Briefing Paper

The Organisation of African Unity: The crisis comes at last?

The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was scheduled to hold its 20th Summit Meeting in Conakry (Capital of Guinea) in May. However, the death of President Sekou Toure of Guinea in March and the subsequent coup in
Guinea raises some doubts about whether the annual gathering of African Heads of State will take place. Should it be impossible to hold this meeting, it would plunge the OAU into a deep crisis. This Brief Report discusses some of the background to
the OAU, analyzes the contemporary scene and speculates on the future of the OAU. Finally, it considers some implicatlons for the OAU of recent developments in southern Africa.”