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African Union the African Union (AU) Approach to Peacebuilding

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African Union the African Union (AU) Approach to Peacebuilding The Uplifting Africa Program 8/1/2020 African Union The African Union (AU) Approach to Peacebuilding Keely Dion, The Uplifting Africa Program 4927 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington, DC 20037 www.eurasiacenter.org In association with: The Eurasia Business Coalition 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 400E Washington, DC 20037 The African Union (AU) Approach to Peacebuilding The Eurasia Center’s Uplifting Africa Program The African Union and Peace Operations The African Union is a body consisting of 55 member states of the African continent. It was officially founded in 2002 as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999)i. The organization has developed a unique approach to peace operations that derives from previous peace missions conducted by the United Nationsii. As an African body, the AU focuses on the successes and failures of African peace since the creation of the OAU in 1963, while promoting pan-African ideals of “prosperity for all, peace, development, self-reliance, freedoms, and liberationiii.” The AU considers the persistence of neo-colonial conditions in Africa which are intertwined with regional conflicts, namely an “underlying paradigm of paradigm of war and violence, colonizer model of the world, and colonial political economyiv.” The Conflict Resolution, Peace & Security initiative of the AU aspires to build a “peaceful and secure Africa” by promoting a dialogue-centered approach to conflict prevention and resolution and by establishing a culture of peace and tolerance through youth engagement and peace educationv. The AU organ for promoting peace and security is the Peace and Security Council (PSC), which acts as the decision-making body regarding issues of conflict prevention, management, and resolutionvi. It utilizes collective security and early warning tactics to facilitate timely and efficient responses to crisis situations in Africavii. Additionally, the Department of Peace and Security within a separate organ, the African Union Commission (AUC), support PSC responsibilities and leads AUC activities relating to peace, security, and stability on the continentviii. The Department of Peace and Security simultaneously oversees the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, as well as the signing and ratification by member states of AU treaties relating to peace operationsix. An AU/UN Collaboration The AU currently maintains relationships with international organizations like the United Nations in an effort to support a global effort in bringing peace to Africa. In April 2017, during the first African Union-United Nations Annual Conference, the “Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security” was signed, in efforts to align AU-UN efforts in peace and security to become more efficient and effective in Africax. Key areas of AU-UN collaboration include annual joint consultative meetings, an AU-UN Joint Task Force, mediation, electoral assistance, and “Silencing the Guns in Africa” initiative, which aims to achieve African peace and prosperity led by African citizensxi. The ongoing UN African peace missions include the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCO), and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO)xii. UN Secretary General at the opening of AU Assembly, January 2018 (UN Photo/Antonio Fiorente)xiii The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA): the PSC is the main pillar of APSA, alongside The Panel of the Wise, the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), the African Standby Force (ASF), and the Peace Fund. The Peace and Security Council (PSC): Structurally, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union is comprised of 15 members with equal voting powers, with five elected by the AU Executive Council for three year terms, and ten elected for two year termsxiv. There are no permanent members, though past members may immediately seek re-electionxv. To ensure fair regional representation, members from Central Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa are each allotted three seats, Northern Africa two seats, and Western Africa four seatsxvi. As the decision-making organ of the AU on issues of peace and security, the PSC strives to anticipate and prevent policies that may lead to conflict, genocide, and crimes against humanity, to authorize and deploy peace support missions with detailed mandates, to recommend intervention in a select member state on account of grave circumstances, to institute sanctions whenever an unconstitutional change of government takes place in a member state, to ensure implementation of counter-terrorism instruments, to support humanitarian action in situations of armed conflict or natural disasters, etc.xvii The Panel of the Wise: The Panel of the Wise is composed of five non-political individuals within the African Union who advise the PSC on affairs relating to preventative diplomacy and mediationxviii. Panel members are chosen by the AU Assembly, each selected from one of the five represented African regions for a term of three yearsxix. The Continental Early Warning System (CEWS): The main objective of the CEWS is to anticipate and prevent conflicts on the continent and provide current information about ongoing conflictsxx. The Situation Room, one of the main tools of the CEWS, operates 24/7 to monitor and collect data regarding developments in African securityxxi. The CEWS regularly collaborates with civil society organizations to ensure timely reporting and effective conflict prevention across the continent. The African Standby Force (ASF): The ASF serves as a standby multidisciplinary contingency, with civilians and military personnel in their home countries, ready for deployment in peace support missions or interventionsxxii. These five regional forces perform duties such as observation, intervention, peacebuilding, disarmament, and humanitarian assistancexxiii. The Peace Fund: Established in 1993, the Peace Fund serves as the primary financing institution for peace and security activities of the African Unionxxiv. As of 2016, the AU endowed the Peace Fund with $400 million in member-state contributions, which will be fully achieved in 2021; the fund is currently seeing the highest level of member-state contributions since its creation in 1993xxv. In this way, peace operations have become a major priority for African leaders. The Peace Fund aims to address three major pillars of peace operations: Mediation and Preventative Diplomacy, Institutional Capacity, and Peace Support Operationsxxvi. AU Treaties on Peace and Security The current outstanding AU treaties on Peace and Security (from oldest to most recent) include: the Convention for the Elimination of Mercenarisim in Africa, the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of Peace and Security Council of the African Union, the Protocol to the OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, the African Union Non-Aggression and Common Defense Pact, the African Charter on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa, and the Statute of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL)xxvii. Successes The African Union’s peace operations have seen several successes since 2002. One accomplishment is that the organization has been able to ensure that “forceful military and unconstitutional government take-overs are reverted to democratic rule for better democratic consolidation and good governance in Africa,” specifically in Guinea and Mauritania in 2008, Madagascar in 2009, and Burkina Faso in 2015xxviii. In Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire, the PSC has helped resolve post-election violencexxix. The AU has also monitored power-sharing agreements among elites in Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Zimbabwe, and Central African Republic (2007-2009)xxx. In terms of peacebuilding, the AU mission in Burundi effectively laid a foundation for reconciliation and reconstruction in the country, which enabled the establishment of an effective UN peace operation and cemented the self- reliance of the African Union PSCxxxi. Challenges Though the African Union has been largely effective in its peace initiatives, there is still room for improvement. Currently, the AU is lacking in the human resources and the PSC itself suffers from limited personnel, specifically in terms of translators and legal expertsxxxii. Despite commendable AU peace missions in Darfur, Somalia, and Burundi, the PSC highlighted its own limited capacity to organize military assets and personnel for intelligence purposesxxxiii. As a result, weak bureaucratic processes and poor information technology has created a somewhat poor reputation for the organization among member statesxxxiv. Another challenge that the AU faces is the lengthy amounts of time that the PSC takes to act decisively after a conflict has been identified. Despite being notified by the CEWS before the outbreak of violence in Guinea and Mali in 2012, the PSC did not take preventative actionsxxxv.
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