U.S.-AU ties have strengthened and assumed increasing prominence since the establishment in 2006 of a U.S. diplomatic mission to the African Union (USAU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the AU is headquartered. In mid-2015, President Obama addressed the AU in a speech focused on democracy and a range of other issues centering on governance and security. He had previously met with the AU Commission Chair, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in 2013 and in 2014. Key Obama Administration goals with respect to the AU have been to
support AU efforts to promote democratic and electoral reform across the continent; promote inclusive regional economic development and growth through improved trade and investment; support various AU developmental objectives, including projects in such areas as agriculture and education; strengthen the capacity of the AU and sub-regional organizations to effectively address peace and security challenges, and aid individual stabilization missions; improve AU staff and organizational/technical capacities; and increase public diplomacy and multilateral engagement with the AU and its member states to further U.S. interests. Background

The African Union is an intergovernmental grouping that includes as members all countries in Africa except Morocco. The AU, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was established in 2002 as the successor to the now-defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU). That treaty, which remains in effect, and the AU Constitutive Act, the founding charter of the AU, are intended to promote African regional economic integration and socioeconomic development through the phased creation of a common African market and shared political and economic institutions. Other key objectives identified in the act include greater political and economic unity, peace and security, and stability within Africa; advocacy of common African positions in international forums; strengthening of democratic governance and the rule of law; respect for human rights; and greater regional self-reliance, gender equality, and social justice. The Assembly, a grouping of heads of state and government, is the AU's supreme decisionmaking organ and is supported by a network of subsidiary institutions. An executive council, made up of AU members' foreign affairs ministers, coordinates the AU Assembly's work and elects the AU Commission (AUC) from among the AU's five sub-regions. Notable among these are
the Peace and Security Council (PSC), the AU's primary decisionmaking organ for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts; the Department of Political Affairs, which coordinates AU election observation missions and other governance-related activities; and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, which carries out a number of the AU's flagship development projects. Other stated Dlamini-Zuma priorities have included crisis resolution in multiple countries, reconstruction and transitional aid in post-conflict countries, and continued AU monitoring of African elections. It has a broad mandate to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts in Africa. To help enforce the Charter and build a human rights protection system in Africa, the AU established the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR) headquartered in Tanzania, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) in The Gambia, and an AU Commission on International Law (AUCIL) in Ethiopia. In a meeting in July 2016, the AU Assembly took an additional step toward attaining these goals when it instituted a 0.2% levy on imports into the continent, to be imposed over several years at the REC level. U.S. Relations, Policy, and Assistance

While the United States has long aided and cooperated with the AU and the OAU before it, U.S.-AU ties have strengthened over the past decade, and have assumed a higher profile in U.S.-African relations. The U.S. move toward closer ties began in 2005, when then-President George W. Bush granted the AU international organization status, allowing it to open an office in Washington, DC; the first AU ambassador to the AU was accredited in 2007. AU mission (USAU) was initiated in 2006, making the United States the first non-African country to have an accredited AU mission. Conflict prevention, mitigation, and peace operations have been key traditional focuses of U.S.-AU relations. Most U.S. aid related to the attainment of AU goals is provided on a bilateral basis or to regional RECs, rather than to the AU itself, and is thus not always accounted for in analyses of U.S. support for the AU. U.S. support for AU democracy strengthening initiatives is another key area of engagement.
U.S. relations with the African Union (AU), an intergovernmental organization to which all African countries except Morocco belong, have strengthened over the past decade. U.S.-AU cooperation has traditionally focused on peace operations and conflict prevention and mitigation. U.S. aid for AU democracy-strengthening initiatives is another key focus of engagement. Other areas of cooperation include economic development, health, governance, peace and security capacity building, and criminal justice. Direct U.S. aid to the AU Commission (AUC, the organization's secretariat), which oversees AU program activity, is moderate; most U.S. aid in support of AU goals is provided on a bilateral basis or sub-regional basis. Consequently, such aid may not always be accounted for in analyses of U.S. support for the AU.
President George W. Bush formally recognized the AU as an international organization in 2005, and a U.S. mission to the AU was established in 2006, making the United States the first non-African country to have an accredited diplomatic mission to the AU. In 2007, the first AU ambassador to the United States was accredited. In 2010, an agreement on U.S. aid for the AU was signed and in 2013, the AU and the United States established annual partnership dialogues and extended the 2010 aid agreement. Later in 2013, President Obama met with the AUC Chairperson, marking the first exchange between an AUC chair and a U.S. president. In 2015, President Obama addressed the African Union at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, becoming the first U.S. president to do so. How the Trump Administration and the 115th Congress may view and potentially engage with the AU has yet to be determined.
The AU was established in 2002 as the successor to the now-defunct Organization of African Unity (OAU). The aim of the AU is to promote continental economic integration and socioeconomic development through shared political and economic institutions and the planned creation of a common African market. Other key AU goals include greater political and economic unity, peace and security, and stability within Africa; advocacy of common African positions in international forums; strengthened democratic governance and rule of law; respect for human rights; and gender equality and social justice, among others. The current AUC chair is Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa. Her priorities have centered on conflict resolution, support for transitional aid in post-conflict countries, AU monitoring of African elections, and efforts to boost economic growth and increase AU finance resources, among other goals.
In July 2016, Dlamini-Zuma's tenure was extended until January 2017 after the AU Assembly (comprising heads of state and government) failed to agree on a successor. The Assembly also decided in July 2016 to impose a 0.2% levy on imports into Africa to fund AU programs and AU-led peacekeeping missions, to facilitate the intra-regional movement of persons through the expanded use of AU passports, and to speed the creation of a Continental Free Trade Area. It also addressed several country-level crises. Key AU challenges include organizational, technical, and skilled personnel capacity gaps and limited financial resources. Political tensions among member states, uneven commitment to AU goals and mandates across the region, and sovereignty concerns have also inhibited AU effectiveness.
The AU's top decisionmaking organ is an Assembly of heads of state and government. Its decisions are overseen by an Executive Council, made up of AU members' foreign affairs ministers. Other notable AU institutions include the Peace and Security Council (PSC), which manages the AU's efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, which manages economic programs and projects. The AU is also endeavoring to address violations of international human rights law through an expansion of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, a nascent continental court with a mandate to protect human rights and freedoms.