For a state funeral, it’s odd that no one is shedding any tears. Forty years after its inception, the unremarkable Organization of African Unity (OAU) has been laid to rest, a casualty of its own impotencen and its presence on such a volatile continent. Rising from the ashes of the OAU are two ambitious efforts to combat the incidence of poverty, disease and instability: the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

The AU strives to add teeth to a regional organization dedicated to security and economic growth. Second, NEPAD, which has been touted as the “Marshall Plan of Africa,” proposes accountable aid designed to cut off countries not disbursing resources properly or not governing in sufficiently democratic ways.

The African Union is absolutely necessary. African troops already are often the first to respond in the event of civil war in a neighboring nation. By using African peacekeepers in Africa, the African Union will encourage governments to resolve their disputes within the continent, rather than looking to the less-than-empathetic outside world for assistance.

Moreover, recent regional diplomatic efforts have proven fruitful – the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions of South Africa, Rwanda and Sierra Leone attest to the ability of Africans to come together to solve problems creatively.

Regional cooperation is essential in areas where ethnic groups and natural resources spill across national boundaries, as do refugees and rebel armies. However, when the conflict is violent, the African Union must have enough legitimacy among its member states to intervene when disaster strikes. For example, had a regional body had been in place to be rapidly deployed for peacekeeping, tragedies like the Rwandan genocide might have been kept to a smaller scale.

While from a Western perspective such interference may seem undesirable, the fact remains that for many communities in Africa, interference and intervention are a fact of daily life. Traditional African communities often play the role of social security administration, child protection agency, mediator, educational system and marriage therapist – all at once. Such conviction to serve one’s community because no outside government service provider exists is at the foundation of cultures throughout the continent.

The unpalatable fact remains that Africa has no place else to turn. The million dead in Rwanda and Burundi, the thousands without hands in Sierra Leone and the millions of walking dead carrying HIV throughout the continent testify to the unwelcome image Africa provides on the evening news. If the AU can wade through the famine, disease and war through regional cooperation, Africa will emerge as a more self-assured continent.

In addition to the newly formed AU, NEPAD offers more focused and goal-oriented foreign assistance. By pledging themselves to accountability measures, nations participating in NEPAD will receive help in the form of foreign investment that will be contingent upon more democratic and transparent governance.

NEPAD was formed by ideas generated by leaders throughout the continent, most notably President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria. The leaders at the recent G-8 summit in Canada received the proposal warmly and pledged assistance, albeit a fraction of the requested amount.

Unfortunately, all too often the actions of one corrupt leader or one group of power-crazy individuals ruin the credibility of the entire continent.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his relentless persecution of white farmers and foreign journalists have made the United Kingdom walk a circle around international gathering.

Hopefully, the AU will not be the “dictators’ club” its predecessor was, and will be willing to call Mugabe on his actions.

With threats of investments pulling out in the event of unfree and unfair elections, the AU could serve an oversight function – something that would have been particularly useful in the last six months as Marc Ravalomanana, the self-proclaimed president of Madagascar, ran his opponent out on a rail while simultaneously imposing martial law.

The new era of African regional organization and leadership is essential to changing the climate of crisis across the continent. There is hope in these new proposals because they came from within Africa.

Rachel Faber Machacha is a graduate student in international development studies from Emmetsburg.