The African Union, established in 2002, continues to serve the successor organization to the Organization for African Unity. Further, non-African states and organizations are accredited to the African Union, which enhances its reputation and its importance on the African continent and globally. It has a
structure (called African Union organs) much like the United Nations and other multi-purpose regional international organizations. An African Union president is chosen to serve, usually for a term of one year from January to January of the following year. many respects, especially on such a large and varied continent with so many ethnic, tribal, and other relationships that transcend national borders, the African Union has concentrated on security oriented projects, knowing firsthand how unsettled the continent has been historically. It has been able to mount specific military-peacekeeping missions in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic and elsewhere, sometimes in joint efforts
with United Nations deployments.