Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Despite progress in
the past decade and the increased capacity of the African Union (AU),
the inability to marshal robust and timely responses lays bare the major
gaps in the current African peace and security architecture.
This is according to Dr Solomon A Dersso, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, speaking at Thursday's launch of the Annual Review of the Peace and Security Council 2013/3014 on the sidelines of the 22nd AU summit in Addis Ababa.
The Annual Review concluded that the African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC) has not deployed effective and timely responses to crises during 2013. While the PSC and regional conflict prevention mechanisms remain willing to respond - as demonstrated by the rise in the number and frequency of PSC meetings - their ability to act effectively can be questioned. Two cases in point are Mali and the Central African Republic, where the deployment of French forces was required.
'If the PSC's potential to enable Africa to effectively take charge of its peace and security agenda is to be realised, then several major concerns must be addressed', said Dersso who authored the Annual Review. These include refining the African Standby Force concept and fast-tracking its operationalisation,rethinking the role of major economic and military powers of the continent, the membership of the PSC, the process of consensus-building, and the mobilisation of diplomatic, military, technical and financial resources by AU member states.
The Annual Review is the second in a series of in-depth assessments of the PSC conducted by the ISS. The first Annual Review of the PSC 2012/2013 was launched at the January 2013 AU summit.
For media interviews and more information contact:
Dr Solomon A Dersso, Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, ISS Addis Ababa
Tel: + 251 11 515 63 20 Cell: + 251 91042 6974
Email: sayeledersso@issafrica.org
The Annual Review of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) raises and engages a number of questions relating to the AU PSC and its activities in 2012/2013.
These questions include: What is the peace and security trend or outlook for Africa in 2012/2013?
What are the peace and security challenges that Africa faced in 2012? What has been the response of Africa to these challenges through the PSC?
What results have been and are being achieved from the response?
What are the lessons to be learned from the work of the PSC in 2012? How does the PSC take decisions?
Who are the role players in the decision-making processes of the PSC?
Are there properly functioning mechanisms for effective interaction and interface between these various role players and the PSC?
In addressing these questions, this annual review offers the PSC, its member states and the AU Commission, as well as other institutions working with the PSC, perspectives on and critical insights into the nature and extent of its contribution towards effectively addressing peace and security threats on the continent.
The annual review also makes invaluable contributions towards improving the framework of working relationships, collaboration and coherent decision-making between the PSC and the AU Commission, RECs, the UN and the wider international community.
Author: Dr. Solomon A. Dersso with a contribution from H.E. Mohamed Fathi Edrees and Dr Jide Okeke
This is according to Dr Solomon A Dersso, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, speaking at Thursday's launch of the Annual Review of the Peace and Security Council 2013/3014 on the sidelines of the 22nd AU summit in Addis Ababa.
The Annual Review concluded that the African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC) has not deployed effective and timely responses to crises during 2013. While the PSC and regional conflict prevention mechanisms remain willing to respond - as demonstrated by the rise in the number and frequency of PSC meetings - their ability to act effectively can be questioned. Two cases in point are Mali and the Central African Republic, where the deployment of French forces was required.
'If the PSC's potential to enable Africa to effectively take charge of its peace and security agenda is to be realised, then several major concerns must be addressed', said Dersso who authored the Annual Review. These include refining the African Standby Force concept and fast-tracking its operationalisation,rethinking the role of major economic and military powers of the continent, the membership of the PSC, the process of consensus-building, and the mobilisation of diplomatic, military, technical and financial resources by AU member states.
The Annual Review is the second in a series of in-depth assessments of the PSC conducted by the ISS. The first Annual Review of the PSC 2012/2013 was launched at the January 2013 AU summit.
For media interviews and more information contact:
Dr Solomon A Dersso, Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Division, ISS Addis Ababa
Tel: + 251 11 515 63 20 Cell: + 251 91042 6974
Email: sayeledersso@issafrica.org
The Annual Review of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) raises and engages a number of questions relating to the AU PSC and its activities in 2012/2013.
These questions include: What is the peace and security trend or outlook for Africa in 2012/2013?
What are the peace and security challenges that Africa faced in 2012? What has been the response of Africa to these challenges through the PSC?
What results have been and are being achieved from the response?
What are the lessons to be learned from the work of the PSC in 2012? How does the PSC take decisions?
Who are the role players in the decision-making processes of the PSC?
Are there properly functioning mechanisms for effective interaction and interface between these various role players and the PSC?
In addressing these questions, this annual review offers the PSC, its member states and the AU Commission, as well as other institutions working with the PSC, perspectives on and critical insights into the nature and extent of its contribution towards effectively addressing peace and security threats on the continent.
The annual review also makes invaluable contributions towards improving the framework of working relationships, collaboration and coherent decision-making between the PSC and the AU Commission, RECs, the UN and the wider international community.
Author: Dr. Solomon A. Dersso with a contribution from H.E. Mohamed Fathi Edrees and Dr Jide Okeke
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