African Standby Force
Encyclopedia
The African Standby Force is intended to be an international
, continental
African
military force, with both a civilian and police component, under the direction of the African Union
. It is to be deployed in times of crisis in Africa. In 2003, a 2010 operational date for the force was set.
The genesis of the African Standby Force is contained in a document which provides a framework for the structure of the ASF.
The establishment of the ASF has been envisioned in two parts:
1. Regional Economic Communities would complement the African Union by establishing regional standby forces up to a brigade size.
2. In time, the idea is that the AU will be good enough at peacekeeping activities to handle missions with varying degrees of complexity, thereby allowing the ASF to maintain a purely supplemental role.
Currently, Africa's five regions are in the process of setting up their regional brigades and agreeing on issues of harmonisation and standardisation between them. Current seat is Addis Ababa
, Ethiopia
.
Each brigade is to have a planning element and brigade headquarters, as well as assigned units from member states.
Regions and status are provisionally as follows:
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
, continental
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
African
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
military force, with both a civilian and police component, under the direction of the African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
. It is to be deployed in times of crisis in Africa. In 2003, a 2010 operational date for the force was set.
The genesis of the African Standby Force is contained in a document which provides a framework for the structure of the ASF.
The establishment of the ASF has been envisioned in two parts:
1. Regional Economic Communities would complement the African Union by establishing regional standby forces up to a brigade size.
2. In time, the idea is that the AU will be good enough at peacekeeping activities to handle missions with varying degrees of complexity, thereby allowing the ASF to maintain a purely supplemental role.
Currently, Africa's five regions are in the process of setting up their regional brigades and agreeing on issues of harmonisation and standardisation between them. Current seat is Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
Each brigade is to have a planning element and brigade headquarters, as well as assigned units from member states.
Regions and status are provisionally as follows:
- North Africa: The Arab Maghreb UnionArab Maghreb UnionThe Arab Maghreb Union is a trade agreement aiming for economic and some sort of future political unity in North Africa between the countries Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania...
cooperating with EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
were initially designated to act as the regional organisation which would create and support the brigade. For some time, intra-regional differences prevented any progress at all. However, a new mounting body, the North Africa Regional Capability, has now been created to take on the role of the REC for Northern Africa. U.S. diplomatic reporting in March 2009 from Addis Ababa said that AU PSC Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said the North African brigade "was "catching up" quickly. He said Egypt will provide headquarters for the brigade and contribute one battalion. Algeria has pledged two autonomous battalions and two additional support companies, while Libya is offering helicopter support. Tunisia has signed an MOU, but the nature of its pledge is not yet known, said Lamamra."
- West Africa: The ECOWAS Standby Force is being established as a 1,500 strong ready battalion group as the first element of a 6,500 strong brigade. In mid 2008 a first exercise at BamakoBamakoBamako is the capital of Mali and its largest city with a population of 1.8 million . Currently, it is estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and sixth fastest in the world...
, MaliMaliMali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
evaluated the capabilities of the assigned units of the force. It has been reported that the Nigerian ArmyNigerian ArmyThe Nigerian Army the largest of the Nigerian Armed Forces, has about 100,000 professional personnel. The original elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force in Nigeria were formed in 1900....
battalion assigned to the force is located at OkitipupaOkitipupaOkitipupa is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Okitipupa, with a university that will commence academy in year 2010/2011 section: Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa ....
in southwest Nigeria. Discussions continue over the use of a logistics depot at Hastings, Sierra LeoneHastings, Sierra LeoneHastings is a town located in the Western Area of Sierra Leone and a suburb of Freetown, the nation's capital. It population was estimated at 15,054 . Hastings lies just 15 miles to central Freetown...
. A multinational planning cell is located at AbujaAbujaAbuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...
, NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
under Brigadier General Hassan Lai of the Nigerian ArmyNigerian ArmyThe Nigerian Army the largest of the Nigerian Armed Forces, has about 100,000 professional personnel. The original elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force in Nigeria were formed in 1900....
.
- It was reported in May 2010 that: 'Altogether, the ECOWAS Standby Force consists of a Task Force and a Main Force. The Task Force, composed of 2773 personnel from the predetermined units including 200 police personnel, consists of a Headquarters, two Infantry Battalions (West and East) and a Logistics battalion. On order, the Task Force is to deploy within 30 days and be self sustained for 90 days. The West ESF Battalion, led by Senegal, with membership of Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Conakry and Gambia, was evaluated during the joint Senegal/France field training exercise held in December 2007. The Logistics battalion, led by Mali and Nigeria as second-in-command, with additional membership of Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal, was validated in Burkina Faso in June 2009.' The East Battalion was validated in a multinational military field traning exercise in May 2010.
- Central Africa: The Economic Community of Central African StatesEconomic Community of Central African StatesThe Economic Community of Central African States is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa...
is the nominated regional organisation. A meeting of Defence Chiefs of Staff was held in BrazzavilleBrazzaville-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
in October 2003, at which it was decided that a brigadeBrigadeA brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
-size peacekeeping force, the Central African Multinational Force (French acronym FOMAC) would be created in order to intervene in unstable Central African areas. The meeting recommended that military planners from each of the ECCAS states form a group to work out the details for the force. They also suggested the establishment of a joint peacekeeping training centre and military exerciseMilitary exerciseA military exercise is the employment of military resources in training for military operations, either exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat...
s every two years. The first of these is to take place in ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
. - East Africa: The Brigade HQ and logistics base are both located at Addis Ababa while the planning element is in NairobiNairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. EASBRICOM is the supporting secretariat. An experts' meeting in 2007 identified a number of duplications between the existing Planning Element and Brigade headquarters structures. - Southern Africa: A SADCSouthern African Development CommunityThe Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...
brigade (SADCBRIG) has been used already as the basis for AU deployments in the Sudan(?). The brigade was officially launched on 17 August 2007 in Lusaka, Zambia. The Brigade planning element are located in GaboroneGaborone' is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 191,776 based on a 2006 survey, about 10% of the total population of Botswana....
, BotswanaBotswanaBotswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, as part of the SADC Secretariat.
See also
- :fr:http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole de maintien de la paix Alioune Blondin Beye de Bamako - the intermediate level peacekeeping school for the ECOWAS component of the ASF
Further reading
- Franke, Benedikt. Security Cooperation in Africa: A Reappraisal. Boulder, Colo: FirstForumPress, 2009.
- Bachmann, Olaf. The African Standby Force: External Support to an 'African Solution to African Problems'?, IDS Research Report 67, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, 2011
- Guicherd, Catherine. The AU in Sudan: Lessons for the African Standby Force, New York, International Peace Academy, 2007
External links
- ACCORD, The African Standby Force and Regional Standby Brigades, Conflict Trends 2008/3
- Virginia Gamba, SADC Security Cooperation and Progress with the SADC Brigade, SaferAfrica, February 2008, accessed May 2010
- African Standby Force
- Steve Mbogo, African Peacekeeping Force Development Continues Despite Funding Challenges, World Politics Watch, Dec. 21, 2006.
- ECOWAS, U.S. Donates Equipment to ECOWAS Standby Force, Press Release 079/09, August 22, 2009
- Rick Rozoff, Pentagon Carves Africa Into Military Zones, May 5, 2010 - article contains much recent ASF related activities by African and non-African powers
- http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2005/12/05ADDISABABA4179.html, December 2005