African peace and security architecture

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The African Peace and Security Architecture ( African Peace and Security Architecture , APSA) includes the key instruments for conflict prevention, conflict management and peace building of the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms (RMs).

background

The APSA emerged in the political environment of the late 1990s. Africa has faced serious crises such as the Somalia civil war since 1991 and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda . At the same time, the statutes of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) required state non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. In order to be able to intervene in the relevant conflicts in the event of serious human rights violations, the OAU member states not only decided to create the AU (2002) as a new pan-African supranational organization, but two years later also to create the APSA.

The adoption of the AU founding act marks a turnaround in international relations in Africa. Article 4 (h) and (j) of the AU founding act allow AU member states to intervene in conflicts in the event of crimes against humanity such as war crimes and genocide, even against the will of the government concerned. Thus, the AU founding act is the first international treaty in which the right to military intervention on humanitarian grounds is enshrined.

This normative shift intensified with the entry into force of the founding protocol of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union ( PSC) on December 26, 2003. The PSC protocol defines an expanded agenda for peace and security that includes central elements such as conflict prevention , Early warning and preventive diplomacy, conflict management , peacemaking and peacebuilding, but also the promotion and further development of democratic practices, humanitarian measures and disaster management . The protocol thus lays the foundations for the APSA.

The purpose of the APSA is to provide AU (and RECs) with the necessary instruments to enable AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms (RMs) to carry out the tasks set out in the AU founding acts and the PSC protocol and thus their mandate in the area of ​​peace and security able to fulfill.

construction

The structure of the APSA goes back to the Protocol relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union ( PSC Protocol ) of 2002. In Article 2 the following five institutions, bodies and decision-making processes as "pillars" (be pillars ) of the APSA called:

The five pillars of the APSA at the AU level

In addition to the AU, which claims a continental mandate for peace and security for themselves, the Regional Economic Communities (are Regional Economic Communities , RECs) and Regional Mechanisms ( Regional Mechanisms , RMs) are also part of the APSA. The AU and RECs work together based on the principles of subsidiarity, complementarity and comparative advantage.

The operationalization of the APSA instruments should be completed by 2015. However, the degree of structure of the individual instruments varies considerably depending on the instrument and organization.

International support

Financially, the APSA is still heavily dependent on external support. In 2015, around 95% of the AU budget was covered by partners (EU, European partner countries as well as Japan and China), in 2016 it is 52% according to preliminary planning, although the budget will not be finalized until January 2016.

Challenges

As part of the

  • 2010 APSA assessment
  • 2015 APSA assessment

criticism

  • strong dependency on outside help

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ OAU Charter, Article III.2 ( Memento of 23 September 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
  2. ^ Constitutive Act of the African Union 2000 ( Memento of July 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ FES: The African Peace and Security Architecture. A Handbook , p. 16
  4. ^ Constitutive Act of the African Union 2000, Article 4 (h) and (j) ( Memento of July 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Schmidt, Siegmar: Principles, Goals and Institutions of the African Union , p. 2
  6. ^ FES: The African Peace and Security Architecture. A Handbook , p. 17 (PDF)
  7. ^ FES: The African Peace and Security Architecture. A Handbook , p. 17 (PDF)
  8. ↑ Protocol relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union , Article 16 ( Memento of June 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ^ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Area of ​​Peace and Security between the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities and the Coordinating Mechanisms of the Regional Standby Brigades of Eastern Africa and Northern Africa
  10. ↑ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the Area of ​​Peace and Security between the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities and the Coordinating Mechanisms of the Regional Standby Brigades of Eastern Africa and Northern Africa , Article IV
  11. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ http://www.saflii.org/au/AUDECISIONS/2015/19.html