Zuma 's speech on the 50th anniversary of the African Union

On that historical day, African Leaders met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to give birth to the Organisation of African Unity. Today, precisely 50 years on, we celebrate this historical event of May 25, 1963.It is well documented that the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor of the African Union (AU), prioritised the decolonisation of Africa as its main objective. In this regard, the OAU established the African Liberation Committee.

The people of Africa, within the framework of the OAU Charter, took a conscious and deliberate decision to wage a united struggle against colonialism and apartheid.Our fellow Africans, in collaboration with revolutionary forces of the world, persistently supported our liberation movements as we fought to end the abhorrent system of apartheid in our country. It was in the pursuit of African Unity that apartheid in South Africa continued to experience intensified international isolation from the 1960s until its demise in the 1990s.