Topic 1: Forced Evictions and Land Tenure Insecurity in Sub-Saharan African Slums
Topic 2: Land Reform in South Africa
The African Union is the nine year old successor of the Organization of African Unity, and includes more than fifty African nations. The African Union, or AU, is tasked with advancing the socioeconomic well being and peace of the continent as well as ensuring human rights and advancing democratic ideals. The only African nation which is not currently a member of the African Union is the country of Morocco. The two major decision making bodies of the African Union are the Assembly of the African Union and the Pan African Parliament. The Assembly consists of every African head of state, and the Parliament is a 265 member body selected by the legislatures of AJ member states. The African Union’s other committees include the AU Commission, the Executive Council, and the Economic, Social, and Cultural Council. The African Union has taken an active role in resolving military conflicts on the continent, deploying its first peacekeeping force to Burundi in 2003, less than a year after the AU was founded. The African Union is charged with solving many of the most serious problems confronting the continent of Africa, such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, widespread economic destitution, rampant poverty, political instability, human rights violations, dictatorships, ethnic tensions, low literacy rates, and high rates of preventable death. Some current initiatives of the African Union include the advancement of free trade, the adoption of a shared currency, the maintenance of political stability in several failing states, and streamlining relations with other parts of the world.
The African Union at HMCA
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The African Union is a new committee at Harvard Model Congress Asia. Delegates participating in the African Union will assume the role of members of the Assembly of African States and represent the interests of their respective countries. During the conference, delegates will confront some of the same issues faced by the real African Union. AU delegates will be expected to forge agreements and pass resolutions to resolve controversies, while keeping in mind the interests of the nations they represent. In addition, delegates will be required to establish relationships with members of other international and domestic committees at the conference. Their efforts will represent a truly global approach to solving some of the most pressing issues facing the nations of Africa. As in the real world, cooperation will be critical to solving the challenges posed by the HMCA simulation.
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The African Union
