ESTABLISHMENT
African Telecommunications Union (ATU) was established by the 4th Extra Ordinary Session of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the Pan African Telecommunications Union (PATU) on 7th December 1999 as the successor to the Pan-African Telecommunications Union, which was established by the 12th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at Addis Ababa on 7 December, 1977 as the Specialized Agency of the OAU in the field of telecommunications.

VISION
The vision of the Union is to make Africa an equal and active participant in the Global Information Society.

MISSION
The mission of the Union is to promote the rapid development of info-communications in Africa in order to achieve universal service and access, in addition to full inter-country connectivity, in the most effective manner.

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Union are to :
a) promote the development and adoption of appropriate African telecommunications policy and regulatory frameworks;
b) promote the financing and funding of telecommunications development;
c) promote programmes for the development of the African Information Society;
d) prepare special programmes for Africa's Least Developed Countries (LDC's) and rural telecommunications development;
e) promote human resources development in the field of info-communications;
f) promote the establishment of info-communications industries;
g) co-ordinate the strategies and positions of Member States in preparation for and at international meetings;
h) promote regional co-ordination in areas of value-added services, equipment certification, technical standards and harmonisation of tariffs;
i) seek to harmonise the actions of Member States and Associate Members in the telecommunications sector;
j) foster co-operation and partnership between and among Member States and Associate Members;
k) promote and encourage the exchange of information, expertise and technology relating to info-communications for the benefit of all Member States and Associate Members;
l) undertake studies in the field of info-communications for the benefit of Member States and Associate Members;
m) Undertake all such activities not defined above which may assist in achieving the mission and vision of the Union.

COMPOSITION
The Union shall be composed of Member States and Associate Members :

1. A Member State shall be :
a) any Member State of the OAU which sign and ratify this Constitution and Convention or accedes to them;
b) any African State which becomes a member of OAU and accedes to this Constitution and Convention;
c) any African State not a Member of the OAU which applies for membership of the Union and which after having secured approval of such application by two-thirds of the Members of the Union, accedes to this Constitution and the Convention;
d) any Member State which loses its membership of the OAU but has not denounced this Constitution and the Convention.

2. An Associate Member shall be :
a) any entity involved or interested in the info-communications sector that is registered in a country which is a Member State of the Union and which has been accepted as an associate member of the Union.
b) any entity that is registered in an African country that is not a Member State of the Union but whose associate membership of the Union has been approved by two-thirds of the membership of the Union.

SEAT OF THE UNION

1. The seat of the Union shall be in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Union may be hosted in a member country other than that of the Seat for a duration not exceeding two consecutive ordinary sessions of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Convention.
2. Any Member Sate may temporarily host the Headquarters of the Union should the need arise and in the manner provided for under the terms specified in the Convention.
3. For the purpose of this Constitution and the Convention reference to the Headquarters of the Union shall in appropriate cases be deemed to refer to the temporary Headquarters hosted by a Member State pursuant to Clause 2 of this Article.

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OF THE UNION
The official languages of the Union shall be English and French.