The African Peace and Security Architecture: Still under Construction

Briefing 14-03-2014

The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) was established by the African Union in collaboration with Africa’s Regional Economic Communities with the goal of preventing, managing and resolving conflicts on the continent. The impetus for its creation in 2001, in parallel with the African Union, was the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The African Union's Constitutive Act allows it to intervene in a member state in grave circumstances, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Yet building the APSA has been slower than expected, and to some extent the process remains incomplete. The African Standby Force, the APSA’s military and police arm, has yet to become fully operational, and the African Union’s Peace Fund remains under-funded. As a result, the EU has become a major investor in the project. To date, EUR 740 million have been earmarked by the EU to establish the African Peace and Security Architecture and to conduct peace support operations, such as the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and the Mission to the Central African Republic.