PSC Briefing on the Harmonization of the ACIRC within the ASF Framework
Amani Africa
Date | 18 September, 2018
Tomorrow (19 September) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) will hold a briefing on the harmonization of the African Capacity for Rapid Intervention in Crises (ACRIC) within the African Standby Force (ASF) framework. Convened on the request of Nigeria, the meeting will examine the conceptual, structural and institutional harmonization of the ASF and ACIRC. The session will also evaluate the progress made by the two mechanisms since the last briefing to the PSC. The meeting will receive a briefing from the Peace and Security Department (PSD)’s Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD).
The meeting is held in line with the decision 695 of the AU Assembly meeting in Nouakchott, which requested quarterly progress update on implementation of decision 679 of the 30th ordinary session of the Assembly.
The meeting will also receive updates from the Secretariat of ACRIC in PSOD on the state of the ACIRC, its relations with the ASF mechanism and recent developments in the implementation of the Maputo Strategic Work Plan on the Enhancement of the ASF (2016‐2020). The five‐year work plan for the ASF highlighted the changing security environment and threats on the continent. Its recommendation for dynamism into the design and structure of the ASF to respond to the challenges goes in line with the initiative to harmonize the ASF with the ACIRC. The session will use the indicators, deliverables and timelines defined by the five‐year work plan as a reference to evaluate the move towards harmonization of ACRIC with ASF, particularly its rapid deployment capability (RDC). The training, exercises, airlift and mission support capabilities of the regional forces and their progress in articulating the command structure and control, and logistical capabilities of the ASF and ACIRC will also be discussed by the session.
The discussion and debate of the meeting will focus on the complex relationship between the ASF and ACRIC. Divisions still exist among the member states of the AU and within the AU Commission on the relevance, role, interaction and the need for keeping the two as parallel initiatives. There is an opinion that sees ACIRC as a redundancy, an admission of failure to fully operationalize the ASF, and questions the value addition of the ACIRC. This view sees the 2013 initiative as a project that diverts and distracts the attention, energy, resources and political focus of the continent and partners that should have been spent on realizing the ASF. Those participating in ACRIC consider the mechanism as providing the mechanism for rapid mobilization and more flexibility (compared to the region based and relatively more region approach of the ASF) in cases emergency situations.
Despite its success for standardization, training and mobilization of peace support mission in Africa, security challenges in the continent have revealed the weakness of the ASF in rapidly deploying troops. Harmonizing the ASF and ACIRC will primarily focus on addressing this structural gap. The conversation on the ASF and ACIRC dynamics is taking place while the continent is witnessing a sweeping trend of relying on ad‐hoc regional coalitions and deployment arrangements and alliances as a rapid response mechanism. The meeting is expected to address these trend in the context of the effort for harmonization of the ASF and ACRIC.
While peace support operations serve as a vital tool of crisis response, changing security dynamics and trans‐regional nature of emerging security threats demand a more flexible, agile and effective missions. The possibility of an effective transfer of responsibility to local security forces and institutions, and withdrawal of missions with an extended presence and limited effectiveness still look distant. These conditions and reality significantly affected the reputation and effectiveness of the traditional peace support operations in Africa, and called for a revision of the existing practice and arrangements. The threat posed by transnational terrorist groups and non‐state actors need a ‘fit for purpose’ and tailor made mandated approach, which is currently lacking in the traditional African Union and UN missions in Africa.
Tomorrow’s meeting will examine the ASF‐ACRIC harmonization as a response to the question of effectiveness and sustainability of peace support operations in the continent. Reviewing the design and structure of the ASF in a way that enhances its deployment capabilities and mission effectiveness including the ACIRC as its component is seen by the AU as a way forward. An important aspect of this session is also finding a balance between rapid and flexible regional initiatives and overarching standards and principles developed within the framework of the ASF.
Also important for tomorrow’s session is tailor made interventions with greater emphasis on political initiatives underscoring the imperative of the primacy of political strategy over military or security approaches. These include integrating and enhancing the role of preventive diplomacy and mediation mechanisms, the African Governance Architecture (AGA), Africa’s normative framework to constitutionalism and inclusive governance. Enabling national institutions is critical in the path from conflict to sustained peace, and should be part and parcel of the ASF‐ACIRC harmonization.
The expected outcome of the briefing is a communiqué. The communiqué may stipulate a timeline for finalizing the harmonization of ACRIC within the ASF and for all efforts at the levels of the AU and regions to focus on the full operationalization of the ASF with necessary adjustments for flexible, rapid and effective utilization of ASF in response to emerging crisis.
PSC Program of Work for the Month of September 2018
Amani Africa
Date | September 2018
In September, Angola assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC). Unlike the previous consecutive months, the PSC is not expected to have a field mission. Although the monthly provisional program of work envisages an open session marking the amnesty month, indications are that this is now changed into an event. This would mean that there would be no open session during this month.
The program of the month starts with the event marking the amnesty month, initially scheduled for 4th September but expected to take place on 5th September. Following the designation at the July 2017 AU summit of the month of September of each year till 2020, as ‘Africa Amnesty Month’ the PSC launched the amnesty month during the open session of its 716th meeting held on 4 September 2017. The amnesty month is dedicated to the surrender and collection of Illicit Weapons and was initiated as part the AU Master
Roadmap for Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020.
On 6 September the PSC has three items on its agenda. It plans to have a preparatory meeting on the annual consultative meeting between the PSC and the peace and security organs of the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) and is expected to consider and adopt its program of work for the month of October.
The third but substantive agenda of the 6 September PSC session involves a briefing on Burundi. This is the first time for the PSC to have Burundi on its agenda since its 727th meeting held on 27th October 2017. The reemergence of this situation on the PSC agenda is done on Angola’s initiative. The briefing is expected to provide the PSC updates on the situation in Burundi covering not only the peace process but also the human rights and socio‐economic situation in the country. The Commissioner for Peace and Security, Smail Chergui and the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and Head of the AU Liaison Office in Burundi, Mr. Basile Ikouebe, are expected to brief the PSC.
On 18 September, the PSC is scheduled to have two agenda items. First is the status of the RCI‐LRA. While the mandate of the RCI‐LRA was extended for three‐ month period in May 2018, with no change in the operational and financial situation of the mission, this session is expected to decide on whether the current conditions warrant continuing with further extension of the mandate of RCI‐LRA. The second agenda item involves the annual consultative meeting between the PSC and the peace and security organs of RECs/RMs. This follows the conclusions of the 8th retreat of the PSC held in Abuja, Nigeria, which provided for the institutionalization of such consultative meeting. Such meeting is also one of the institutional measures stipulated in the AU Master Roadmap for Silencing the Guns.
Like the annual consultative meeting between the PSC and the UN Security Council, this meeting with peace and security organs of the RECs/RMs is meant to offer useful framework for both achieving shared understanding on items common to the respective agenda of the PSC and RECs/RMs and enhancing coordinated action. It also offers the basis for shared perspectives on aligning the decision‐making process and initiatives for prevention, management and resolution of conflicts between PSC and RECs/RMs. Given the plurality of the peace and security organs of RECs/RMs and their different organizational structure and format, the format of meeting with such diverse grouping may not be ideal for achieving these objectives.
On 19 September, the PSC is expected to receive briefing on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). During the same session, the PSC plans to have a briefing on the harmonization of the African Standby Force (ASF) and the African Immediate Crisis Response Capacity (AICRC).
On 20 September, the PSC session will have two items on its agenda. The first is a preparatory meeting for the ministerial session expected to be held on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly. This item is subject to confirmation. The second involves a ‘briefing on comprehensive study on APSA and AGA implementation’. Apart from offering updates on the implementation of the APSA and the AGA, this briefing is expected to present the PSC analysis done on the AU reform relating to the PSC.
The last substantive item on the PSC program of work for September is the plan for ministerial meeting tentatively scheduled for 24 September. The focus of this session is not specified. The program of work indicates that this session is subject to further confirmation.
Finally, on 27 September the Chairperson of the PSC for September, Angola’s Ambassador in Addis Ababa Arcanjo Nscimento, is scheduled to brief the PRC on the activities of the PSC.
Open Session on African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
Amani Africa
Date | 22 August, 2018
Tomorrow (22 August) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) will have its second open session. The session will be held under the theme ‘The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance: Challenges and Prospects for Structural Prevention of Conflict’.
The meeting will receive a briefing from the Director for the Department of Political Affairs (DPA), Khabele Matlosa. The focus of the session is a thematic area for which the DPA is responsible.
The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (African Charter) was adopted on 30 January 2007 by the African Union (AU) Assembly. It came into force on 15 February 2012. It is perhaps the most comprehensive instruments of the AU that enshrines the norms, values and standards that embody the aspiration of the African Union for a democratic, inclusive and just continent. So far it is signed by 46 member states and ratified by 31.
The African Charter sits at the heart of the African Governance Architecture (AGA), a set of normative frameworks and institutions that serve as vehicle for the promoting and ensuring respect for the democratic and governance values of the AU. While a state reporting guideline that outlines the details of information that states party to the African Charter should report on regarding the measures that they have taken to realize the obligations they subscribed to under the Charter has been developed, Togo is the only member state that has submitted its initial State report on the implementation of the Charter.
The theme of this session lies at the cross section of the PSC mandate that combines security and democratic governance. Indeed, under Article 7(1)(m) the PSC is explicitly mandated to ‘follow up, within the framework of its conflict prevention responsibilities, the progress towards the promotion of democratic practices, good governance, the rule of law, protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the sanctity of human life and international humanitarian law by member states’. Undoubtedly, the African Charter offers the PSC the best framework in the pursuit of delivering on its mandate under this provision.
It is in some ways striking that a periodic review of and systematic reflections on the implementation of this key instrument has not been made a standing agenda item in the working methods of the PSC. This is not only because the African Charter fits squarely in the mandate of the PSC but also on account of the link between the governance challenges facing many parts of the continent and the occurrence of conflict situations on the continent. Indeed, as set out in the concept note for tomorrow’s session, despite the progress registered on the continent where elections are accepted and practiced (albeit unevenly) universally, what informs the session are the worrying trends that include ‘persistence of intra-state conflicts; manipulation of constitutions by incumbents to prolong their stay in power; rampant corruption and illicit financial flows; mismanagement of diversity; militarization of politics; refusal to accept electoral results by candidates, igniting electoral violence; extreme poverty; and human rights abuses and violations.’
This session is thus meant to be ‘an opportunity for its Members and partners to deliberate on the progress and challenges for the effective implementation of ACDEG as a mechanism for structural prevention of conflict’. Apart from examining the role of various sectors of society including the media and civil society organizations, the session importantly seeks to address the role of and gaps in the Charter for structural conflict prevention.
As a point of departure in addressing the issue of the challenges facing the African Charter and its role in structural conflict prevention, it is important to underscore that there is no need for the AU to adopt any protocol to the Charter. Nearly all the issues facing the effective operationalization of the African Charter and its role in structural conflict prevention are associated with its effective institutionalization and implementation by the AU and member states.
In terms of the institutionalization of the African Charter, the first issue is the full ratification of the Charter by all AU member states. The full continental implementation of the African Charter and its promotion by the AU, including by the PSC as instrument for structural conflict prevention, requires its full ratification. Second, despite its direct relevance in the work of the PSC, the African Charter is not properly and systematically applied by the PSC. While the PSC occasionally makes reference to the African Charter, thus far this practice remains ad hoc.
Third, while the elaboration of the state reporting guidelines within the AGA framework is a crucial step in its institutionalization, the lack of submission of reports by state parties to the Charter undermines it. There is thus a need for promoting the submission of reports by states or alternatively the establishment of a mechanism for undertaking such a review. In this regard, it is worthwhile to explore the review compliance of states parties to the Charter with the provisions of the Charter within the framework of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an innovative mechanism for review of the performance of AU member states vis-à-vis the various commitments that they have made within the framework of various AU instruments including the African Charter. Finally, there remain gaps between the AGA institutions and frameworks and the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) that supports and relies on the PSC. One aspect of this is also the finalization of the draft framework on AU and regional economic communities/mechanisms (RECs/RMs) cooperation on the implementation of the African Charter’s principles.
In terms of its implementation, the African Charter faces the same issues as other AU instruments. First, there is the issue of the domestication of the African Charter in the national legal system and its internalization in practice in the conduct of public affairs. More often than not states parties to the African Charter lack the political mind-set and the mechanisms for ensuring that the conduct of public affairs are guided by and comply with the values, ideals and requirements of the African Charter. Second, from the perspective of the role of the African Charter as structural conflict prevention instrument, it remains unclear whether the new tool on the structural vulnerability assessment of the APSA has as its major component appropriate indicators from the African Charter that serve as framework for a systematic assessment of AU member states structural weaknesses vis-à-vis democracy, elections and governance. Third, there is also the issue of the popularization of the African Charter among wider sections of the public in states parties to the Charter. In this respect, there is a need for ensuring that further attention is given to the work on enhancing public awareness of the African Charter. It is here that the AU, particularly the DPA and the AGA platform, need to establish strategic alliance with the media, civil society organizations and academic and policy research institutions as the key vehicle for promoting the Charter and building constituency at national levels for its adherence.
Fourth, one of there is also the issue effective continental enforcement mechanism. In this respect, a major challenge is the fact that the AU rule on sanctions for breach of AU norms on democratic governance is currently limited in its application to unconstitutional changes of government. The result of this practice is that if the breach of AU norms on democratic governance does not qualify to be unconstitutional change of government, the PSC does not invoke its Article 7(g) power to sanction a member states irrespective of the gravity of the breach. Fifth, the lack of clarity on the question of term limits and notably the application of Article 23 (5) on manipulation of constitutional amendments meant that contestations over third termism has increasingly become a source of political instability and in some instances conflicts.
The foregoing clearly establishes the major challenges that imped the effectiveness of the Charter. From the perspective of the role of the PSC, a major challenge is achieving consensus among its member states. At one level, there is the issue of the fact that there are PSC members that are not parties to the African Charter. Under such circumstances, it is not clear how the PSC can promote and make use of the Charter in pursuit of its mandate. More importantly, there is the perennial issue of sovereignty, which some member states tend to invoke particularly in the realm of democratic governance. Accordingly, part of the honest conversation that the concept note for the session anticipates should address is the imperative of accepting and clearly affirming the application by the PSC of the African Charter as part of the implementation of its mandate, particularly as it relates to prevention of conflicts. Instead of a protocol to the African Charter indicated in the concept note, this and the institutionalization and implementation challenges highlighted above should be the main issues that the expected outcome of the session should focus on. In this respect, apart from deliberating on the development of guidelines on the amendment of constitutions, the PSC should provide for elaboration of guidelines on the application of sanctions for major democratic governance breaches under the African Charter other than unconstitutional changes of government.
While the expected outcome of this session is a statement, in the light of the importance of the theme and its direct relevance for the mandate of the PSC the and its direct relevance for the mandate of the PSC the communiqué apart from addressing issues highlighted above can also establish the theme of this session as a standing thematic agenda of the PSC during which the PSC receives an annual report on the state of democratic governance and threats to peace and security in Africa.
