Next DefendersLIVE

On the next episode of DefLIVE I will be talking to familiar William Deng, Southern Sudan Project, and Cheikh Niang, African Community Network, to talk about the new nation of Southern Sudan in relation to the goals and current state of the African Union. An upcoming show will focus on Mauritania's struggle to prevent a JimCrow-like national census from diluting the official numbers of non-Arab Black Africans that are then used to predicate discriminatory policies. With Libya's Moammar Quaddafi having played a leading role in the formation and leadership of the African Union, how will the goals of the AU play out in the struggles of these African nations, and others? 

Her's a little about the AU from their website:

Vision of the African Union
The vision of the African  Union is that of: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa,  driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in  global arena.”
 
This vision of a new,  forwardlooking, dynamic and integrated Africa will be fully realized through  relentless struggle on several fronts and as a long-term endeavour. The African  Union has shifted focus from supporting  liberation movements in the erstwhile African territories under colonialism and  apartheid, as envisaged by the OAU since 1963 and the Constitutive Act, to an organization spear-heading Africa’s development and integration.

The Objectives of the AU

• To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa; 
• To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States; 
• To accelerate the political and socio-economic  integration of the continent; 
• To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples; 
• To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 
• To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent; 
• To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance; 
• To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; 
• To establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations; 
• To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies; 
• To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity  to raise the living standards of African peoples; 
• To coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union; 
• To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology; 
• To work with relevant international partners in the       eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on  the continent.