African Union in 2005

• In October 31, 2005, the African Union adopted “the African common position” on reforming the United Nations. The African Union requested that African counties be granted permanent seats in the Security Council and gain all the existing privileges, including veto power.

• In November 2005, the AU announced the Arusha Declaration and Plan of Action on African Commodities, to improve Africa’s commodity trade performance . The Declaration lays out a plan to diversify and increase trade in commodities by accelerating intra-Africa trade.

• The AU coordinated Africa’s negotiating position for the WTO Ministerial Conference, which was held in Hong Kong in December 2005.

• Venezuela was accepted into the AU as a non-African state on December 23, 2005.

• In 2005, the AU continued to play an active role in resolving conflicts in different African countries, including Côte D’Ivoire, Togo, and Comoros. The African Union continued its efforts to defuse the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

• There were approximately 7,000 African Union peace keeping soldiers in Darfur in 2005.