On 15 July 2012, Dlamini-Zuma won a tightly contested vote to become the first female head of the African Union Commission, replacing Jean Ping of Gabon.

[23][24][25][26] Barack Obama was the first-ever sitting United States president to speak in front of the African Union in Addis Ababa on 29 July 2015.

During his speech, he encouraged the world to increase economic ties via investments and trade with the continent and lauded the signs of progress made in education, infrastructure and economy.

However, he also criticized a lack of democracy and leaders who refuse to step down, discrimination against minorities (including LGBT people, religious groups and ethnicities) and corruption.

Morocco withdrew from the Organisation of African Unity in 1984 due to the admission as a member state of the SADR, whose territory of Western Sahara it claims sovereignty over.

[40] On 9 October of the same year, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union lifted the suspension imposed on Mali, citing progress made to return to democracy.

[43] Sudan's membership was suspended by the African Union on 27 October 2021, after a military coup deposed the civilian government led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

[45] Niger's membership was suspended by the African Union on 22 August 2023 following a military coup in late July that deposed democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum; this has since also led to the 2023 Nigerien crisis.

[46] Gabon's membership was suspended by the African Union on 31 August 2023 following a military coup that deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The principal topic for debate at the July 2007 AU summit held in Accra, Ghana, was the creation of a Union Government,[63] with the aim of moving towards a United States of Africa.

No final decision was taken on the recommendations, however, and a committee of ten heads of state was appointed to consider the review and report back to the July 2008 summit to be held in Egypt.

The year 2007 was the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence, a symbolic moment for the country to hold the chair of the AU—and to host the mid-year summit at which the proposed Union Government was also discussed.

[77] The complex was built by China State Construction Engineering Corporation as a gift from the Chinese government, and accommodates, among other facilities, a 2,500-seat plenary hall and a 20-story office tower.

[140] The individual member states of the African Union coordinate foreign policy through this agency, in addition to conducting their own international relations on a state-by-state basis.

The AU represents the interests of African peoples at large in intergovernmental organisations (IGOs); for instance, it is a permanent observer at the United Nations General Assembly.

[162][163] The AU and EU are also partnering on promoting sustainable resources management, environmental resilience, and climate change mitigation[158] The Africa Adaptation Initiative is also being supported by the European Union.

After the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki expressed his "utmost concern" at the situation and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities; additionally, he recalled that denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, particularly that of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, was the "main cause of the permanent Israeli-Palestinian tension".

[191] The African Union adopted its new flag at its 14th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government taking place in Addis Ababa 2010.

[201] In July 2007, the AU endorsed two new initiatives to combat the AIDS crisis, including a push to recruit, train and integrate two million community health workers into the continent's healthcare systems.

Daniel Batidam, an anti-corruption advisory board member of the African Union, resigned after stating that the organisation had "multiple irregularities" and that "issues have come up over and over again" regarding corruption.

[205] In a story published on 12 March 2020, AU staff alleged that Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat was guilty of corruption and cronyism, as well as running of a "mafia-style cartel" that operates with impunity.

[209] As a body, the AU sharply dissented from the United Nations Security Council's decision to create a no-fly zone over Libya,[210] though a few member states, such as Botswana,[211] Gabon,[212] Zambia,[213] and others expressed support for the resolution.

The PSC has the power, among other things, to authorise peace support missions, to impose sanctions in case of unconstitutional change of government, and to "take initiatives and action it deems appropriate" in response to potential or actual conflicts.

Since it first met in 2004, the PSC has been active in relation to the crises in Darfur, Comoros, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast and other countries.

It has adopted resolutions creating the AU peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Darfur, and imposing sanctions against persons undermining peace and security (such as travel bans and asset freezes against the leaders of the rebellion in Comoros).

That means, in cases of genocide or other serious human-rights violations, an ASF mission can be launched even against the wishes of the government of the country concerned, as long as it is approved by the AU General Assembly.

While a donor's conference in Addis Ababa in 2005 helped raise funds to sustain the peacekeepers through that year and into 2006, in July 2006 the AU said it would pull out at the end of September when its mandate expires.

[238] The AU struggled to have a strategic role in the independence talks and the reconciliation process of South Sudan, due to overwhelming interests of African and non-African powers, its influence is still limited and not consistent.

In September 2013, political scientist Ethan Bueno de Mesquita argued that with the help of AMISOM forces, they had made it "nearly impossible for al-Shabaab to hold territory even in its former strongholds in southern Somalia".

[251] On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos archipelago "forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius".