AU troops patrol Mogadishu           Photo courtesy

With the transformation from the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union, African leaders expressed both their desire and commitment to play a greater role in, and to take greater ownership of, peace and security on the African continent. Indeed, the lessons of the Cold War era, and of the immediate post-Cold War period, reminded us that while partnership with the international community was important, the international community could not always be relied upon to address all the threats to peace and security on the African continent. Indeed, Somalia and Rwanda were painful lessons for us all. Within this context, it became increasingly apparent that the African Union would have to assume a greater responsibility for peace and security on the continent.

In addition, the end of the Cold War and the shift from inter- to intra-state conflict, highlighted that peace, security, good governance, human rights and economic development and prosperity were indivisible, and for Africa to prosper, conflict situations threatening our peace and security, needed to be addressed in a comprehensive, meaningful and collective manner.

Bearing the above in mind, African leaders, in 2002, established an African Union which was more empowered and better placed to prevent, manage and resolve conflict situations across the continent. Central to this was the establishment and development of the African Peace and Security Architecture. The Peace and Security Architecture consists of a Continental Early Warning System, the Panel of the Wise, the African Standby Force, the Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Framework, and the Africa Peace Fund. Collectively, these instruments provide the African Union with the ability to analyse conflict situations, to prevent violent conflicts, to promote dialogue where conflicts arise, to intervene in conflict situations if required, and to assist societies which have suffered from violent conflicts, to recover and to promote sustainable and effective solutions to building and maintaining lasting peace.

The African Standby Force forms a central component of the African Peace and Security Architecture, and is a core element in the efforts of the African Union to both promote and protect peace and security in Africa. It will provide the Peace and Security Council with the ability to conduct multidimensional interventions, as a measure of last resort, across a range of conflict scenarios. The ASF therefore lies at the very core of the efforts of the African Union to take ownership of and lead in matters related to peace, security and development in Africa.

Recognising the important steps taken to promote peace and security, the European Union in December 2007 entered into a Strategic Partnership with the African Union, centred around cooperation in the fields of peace and security, political relations, economic partnership and social development. Within this partnership framework, the European Union has provided important support both to the African Peace and Security Architecture and to the development and operationalisation of the ASF. The African Union and the European Union decided to partner on the AMANI AFRICA cycle, a continental review training cycle designed to accelerate and validate the state of operational readiness of the ASF. The primary objectives for the AMANI AFRICA cycle are to:

• Test and evaluate the capacities and procedures for the engagement of the ASF in a multidimensional peace support operation.
• Practice the establishment of a mission headquarters for an ASF deployment, including the production of an integrated mission plan.
• Increase awareness of the ASF capabilities, procedures and requirements among the senior leadership of the African Union Commission and among Member States.
• Serve as a capacity building tool for the development of the ASF.

The last two years have been an active period for the ASF. Major steps taken to date have included the conduct of a Strategic Decision-makers’ Seminar in March 2009, an African Union Map Exercise in June 2009, a Political-Strategic Seminar and a Strategic Conference in November 2009. The Command Post Exercise is the final event of the AMANI AFRICA cycle.

Drawing from and building upon work carried out over the course of the past two years, which also includes the conduct of three levels of exercises by the ASF Regional Standby Forces, the AMANI AFRICA Cycle will allow us both to assess and validate the progress which has been made to date, and to identify and address gaps and shortcomings which we must address as we move forward in the development of the African Standby Force.

Indeed, a popular proverb in Kirundi states that, if you want to walk fast, you should walk alone, but if you want to walk far, you should walk together. Our partnership with the European Union on the ASF has shown that we intend to walk far, together.

Indeed, the management of a multidimensional peace support operation is no easy task. While challenging and also complex, the preparations which have been made to date convince me that the exercise will be a resounding success.

By Jean Ping,
Chairperson of the African Union Commission.