Учебный год 22-23 / 100207

various liberation organisations. The Council of Ministers met before the Assembly and prepared the way for it, while the secretariat performed the usual tasks.

The African Union was established in 2001. The Constitutive Act of the Union lists a series of objectives in article 3 and these include the achieving of greater unity between African countries; defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its member states; accelerating the integration of the continent; promoting and defending African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; encouraging international co-operation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the promotion of peace, security, and stability on the continent and of human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; the promotion of sustainable development and research in all fields, in particular in science and technology.

Article 4 of the Constitutive Act sets out the Principles of the Union and these include the sovereign equality and interdependence among member states of the Union; respect of borders existing on achievement of independence; establishment of a common defence policy for the African continent; peaceful resolution of conflicts among member states of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the Assembly and the prohibition of the use of force or threat to use force among member states of the Union. Interestingly, in addition to the emphasis on territorial integrity, the Principles also provide for the right of the Union to intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, and the right of member states to request intervention from the Union in order to restore peace and security. Also included are respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance; respect for the sanctity of human life, condemnation and rejection of impunity and political assassination, acts of terrorism and subversive activities and condemnation and rejection of unconstitutional changes of governments. The organs of the Union include an Assembly, the supreme organ of the Union, composed of heads of state or government or their representatives, which sets the common policy of the Union; an Executive Council, composed of foreign or other ministers, which co-ordinates and takes decisions on policies in areas of common interest to the member states, such as foreign trade, water resources and energy; the Pan-African Parliament and the Court of Justice,