The Organization of African Unity was established on May 25, 1963, at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Heads of State and Government of 32 independent African States signed the Charter of the Organization on that occasion. Its purposes are to promote the unity and solidarity of the African States; defend the sovereignty of members; eradicate all forms of colonialism; promote international cooperation having due regard for the Charter of the United Nations; coordinate and harmonize Member States economic, diplomatic, educational, health, welfare, scientific and defense policies.

The Organization of African Unity is both the symbol and embodiment of age-old Pan-Africa yearnings that found remarkable expression in the 19th Century epics of scattered Africa Communities all over the world. A movement of self-assertion in its early days, Pan-Africanism evolved progressively into an organized force with cultural and political claims, especially after World War II when it took on a continental dimension.

From the 5^th Pan-African gathering in Manchester (United Kingdom) in 1945 to the historic Conference of Independent African States on 25 May, 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, many attempts were made at channeling African aspirations for freedom, equality, justice and progress.

All these regional attempts were to culminate in the creation of the Organization of African Unity on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by thirty-two African Heads of State and Government, who, on that occasion, signed the Charter of the Organization.

Emperor Haile Selassie I's welcoming address struck the keynote of compromise and unity which pervaded the proceedings. (Excerpt from the Emperor's opening speech)

"We know that there are differences among us. Africans enjoy different cultures, distinctive values, special attributes. But we also know that unity can be and has been attained among men of the most disparate origins, that difference of race, of religion, of culture, of tradition, are no insuperable obstacles to the coming together of peoples. History teaches us that unity is strength and cautions us to submerge and overcome our difference in the quest for common goals, to strive, with all our combined strength, for the path to true African brotherhood and unity...

... Unless the political liberty for which Africans have for long struggled is complemented and bolstered by a corresponding economic and social growth , the breath of life which sustains our freedom may flicker out."

During the conferences of independent African States held in the early years, economic problems to be faced by independent Africa were noted. There was consensus that the smallness and fragmentation of post-colonial African national markets constituted a major obstacle to sustaining sizeable economic operations .The importance of achieving sustainable economic development through cooperation was recognized.

(Excerpt from Kwame Nkrumah's speech)

"No independent African State today by itself has a chance to follow an independent course of economic development, and many of us who have tried to do this have been almost ruined or have had to return to the fold of the former colonial rulers. This position will not change unless we have a unified policy working at the continental level...

We need a unified economic planning for Africa. Until the economic power of Africa is in our hands, the masses can have no real concern and no real interest for safeguarding our security, for ensuring the stability of our regimes, and for bending their strength to the fulfilment of our ends. With our united resources energies and talents, we have the means, as soon as we show the will, to transform the economic structures of our individual states from poverty to that of wealth, from inequality to the satisfaction of popular needs. Only on a continental basis shall we be able to plan the popular utilization of all our resources for the full development of our continent."

Thus from the beginning the need for economic cooperation was identified and was also incorporated into Article 2 of the charter- "the Member States shall coordinate and harmonize their general policies, especially in the vital sectors of the economy, transport and communications."

The OAU principles and objectives are stated in Articles I and II of the Charter as follows: