Current Status African Standby Force

1 current status

1.1 exercises
1.2 north african regional capacity
1.3 ecowas standby force
1.4 eccas standby force
1.5 eastern africa standby force
1.6 sadc standby brigade
1.7 internal revision

current status
exercises

from 2008 until 2010, training , capacity building cycle amani africa (meaning “peace in africa,” in swahili), designed evaluate effectiveness asf au mandated peace support operation (pso) conducted african union in collaboration european union. climaxed in first continental exercise, called command post exercise (cpx), of kind in addis ababa. amani africa focused on validating policies , processes, @ continental strategic level, in employing african standby force within broader african peace , security architecture (apsa). according au, provided objective evidence support proposals further organizational , operational developments of training, procedures , multidimensional capacities of asf.

eastbrig headquarters during exercise amani africa (2012)

the african union commission (auc) planning conduct field training exercise (ftx) in october 2014 in lesotho @ climax of ongoing training cycle known amani africa ii. according au, amani africa ii cycle aims @ enabling asf achieve foc 2015 , @ validating capacity of african union grant mandate use of rapid deployment capability, initial operation scenario 6 , lead in process, fully-fledged multidimensional peace operation (scenario 5).

each regional force not on same level of development.

in january 2006 ishaya hassan of nigeria promoted major general , assigned chief of standby force staff, located in addis ababa. hassan later died, , of 2007(?) (2013?) no replacement had been found. position vacant @ least 3 years.

north african regional capacity

the north african regional capacity created fill sub-regional vacuum in north africa. arab maghreb union (amu) has been dormant since establishment in 1989. throughout last 2 decades, revitalizing amu proved difficult due political dynamics amongst member states. thus, there need create regional mechanism enable north african countries contribute african standby force. why in mid 2007 memorandum of understanding (mou) drafted establish narc.

in absence of joint secretariat coordinate cooperation amongst narc member states, libya voluntarily played role during initial phase of starting narc lasted 3 years (2005-2008). later on, second meeting of narc ministers of defence held in tripoli in december 2008 approved recommendation establish executive secretariat located in tripoli. subsequently, narc executive secretariat , planning element inaugurated in april 2009. however, expected staff other member states join executive secretariat , planelm in september 2010. while both egypt , algeria had identified staff 2 elements, these countries yet sign hosting agreement libya, , in cases deployment of staff constrained domestic considerations including promotions , retirements. meanwhile, progress in generating civilian officers planelm lagged further behind; meant narc planelm purely military in 2010.

while brigade hq located in cairo , 2 logistic depots located in algiers , cairo have been identified, have yet made operational, due political , bureaucratic constraints within member states. furthermore, seems creating, rostering , deploying civilian component problematic due voluntary , individualistic nature of component , lack of au strategic guidance in regard.

it reported via africa research bulletin u.s. army africa s commanding general, major general william b. garrett iii, had made visit in may 2010 tripoli discuss relationships between united states , libyan land forces. met libya s chief of staff army mechanised units , executive director of narc, major general ahmed oun.

on 28 may 2010, narc executive secretary, major-general ahmed oun, signed, on behalf of narc, memorandum of understanding on cooperation between african union, regional economic communities , regional standby brigades of eastern africa , northern africa, @ headquarters of african union in addis ababa.

it reported in january 2011 magharebia algeria host narc headquarters. under agreement made on tuesday, january 25, 2011, algeria planned become seat of both narc headquarters , force s administration.

it presumed arab spring (2011) has led major setback in establishment of narc.

members may include algeria, egypt, libya, mauritania, tunisia, , western sahara.

ecowas standby force

members: ghana, nigeria, benin, togo, côte d ivoire, guinea, guinea bissau, liberia, sierra leone, mali, senegal, niger, burkina faso, gambia, , cape verde

the ecowas standby force (esf) standby arrangement made of military, police , civilian components , consistent chapter viii of united nations charter provides regional peace , security arrangements. partial legal basis given article 21 of ecowas protocol relating mechanism conflict prevention, management, resolution, peacekeeping , security of december 1999.

ecowas standby force hq staff attending ddr course @ emp bamako (2007)

in 2005, team of ecowas p3 development partners (au, eu, usa, uk, canada, denmark, france, germany , netherlands), un standby high-readiness brigade (shirbrig) ecowas mission planning management cell (mpmc) met , produced overarching framework document operationalisation of esf. ecowas operational framework phased process first of establishing esf task force (esftf) 2773 soldiers of ranks certified in 2009 in form of logistics exercise. task force structured 2 infantry battalions (western , eastern) , composite logistics battalion. western battalion led senegal while eastern battalion led nigeria.

the ecowas main force intended number 3727, build complete brigade of 6500 of ranks ready 2010. initial task force intended rapidly deployed , more robust, long-term main force required afterwards.

there no formal memorandum of understanding between ecowas secretariat , ecowas members states on force generation. however, mou has been drafted, , meanwhile (2010), there firm commitment of different states leaders provide personnel , facilities facilitate deployment of force.

the headquarters (hq) of both esf , esftf co-located in abuja, nigeria. however, planning element of esf weak compared task force planelm. (2010), planelm of esf has no civilian component. military , police components operational. logistic depot of force, still built, planned established @ freetown, sierra leone. land has been allocated in regard government of sierra leone, , united states of america’s government providing support establishment of logistics depot.

in violent conflict in mali since 2012, esf not operate in timely manner prevent further escalation of violence in country.

eccas standby force

members include são tomé , príncipe, cameroon, central african republic, gabon, chad, equatorial guinea, republic of congo, angola, burundi, , democratic republic of congo.

the eccas standby force, or in french, force multinationale de l’afrique centrale (fomac), established in 2006 @ eccas yaoundé summit, before african standby force (asf). established under framework of eccas’ peace , security council, known copax. copax decision making organ of eccas on issues concerning peace , security.

the absence of formal memorandum of understanding (mou) between eccas , members states relating fomac remains big obstacle. binding legal framework governing fomac document known catalo 2010 , signed february 28, 2008 in libreville, gabon member states. under arrangement, members states pledged force of 4800 (police, military , civilians) personnel , 6 airlift aircraft.

the planning element (planelm) of fomac established in july 2006 in libreville, , consists of representatives various eccas member states. eccas has opted big multidimensional planning element of 36 out of 24 sitting. eccas has opted non-permanent brigade headquarters. in view, brigade headquarters established when peace operation authorized , led individual state or group of states, in coordination planelm. eccas has not developed yet rapid deployment capability (rdc).

eastern africa standby force

members: burundi, comoros, djibouti, ethiopia, kenya, rwanda, seychelles, somalia, sudan , uganda

in east of continent, regional agent of asf known eastern africa standby force (easf), since 2007 led coordination mechanism (easfcom). while ecowas, sadc , eccas have established planelms within respective regional protocols in place, easf entirely different regional arrangement co-existing several east african communities.

the easf operates vision contribute regional , continental peace , stability in region, through operational , multidimensional joint , integrated eastern standby force ready deployment 2015, initial operational capability 2010. in regard, easf has developed strategic development plan 2010-2015 approved during second ordinary summit of heads of state , government held in moroni, comoros, in march 2010.

easf s brigade hq , logistics base (logbase) both located @ addis ababa, ethiopia, while planning element (planelm) co-located easfcom in nairobi, kenya. 10 easf members states represented within planelm.

the planelm conducting capacity building activities within within members states of region ensure multidimensional elements of force on standby in respective countries au peace support operations. in regard, international peace support training center (ipstc), located opposite of easfcom in nairobi, provides assistance.

completing first cycle of exercise, easf reached initial operating capability (ioc) in late 2009. completing second cycle, easf conducted second ftx in jinja, uganda in may 2013. 1,290 participants (military, police, civilian), test easf s deployment , mission implementation capability.

sadc standby brigade

the sadc standby brigade launched on august 17, 2007 in lusaka, zambia, initially, military , police component. civilian component subsequently established. members have signed initial agreement include tanzania, malawi, zambia, zimbabwe, namibia, swaziland, lesotho, botswana, south africa, madagascar, mauritius, angola, , mozambique.

the planning element (planelm) of sadc sf has been established military, police , civilian components, experiencing shortfalls in staffing. strategic level training of force conducted under framework of southern africa defense , security management (sadsem) through network of academic institutions while operational training conducted regional peacekeeping training center (rptc) located in harare, zimbabwe. other capacity building , training activities conducted through series of exercises in region.

the main logistic depot (mld) built in gaborone , government of botswana has allocated land establishment of depot. sadc unlike other recs , rms has limited number of partners due policy of self-reliance on issues of peace , security. sadc decided not establish permanent mission headquarters, in event of deployment.

internal revision

the asf roadmap iii recognized major difficulties in establishment of asf. importantly, recognized asf not able reach full operational capability (foc) 2010, goal set in previous roadmaps , key documents. therefore, experts set new date foc 2015. furthermore, in policy document observed asf still lacked ability manage complex peacekeeping operations specified in asf roadmap ii. similarly, au experts ascertain recs/rms did not reach full capacity deploy mission headquarters scenario 4 involving au/regional forces. other problems seen in low level of awareness , commitment among different stakeholders lack of institutional capacity , effective coordination between au , recs/rms. additionally, there slow development of civil component in comparison other components. concerning political process, roadmap mentions there @ time no written procedure governing au political decision making , subsequent mission planning. therefore, experts stressed need finalization , adoption of comprehensive memorandum of understanding (mou) on use of asf au mandated missions in order clarify relationship between au, recs/rms , member states.

the roadmap outlined several fields of progress in development of asf. these achievements include production of set of common policy documents, annual continental training program, , improved training standards within nations , standby forces used collectively, albeit @ initial operational capability @ moment, logistic , institutional reasons. notable progress ascertained in development of harmonized rapid deployment capability (rdc) concept. lastly, roadmap saw progress in evolution of police component, notably in area of policy development , establishment of management capabilities @ strategic level of au , operational level of recs/rms.

achievements in development of force reached in period between 2010 , 2015, stated in roadmap, asf vision presented au summit in january/february 2012; staffed, trained , operational psod december 2011; operational rdc december 2012, confirmed continental exercise amani africa ii; , finally, operational asf december 2015 confirmed continental exercise amani africa iii.

from july december 2013, au conducted assessment of status of development of asf through independent panel of experts. 1 of findings of assessment unlikely asf reach foc until december 2015 without major efforts stakeholders.