THE DURBAN DECLARATION IN TRIBUTE TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY AND ON THE LAUNCHING OF THE AFRICAN UNION (Note: This version was discussed by the Executive Council during which the decision to shorten it was agreed to. This is the original version of the document. At the time that the AU Assembly closed, the final version was not available. Once finalised, that version will replace this.) 1. Thirty nine years ago, the Heads of State and Government of the then independent African Countries gathered in Addis Ababa Ethiopia to found the Organization of African Unity. 2. The establishment of the OAU was a statement of determination to define Africa, not as individual countries but as a collective bound together by geography, history and destiny. It was a selfempowering decision to find a framework for cooperation and forum for advocacy for Africa’s causes and for joint action. This determination found concrete expression in the objectives the founding fathers set for the OAU in its charter of promoting unity and solidarity among the African States, of coordinating and intensifying cooperation for development, of defense for sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of African States, of eradicating colonialism and of promoting international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations. The founding fathers saw a common future for Africa not constrained by borders, linguistic differences, color, religion or other divisive legacies of colonialism. They saw one Africa, united in its diversity, speaking one language of freedom, unity and development under the Organization of African Unity. 3. The OAU was instrumental in creating an African identity and in promoting solidarity among the African people. Today, being an African is not a philosophical proposition but a reality. Today, our people find expression in a common identity as Africans. That common identity and unity of purpose became a dynamic force at the service of the African people in the pursuit of the ideals our predecessors believed in and in which we continue to believe. 4. Nowhere has that dynamic force proved more decisive than in the African struggle for decolonisation. Africa saw its independence as meaningless as long as a part of it remained under colonial tyranny. Immense human and material resources were consecrated to the task of decolonising Africa. Through the OAU Coordinating Committee for Liberation, Africa worked and spoke as one with undivided determination in forging an international