This is chapter two of the edited book titled Protecting Civilians in African Union Peace Support Operations: Key Cases and Lessons Learned. In 2004, the AU’s efforts to protect the civilian population caught up in the Darfur conflict saw the deployment of AMIS. With a multitude of threats facing civilians, AMIS was mandated to protect civilians and support the return of peace in Darfur. Since then, however, the war in Darfur evolved and the urgent needs of civilians led to the establishment of the first-ever hybrid AU-UN operation in Darfur (UNAMID). This chapter examines some of the joint AU-UN efforts to protect civilians in Darfur by highlighting some of the challenges faced by UNAMID in implementing its protection mandate, as well as the lessons that might strengthen efforts to protect civilians in other peace operations in Africa. Read article here
The African Union (AU) Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) Framework: The First Ten Years
This paper, which provides a background to the discussion on the first decade of the PCRD framework, reflects on the institutional and normative underpinnings of the AU’s peacebuilding work and analyses the experiences of the AU’s peacebuilding activities to date. It concludes with a number of policy recommendations for strengthening the PCRD over the next five years. This was a background paper for a seminar in which the AU Commission, Member States and partners, including African civil society and think tanks, met in Addis Ababa from the 19th to 21st of October 2016, to reflect on the first ten years of the PCRD framework and identify priorities for the AU’s peacebuilding work over the coming decade. Read paper here.
African Specialist Explains the Implications for Training and Capacity Building for UN Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in Africa
Main themes of Three 2015 Peace Reports, HIPPO, AGE and Global Study Report on 1325, were presented by John Ahere of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) at TICAD preparatory meeting in Cairo. View presentation here…
Silencing the Guns, Owning the Future: Realising a Conflict-Free Africa
From 21 to 23 October 2014, the African Union (AU), in collaboration with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, hosted the Fifth High-Level Retreat on the Promotion of Peace, Security and Stability in Africa. Held in Arusha, Tanzania, and supported by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the retreat brought together a range of senior representatives from the African Union Commission (AUC), including the commissioner for peace and security and special envoys, special representatives and distinguished mediators. Also in attendance were members of the African Union Panel of the Wise (AU PW) and Friends of the Panel of the Wise, senior representatives of the continent’s regional economic communities (RECs) and regional mechanisms (RMs), as well as eminent officials from the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), League of Arab States, and civil society organisations.
Convened under the theme ‘Silencing the guns − owning the future’, the objective of the retreat was to provide a platform for delegates to take stock of the paradox that is Africa in terms of unprecedented levels of economic growth on one hand, and rising instability and insecurity in a number of particularly concerning regions and member states on the other. Recognising this, and building on references to Agenda 2063 and the AU’s 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration (2013) vision of ending all wars in Africa by 2020 and ‘silencing the guns’ (also known as Vision 2020), the retreat further sought to provide a platform for collective multi-stakeholder deliberations on existing and emerging peace and security threats to the continent, and the responses required to address these and achieve a war-free continent by 2020. Read more…
Mediation and Conflict Transformation
The biannual meetings of the Mediation Support Network (MSN) generally have a topical focus related to mediation, such as networks, guidance notes, training, evaluation, or cooperation. The “MSN discussion points” summarizes key aspects of the MSN’s discussion on the meeting’s specific topic. The “MSN Discussion Points” provide a reflection of key issues that were discussed and that may be useful food for thought. Read more…
Perpetuation of instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: When the Kivus sneeze, Kinshasa catches a cold
The current instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) can be traced back to late former President Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule during the late 1980s. The country’s economic depression was exacerbated by the end of the Cold War in 1991, leading to disengagement with the international economic and political system. The DRC has been the source of numerous conflicts over many years. The 1990s saw the country’s peace and security degenerate further, creating challenges that continue to preoccupy the world today. In recent times, the epicentre of the violence in the DRC has been North and South Kivu (the Kivus). The dynamics in the two provinces are complex, causing the Great Lakes region to be characterised by huge human security challenges. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the linkage between the conflicts in the Kivus and persistent periodic instability in the DRC. It delves into and critiques post-crisis recovery efforts implemented in the country since the end of the Second Congo War. The paper concludes that, among other strategies, resolving the various conflicts in the DRC depends on understanding the causes of specific clashes, such as those in the Kivus, as this can contribute to the uncovering of sustainable solutions to armed confrontation. The paper offers proposals which, if implemented, could contribute to moving the Kivus, and by extension the DRC, beyond intractability. Read more…
Pérennisation de l’instabilité en République Démocratique du Congo : lorsque le Kivu tousse, Kinshasa a de la fièvre
Par Joyce Muraya et John Ahere
L’instabilité actuelle en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) a son origine dans le règne de l’ancien Président Mobutu Sese Seko au cours des années 1980. La décadence économique du pays fut exacerbée par la fin de la Guerre Froide en 1991 ainsi que la rupture avec le système économique et politique international. La RDC est devenue la source de plusieurs conflits pendant de nombreuses années. La décennie 1990 a coïncidé avec une forte dégradation de la situation de paix et de sécurité dans le pays, créant une situation de crise grave qui continue à préoccuper le monde jusqu’à ce jour. Ces dernières années, les provinces du Nord-Kivu et du Sud-Kivu (le Kivu) sont devenues l’épicentre de la violence en RDC. Les dynamiques dans les deux provinces sont complexes, entrainant de graves conséquences en ce qui concerne la sécurité humaine dans la région des Grands-Lacs. Cet article vise à contribuer à une meilleure compréhension du lien entre les conflits au Kivu et la persistance de l’instabilité périodique en RDC. Il analyse et critique les efforts de stabilisation post- conflit entrepris dans le pays depuis la fin de la Deuxième Guerre du Congo. L’article conclut que la résolution de différents conflits en RDC exige une meilleure compréhension des causes des foyers spécifiques des tensions, notamment ceux du Kivu, et ceci devra contribuer à l’identification des solutions durables aux confrontations armées. Enfin, l’article fait un nombre de propositions qui, une fois mises en oeuvre, pourront contribuer à sortir le Kivu et, par extension, la RDC, de sa longue période de crise. Lire la suite…
The African Union 2013 Golden Jubilee Retreat: 50 Years of Peacemaking in Africa – A Critical Retrospective of OAU/AU Peacemaking
The Fourth African Union (AU) High-Level Retreat on the Promotion of Peace, Security and Stability in Africa was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 29 and 30 October 2013 under the theme “50 Years of peacemaking in Africa: A critical retrospective of OAU/AU peacemaking”. The objective of hosting the retreat was to provide a platform through which to foster greater understanding among stakeholders of the dynamics of mediation and conflict transformation in Africa, and to reflect on the AU’s Agenda 2063 and other related peace and security priorities.
Presentations and discussions covered a number of issues which are pertinent to peace and security in Africa, and specific to mediation. Delegates accessed lessons learnt from 50 years of peacemaking in Africa and had opportunities to examine the linkages between African and international mediation. Of notable interest was the question of how to enhance coordination and harmonisation of African and international peacemaking approaches. Read more…
The never-ending pursuit of the Lord’s Resistance Army: An analysis of the Regional Cooperative Initiative for the Elimination of the LRA
There has recently been heightened concern regarding the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), one of the most deadly insurgent movements in Africa. The LRA can best be described as a quasireligious- rebel armed group that began operating in the Acholi region of northern Uganda in 1986, but has now grown into a regional concern due to its expanded activities in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan. In response to the activities of the group, the Africa Union (AU), the United States of America (USA) government and the members of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) have jointly decided to address the growing threat that the LRA poses to regional peace and security. Supported by the international community, these actors formed an international military force to eliminate the LRA and its leader, Joseph Kony. Questions have been raised as to whether the response by the international community is commensurate with the threat posed.2 This Policy & Practice Brief provides a reflective analysis of the existence of the LRA, exploring why the capture of LRA members has been elusive. It critiques current approaches employed to defeat the LRA and makes recommendations on how the proposed pursuit of the movement can be strengthened to increase chances of success. It also emphasises the relevance of the historical underpinnings and legacy of the LRA’s cause, including the regional and international dynamics that inform the involvement of various actors towards ending and resolving the LRA dispute. Read more…
The Paradox that is Diplomatic Recognition: Unpacking the Somaliland Situation
Somaliland is an example of a territory that has fulfilled the conditions that are pre-requisite for state recognition in the international system. Somaliland is however, not recognised as a state. Questions abound about why Somaliland finds itself in this situation when there are territories which obtained recognition after fulfilling a fraction of what Somaliland has achieved. This study contributes to answering the aforementioned questions. This study has certain objectives. It delved into the examination of the criteria that is used for the recognition of states in the international system. It also analyses the role of intergovernmental organizations in the non-recognition of Somaliland. The objective of this study is also to make an assessment of the nature of interactions between Somaliland, and other actors in the international system. Read more…
The Afro-liberal pragmatist 