Solidarity in the African System

In the African continent, the spirit of solidarity assumes a fundamental importance. As a matter of fact, the transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa would not have been possible without the prevalence of a spirit of solidarity. The principle of solidarity has been a fundamental pillar of African System since the adoption of the Charter of the OAU in 1963. OAU’s successor, the African Union, also aims to “achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa” and “to strengthen solidarity and cohesion among people”. This study is aimed at underlining the role played by solidarity in most important instruments adopted in the African system. One of the most important manifestation of the principle of solidarity within the African Union is the defense and the promotion of democracy through a proactive policy that definitively abandons the traditional approach based on the intangibility of the principle of non-interference. Consequently, this study also intends to analyze the importance that the AU could give to the solidarity among African peoples, trough the institution of the Pan-African Parliament. Finally, this study focuses on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, with particular attention to solidarity rights mentioned in it: one of the major innovations of the instrument.