African leaders meeting in Algeria today for the final Organisation of African Unity summit of the century face a daunting agenda. Here are some of the issues before the OAU as the world's poorest continent prepares to enter the 21st century:
The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Africa's third largest nation has been at war since August 2nd, 1998, when Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebels took up arms against President Laurent Kabila. Mr Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda, who propelled him to power in 1997, of invading. Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Chad sent troops to fight for Mr Kabila. Chad has since withdrawn. Mr Kabila and fellow presidents signed a ceasefire deal in Zambia on Saturday. The rebels did not, as rival factions disagreed over who should sign. (See story below).
Ethiopia and Eritrea: These neighbours went to war on May 6th, 1998 each accusing the other of invading. The OAU has tried repeatedly to rally the two sides around a framework agreement calling for a truce and an Eritrean withdrawal from land it occupied at the start of the conflict.
Differences over the interpretation of the deal have blocked progress. Col Moammer Gadafy tried and failed to bring the two sides together in his capital, Tripoli, for pre-summit peace talks.
Sierra Leone: Its president, Mr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and the rebel leader, Mr Foday Sankoh, signed a peace deal in Togo on July 7th, giving the rebels a role in government and an amnesty to Mr Sankoh who faced a death sentence for treason. Rebel atrocities - particularly hacking limbs off women and children - caused international outrage.
Angola: Its civil war has dragged on for more than two decades. President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and the UNITA rebel leader, Mr Jonas Savimbi, signed a peace deal in Zambia in 1994. The OAU accuses Mr Savimbi of dragging his feet. OAU Foreign Ministers called for strict implementation of sanctions against UNITA, which funds itself with diamond sales.
Somalia: Divided up among rival clans, Somalia has no central government and has not been represented at an OAU summit since 1991. An upsurge in fighting prevented the OAU sending a factfinding mission as agreed at the 1998 summit. African Foreign Ministers urged peace and said that the solution lay in the hands of the Somali people.
Sudan: As many as 1.5 million people have died in Sudan in 16 years of fighting or war-aggravated famine and disease in the mainly Christian or animist south. The government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) resume peace talks later in July in Kenya. A regional grouping brokered the talks.
Libya: Col Moammer Gadafy wants African leaders to back his campaign for a full lifting of sanctions imposed after the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing over Scotland. The UN Security Council suspended the sanctions in April after Libya handed over two suspects for trial for the bombing. African leaders agreed in 1998 to ignore a ban on flights to Libya.
Guinea-Bissau: Army rebels took up arms against President Joao Bernardo Vieira on the eve of the 1998 OAU summit, preventing him from attending. The two sides agreed to fresh elections but in May the rebels toppled Mr Vieira, who is now in exile. The OAU urged a swift return to constitutional normality in the former Portuguese colony.
Economic Integration: The OAU agreed in 1991 to set up an African Economic Community by 2025. The leaders, who later agreed to focus on strengthening existing regional groupings across the continent, will assess progress.
Terrorism: The host Algeria, which has been racked by a seven-year Islamist revolt, and Egypt are among countries sponsoring a draft OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism. Egypt's president, Mr Hosni Mubarak, will attend his first OAU summit since 1995, when Islamist gunmen tried to kill him at a summit in Addis Ababa.
Human Rights and Refugees: Sierra Leone's civil war has put the spotlight back on human rights abuses across Africa. That and other conflicts have spawned the world's biggest refugee problem - with seven million people seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and up to 13 million driven from their homes. The speedy treatment of refugees in the Kosovo crisis raised eyebrows in Africa. The UN High Commissioners for Human Rights and for Refugees will both be in Algiers for the summit.