You wouldn't renovate someone's house without first asking the owner which walls need to come down. You wouldn't paint your living room without asking your spouse if they liked the colour. And you wouldn't buy a car for your family without making sure it was safe. So why should the G20 summit be able to decide on international development programs without the presence of the African Union?

Last weekend the African Union held their 14^th annual summit meeting in Addis Ababa, where they decided to formally petition the G20 for their own seat at the negotiating table during the G20 summit meeting this coming June. The move has been fully supported by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and its member groups, including Make Poverty History.  

Think about it: the African Union is currently made up of representatives from 53 African countries. Their combined economies generate over USD $500 billion per year, making it the 17^th largest economy in the world, and before the economic breakdown they were still growing by an average of five per cent every year. In the past decade the African Union has made huge strides in education, providing life-preserving medication to AIDS patients and halving the number of malaria-related deaths. 

They've done this with the help of funding from the G20 nations, but this governing body has yet to sit at the table as a full-fledged G20 member to discuss and plan for global development projects in Africa and around the world. The closest they've gotten was in 2009, when a representative from the African Union was invited to speak as a guest at the G20 summit meetings in the United Kingdom.

"There has to be at least one seat for nearly a billion Africans who need to be heard," Cameroonian finance minister Lazare Essimu Menye has said. "Our partners have to accept that we are best placed to explain to them what would be best for Africa."

Nigerian finance minister Ali Lamine Zeine agrees: "Since our fate is being discussed it's important to us that our opinions be taken into account."

South Africa is currently the only country on the enormous African continent with a seat at the G20 table. One African country is not enough: under the auspices of the African Union every African country –tiny or massive, sandy or mountainous, rich or poor – could bring each of their strengths and their issues to the G20 summit and play a grassroots role in determining the future of development goals. 

The African Union's absence at the G20 table means Africa is only seen as a recipient of aid rather than a partner with the ability to plan and negotiate future development projects. Without a seat at the G20 table, the African Union cannot have a say in the rebuilding of the global economy, despite their member nations being among the hardest hit when the global economy began to collapse.

With a seat at the G20 table the African Union could make its voice heard amongst the first world nations that currently determine its fate. It would mean these countries would be further pressured to deliver on their promises of aid. Equally as important, it would help make the African Union more accountable for the development funding it receives from the G20. And it would mean that some of the world's poorest countries would finally have a say in the determination of development projects for the years to come. It's a win-win situation for everybody involved.

Despite their current non-position in the G20, the African Union has plans to attend both of the G20 summit meetings being held this year, and is currently mapping out its position and preparing for its participation in the upcoming meetings. According to Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union, there is an increased interest in the first world to continue development programs in Africa. 

While a step forward, the African Union is still unable to have a voice at the G20 negotiating table. Considering the European Union's membership in the G20 in addition to seats independently held by six European countries, it hardly seems fair that such an important governing body representing so many different voices be denied a chair at the table.