Information brief: 18 AU Summit, Addis Ababa 23-­‐30 January

This briefing outlines the key agenda items for the 18th African Union (AU) Summit held in Addis Ababa from 23-30 January 2012, including leadership elections, budget approvals, and the inauguration of a new headquarters building.

• The 18th AU Summit includes the election of the rotating African Union Chair, which is a one-year non-renewable term. For 2012, the turn belongs to West Africa, with Boni Yayi of Benin appearing likely to succeed Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, although Nigeria is speculated as a potential candidate to counter South Africa's bid for the Commission chair.
• The AU Commission faces significant managerial and performance issues, operating with only 691 staff members, which represents 52% of its approved complement, leaving 324 posts (48%) vacant. Budget utilization across departments averages 37%, with the Department of Social Affairs utilizing less than 10% of its budget and employing only 25% of its approved staff.
• The proposed AU budget for 2012 is 274,094 million USD, an increase of 18 million USD over 2011. The Operating budget (49% of the total) is funded by Member States, while the Programme Budget is funded by development partners. The peace and security department is allocated 30 million USD.
• A new AU headquarters building, constructed by the Chinese government at a cost of 200 million USD, was scheduled for inauguration on 28 January 2012. The 100-meter-tall structure consists of 28 stories, includes a 2500-seat main conference room, and provides nearly 1000 office facilities.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2012). Information brief: 18 AU Summit, Addis Ababa 23-­‐30 January. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AU_InfoBrief2.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Information brief: 18 AU Summit, Addis Ababa 23-­‐30 January. 2012. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AU_InfoBrief2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Information brief: 18 AU Summit, Addis Ababa 23-­‐30 January |date=January 2012 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AU_InfoBrief2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2012information, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Information brief: 18 AU Summit, Addis Ababa 23-­‐30 January}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2012}, month = jan, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/AU_InfoBrief2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }