A soldier deployed by AU in Somalia

We are going through complex times in our security outlook. Our  continent  remains  troubled by  conflicts  of  different  nature  and  origins  amongst which  coups d'etats, colonization, border and  territory  disputes,  pre  and  postelection  violence,  ethnic,  religious  and  identity reivindications. 

Illegal Armed militia groups, rebel groups, terrorist groups, violent, intolerant, Religious, ethnic and political extremist groups and transnational organized criminals, are roaming the continent and actively   challenging and hindering our quest for peace and stability, preconditions for any meaningful and sustainable economic, social and human development.

While  most  of  these  sources  of  instability  can  be  said  to  be  home  grown  or  inspired  by  developments  inside  our  own  countries,  there  is  evidence  of  growing  interference  of  external factors  which  exploit  our  internal  limitations  to  fuel  dissent  and  promote  violence  and instability. 

Terrorism remains a major security threat on the Continent and is likely to be so for a long time to come. The Prevention and fight against terrorism is a complex and multifaceted endeavour. There is no war front in this war.  The frontline is anywhere, everywhere, anytime; The continent  is  home  to  a  large  number  of  terrorist    groups  of  which  AQMI,  MUJAO,  BOKO HARAM,  ALSHABAAB,  ANSARU,  AL  MOURABITOUN,  ANSARDINE,  LRA,  ADF/NALU,  ANSAR SHARIA,   ANSAR  BEIT  AL  MAQDIS (partisan  de  Jerusalem)  and  AJNAD  MISR (Soldat d’Egypte) are  just  the  most  resounding  names. A  group  claiming  to  be  soldiers  of the Califa  of  the  so  called  Islamic  State  has  made  its  presence  known  through  an  unspeakable beheading of a French Citizen in Algeria. 

Terrorists, transnational  organized  criminals  and  insurgent  groups on  the  continent have  acquired  the  capacity  to  wage  both  conventional  and  asymmetric  warfare  against governments and relentlessly strive to snatch and secure chunks of national territory to create a state within the state, with the aim of eventually overpowering the central government. They master  the  networking  techniques  and are  very  knowledgeable  about  the  zone,  terrain  and  topography of the region they operate in. They have the ability to develop a tight and complex relationship with local banditry groups and international organized criminality.  They adopt modern technologies to communicate, mobilize, recruit, radicalize, finance and implement their strategy.

Facts of everyday life are insistently pointing to the absolute need to move beyond the present short term "ad hoc" and reactive security and counter-terrorism measures and adopt medium to  long  term  holistic  approaches  which,  by  necessity,  must  have  a  multi-stakeholder involvement. 

Security today can no longer be seen as the specialty of classical intelligence and security forces alone.  Security  is  everybody's  business  and  we must  fast  take  measures  to reflect  this  reality  in  our  daily  fight  against  instability.  The APSA has long come to this conclusion and it is deeply embedded in the efforts for its operationalization. 

Only this way, together with better coordination, improved cooperation and a complementary and  concomitant  deployment  of  preventive  economic,  political,  diplomatic  and  counter radicalization  programmes,  all  backed  up  by  good  intelligence,  effective  law  enforcement  and the use of robust military force where necessary, we can vanquish insecurity and terrorism and restore peace on the continent.

The world has shrunk and the fast growing technological advancements have made it a global village.  Africa, Asia America and Australasia are no longer far apart.  The reality of our interdependency is ever more evident.  The  need  for  each  other  for  safety,  survival  and prosperity  is  undisputable.  We are now trading with each other more than ever before.  Our citizens are visiting each other more frequently, faster and more easily. We have investments and other vital interests in each other’s countries and regions. Developments anywhere on the continent can have and normally do have repercussions beyond our own continental borders.

Acts  of  war  and  violence  can  target  our  interests at  home  or  anywhere  they  might  be  on  the continent. They can be conceived in one country, planned in another, and perpetrated against our interests in a third country, continent or wherever they might be in the world.  China and the rest of the World have interest to join hands with us to keep the continent safe and free of violence,  not just  for humanitarian reasons, but  also  for  the  good  of  our  own  countries,  our own economies and our own citizens.  
In  this  joint  effort, because 

of  past  historical relations  characterized  by  absence  of  colonial domination,  unconditional  support  to  the  efforts  for  national  liberation  of  our  countries  and readiness  to  continue  to  support  the  continent  in  its  quest  for  progress,  economic emancipation and infrastructural development on a win- win approach, China-Africa interaction has  positively  increased  at  a  very  rapid  pace  in  the  recent  years. This gives China a relative competitive advantage over other stakeholders.

By H.E.  Ambassador Francisco Caetano José Madeira,

AU Chairpersons’ Special Representative for Counterterrorism Cooperation; Director of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT).