But African leaders have no interest in a real African Union.

African Leaders Eyes on the Prize

But, unless African leaders change their ways, it will not.

Mauritania s leaders quit ECOWAS, the West African regional grouping, to join the union formed by the North African countries.

African leaders are working together to improve the lives of their citizens.

That is what African leaders had in mind when they initiated NEPAD.

In October 2010, Gaddafi apologized to African leaders on behalf of Arab nations for their involvement in the African slave trade.

And the African leaders already know that this is not an empty boast.

Through NEPAD, African leaders have created a comprehensive and holistic approach to development.

African countries have committed themselves to the promotion of democracy and good governance, including economic governance, as espoused by the African leaders, including in the African Peer Review Mechanism.

Once pushing industrialization at the expense of agriculture, African leaders routinely ignored ordinary farmers.

African leaders should govern and serve for the benefit of the people, not themselves.

Some African leaders notably Ghana s president, John Kufuor, and outgoing African Union head Alpha Konare have tried to cajole Mugabe towards reform, to no avail.

Many African leaders insist that they should retain principal control of any peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Uprisings and demands by African leaders led the UN to assume direct responsibility over the territory.

Together with the leaders of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries and other international partners of Guinea Bissau, I appealed to the country's leaders to resolve their differences through dialogue.

Even though no African countries voiced their support in Vienna for harm reduction, African leaders should take heed of those countries with pragmatic and humane drug policies.

Burundi's donors need to join hands with African leaders to make certain that the agreements are implemented.

African leaders have demonstrated their political will, but they lack the resources to resolve crises in Africa.

Through that document, our leaders expressed their resolve to strengthen cooperation with NEPAD by providing coherent support for the programmes drawn up by African leaders within that framework.

Moreover, while the international community is quick to pounce on African leaders for governance failures, it seems less enthusiastic about examining its role in the flight of African assets.

Alongside this focus on improving African governance, we must also put pressure on our leaders to encourage regional integration.

That is a shame, for here was a moment to expose the flaws of most African leaders throughout our tormented history.

And African leaders, led by Nigeria s president at the time, Olusegun Obasanjo, took on the challenge of battling the continent s epidemics.

West African leaders are aware that only by fighting together against this shameful trafficking will they be able to overcome it.

That commitment was reinforced at the African Union summit in Sirte this year, where leaders committed, as members will recall, to

But with the ascendancy of a new crop of leaders committed to the fundamental transformation of African societies, we are confident that the social and economic circumstances of African peoples will be progressively improved.

It was also for ordinary citizens that African leaders traveled to Scotland to meet the G 8 heads of state that summer.

Of the five African leaders picked at the AU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to coordinate negotiations, not one was a woman.

The TICAD meetings had taken place every four years, with the leaders of African States and heads of relevant international organizations participating.

Fourthly, there has been increased political momentum behind the international fight against malaria, not least because of leadership shown by African leaders.

International support for such efforts would mean giving African leaders and stakeholders the opportunity and the responsibility to eliminate underdevelopment and boost prosperity.

As French president, he sought to circumvent that tide by proposing to the leaders of France s African colonies a negotiated settlement for independence.

More generally, the international community and African nations in particular must put the needs of Sudan s people before the interests of its leaders.

While riding the crest of the last oil boom in the late 1970 s, Nigeria s military leaders nationalized the assets of British Petroleum and became champions of pan African co operation, financing several African liberation movements.

Taking note of the joint Asian African leaders' statement on tsunami, earthquake and other natural disasters, adopted at the Asian African Summit 2005, held in Jakarta on 22 and 23 April 2005,See A 59 841, annex.

Efforts have been made to arrange an expert ministerial meeting to discuss the draft convention on mutual legal assistance for subsequent consideration by the Council of Ministers and the Summit of African Leaders of the African Union.

African civil society, whose mouthpiece is the press, cannot escape some measure of reproach for its failure to urge leaders to rescue fellow Africans.

Indeed, African business leaders often cite finding people with the right skills as a major challenge to their operations, especially in high tech industries.

When sub Saharan African countries gained independence in the late 1950 s and early 1960 s, their leaders inherited bankrupt states with no access to international capital markets. As a result, newly established African leaders had no alternative but to sub contract economic development to the IMF and World Bank and the Western countries that control them.

The advice that the African leaders received from their Chinese counterparts was sound, and much more practical than they typically get from the World Bank.

I have spent hundreds of hours working behind closed doors with various parties to the conflict Sudan s Government, rebel leaders, neighbouring countries, and African Union partners.

African leaders should use the Natural Resource Charter, launched in Oslo in 2009, and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative as guidelines when undertaking any mining negotiations.

Greater Competitiveness African leaders have been slow to realize that they must woo foreign corporations with special services, training programs for workers, and even subsidized offices.

African Union leaders (AU), at their Summit meeting in Sirte, Libya, made strong commitments on governance and on creating an environment conducive to investment and development.