The African leaders formally marked the end of the Organisation of African Unity and replaced it with the African Union in

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The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the goal of promoting unity and solidarity among African states. After nearly four decades, African leaders recognised the need for a more effective continental body that could address contemporary challenges such as conflict resolution, economic integration, and good governance.

The Constitutive Act of the African Union was adopted at the OAU summit in Lome, Togo, on 11 July 2000. The AU was then formally inaugurated at the Durban Summit in South Africa in July 2002, officially replacing the OAU. The inaugural session, which marked the formal end of the OAU and the birth of the African Union, took place on 8th July 2002 (with proceedings spanning 9-10 July).

The African Union was designed to be a stronger, more proactive organisation than the OAU, with powers to intervene in member states in cases of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity - a significant departure from the OAU's strict non-interference policy.