by Bonifacio Antonio – SANF 04 no 16
The second Extraordinary Assembly of the African Union held recently in Sirte, Libya, discussed the establishment of an African Standby Force (ASF) with a capacity to prevent and resolve conflicts on the continent.
The Declaration on a Common African Defence and Security Policy adopted at the end of the summit states that “the African Standby Force shall perform functions in the context of preventive deployment and peace-building, including post-conflict disarmament and demobilization. It shall also provide humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population in conflict areas as well as support efforts to address major natural disasters.
“The concept of the African Standby Force is based on brigades to be provided by the five African regions. These brigades will be established in two phases, to be completed by the year 2010 with the attendant strengthening of capabilities at both the AU and regional levels”, says the document.
“The ASF will have military, police and civilian components and will operate on the basis of various scenarios under African Union mandates, ranging from observer missions to peace-keeping operations and intervention in conformity with the Constitutive Act.
The ASF will be established to enable the Peace and Security Council to perform its responsibilities with respect to the deployment of peace support missions and intervention pursuant to the provisions of the Constitutive Act.
Currently the AU is working to resolve conflicts in Burundi, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Republic of Central Africa, Somalia and Sudan. (SARDC)
