just a change of name. It reflects the increasing recognition of the AU as an international actor.
Supporters of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, symbolized by a crocodile toy, celebrate the end of the Mugabe era in Harare on November 22.
Stefan Heunis/AFP
The political crisis in Zimbabwe reveals the shortcomings of African intergovernmental organisations and their (in)capacity to guarantee democratic functioning in the member states.
Guests and delegates attend the opening of the Pan African Parliament’s second sitting in Midrand, Johannesburg.
Reuters/Juda Ngwenya
The limited “consultative and advisory powers” of the Pan African Parliament hamper the African Union’s ability to achieve a prosperous and peaceful Africa as envisioned in its Agenda 2063.
The coup in Zimbabwe means Mugabe’s long and disastrous presidency is finally over. The questions that remain are the precise details and mechanics of the deal which secures his departure.
Large markets in Africa support the move for more trade in goods, services and assets.
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Viewed against the odds of success in getting 55 countries to foster meaningful regional integration, Africa has made commendable progress in crafting its own creative approach.
A political body of the AU is second-guessing a legal body in its interpretation of the African Charter, on the basis of prejudice against LGBTI people.
REUTERS/Antony Njuguna
A dispute between the African Union’s executive and the commission responsible for overseeing human rights could weaken the protection of peoples’ rights.
US President Donald Trump hasn’t proposed new initiatives for Africa but didn’t end those launched by his predecessors either.
In Africa mediation mandates are typically contained in resolutions passed by the UN the AU or sub-regional bodies that attempt to resolve conflicts.
Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
China’s presence in Africa continues to grow with its first military base in Djibouti. It wants to be a friend to Africa positioning itself as a global power while looking after its own interests.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir returned to Khartoum, after evading possible arrest in South Africa in 2015.
EPA/Marwan Ali
The ICC has been criticised for not acting against South Africa after it failed to arrest Sudan’s president in 2015. But, the court actually acted sensibly given the challenges it faces.
Crossing borders have always been tough for Africans.
Peter Andrews/Reuters
For real integration to happen, the Pan African Parliament needs to be imbued with supranational law-making powers. But national sovereignty is something that many states are reluctant to give up.
A Djibouti soldier along the border with Eritrea after conflict flared in 2008.
Reuters/Omar Hassan
Martin Plaut, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Qatar withdrawing its troops has reignited tensions between Eritrea and Djibouti which the UN and African Union are trying to mediate. This comes as Eritrea is also embroiled in the Yemen civil war.
By the end of the 1990s, the idea of encroaching deserts had become difficult to defend.
IFRC/Flickr
The move by the African Union to develop a policy to regulate the impact of firms on human rights puts it ahead of other regions as it seeks to guide companies conducting activities on the continent.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco (right) arrives at the 28th African Union session.
Tiksa Negeri/Reuters
By admitting South Sudan and Morocco to the African Union, the continental organisation has proven yet again that its commitment to upholding its own democratic ideals is lacking.
Money to protect the rights of African women has been in short supply.
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African countries are bound by continental law to put aside funds for the protection of women’s rights, but very few have managed to put their gender-budgeting guidelines into practice
Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), University of the Witwatersrand