From 20 to 21 August, the United Nations Office to the African Union provided technical support to an African Union meeting in Accra, Ghana, focused on finalizing the Operational Framework for the Continuous Enhancement of the African Standby Force (ASF) and advancing implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on the utilization of the ASF.
Organized by the AU Peace Support Operations Division, the meeting reviewed findings from the ASF Strategic Review, relevant decisions adopted by the Specialized Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security and the AU Assembly, and priority actions for implementing the Memorandum of Understanding.
Participants from the African Union, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms, training institutions and partner organizations reviewed the draft Operational Framework and discussed challenges affecting the utilization of the ASF, including coordination, decision-making, planning, logistics, financing and interoperability.
Participants emphasized the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding in clarifying the respective roles of the AU and Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms. They agreed on priority actions to strengthen readiness assessments, coordination, logistics and financing mechanisms, and to further harmonize planning and decision-making processes to enhance ASF preparedness and deployment.
