INTRODUCTION

As the Horn of Africa gets dangerously entangled in the unfolding crisis between Saudi Arabia (and its allies) and Qatar, this policy brief examines why and how the African Union (AU) needs to pursue the implementation of its security architecture in the coast of greater Horn of Africa. It in particular looks at the case for AU to promote a collective security regime in this part of Africa.

The report by President Paul Kagame regarding the AU reform process is a major agenda item during the 29th AU summit to be held on 3‐4 July 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The financing of the AU including peace and security is at the heart of the reform agenda. An aspect of the financing of the Union attracting interest is the initiative on securing predictable and sustainable financing for peace in Africa, led by former African Development Bank President Dr Donald Kaberuka.

In his report, ‘The Imperative to Strengthen our Union: Proposed Recommendations for the Institutional Reform of the African Union’, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda observed that ‘it has always been Africa’s moment’. He went on to state that the ‘question at any given time is whether we choose to be present and develop the institutional capacity … to seize the available advantages.’ In adopting the report and its recommendations at the 28th AU Summit in January 2017, the African Union (AU) Assembly presented itself a new moment for the reform of the AU. As leaders of African States descend on Addis Ababa for 29th AU Summit to discuss the reform of the AU, once again the question is whether member states would seize this new moment and ensure the implementation of the reform agenda.

The report by President Paul Kagame regarding the AU reform process is a major agenda item during the 29th AU summit to be held on 3‐4 July 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The financing of the AU including peace and security is at the heart of the reform agenda. An aspect of the financing of the Union attracting interest is the initiative on securing predictable and sustainable financing for peace in Africa, led by former African Development Bank President Dr Donald Kaberuka.