SWP Research Paper Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Wolf Kinzel The African Standby Force of the African Union Ambitious Plans, Wide Regional Disparities: An Intermediate Appraisal RP 8 November 2008 Berlin All rights reserved. © Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 2008 This Research Paper reflects solely the author’s view. SWP Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Ludwigkirchplatz 3−4 10719 Berlin Germany Phone +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org
[email protected] ISSN 1863-1053 Translation by: Language Service, Federal Ministry of Defence (English version of SWP-Studie 21/2008) Table of Contents 5 Problems and Recommendations 7 The Phased Security Architecture of the African Union 9 Common African Defense and Security Policy 10 Panel of the Wise (POW) 10 Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) 10 African Standby Force (ASF) 13 Regional Implementation 13 West Africa 16 Southern Africa 18 Horn of Africa and East Africa 19 North Africa 21 Central Africa 21 The Schedule until 2010 23 Conclusion 23 Funding 25 Conceptual and Equipment Deficiencies 26 Political Will 27 Recommendations 30 Acronyms and Abbreviations Commander Wolf Kinzel is a research officer working on the European and Atlantic Security Division “There are many tasks which United Nations peace- keeping forces should not be asked to undertake, and many places they should not go. But when the United Nations does send its forces to uphold the peace, they must be prepared to confront the lingering forces of war and violence with the ability and determination to defeat them.” Lakhdar Brahimi, Report of the Panel on the United Nations Peace Operations, 2000 (Brahimi Report) Problems and Recommendations The African Standby Force of the African Union Ambitious Plans, Wide Regional Disparities: An Intermediate Appraisal By adopting the joint EU-Africa Strategy on 15 Decem- ber 2005, the European Union set course for a com- prehensive partnership with the African continent.