Uninvited Military Forces, Mercenaries Draw Condemnation From African Union

Peace and Security Council urges deployment of African Standby Force

The African Union has expressed serious concern about the growing presence of foreign military forces, including mercenaries and irregular private security outfits, on the African continent.

A communique issued by the AU Peace and Security Council last week following a meeting between heads of state and government in New York conveys alarm over the proliferation of foreign forces on African soil.

“The Council strongly condemns the presence of uninvited foreign military forces, including mercenaries and irregular private security forces, in some member states as they are contrary to the letter and spirit of the African Common Defence and Security Policy and, in this regard, calls for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of such uninvited foreign forces,” it reads.

The Council wants to see the deployment of the African Standby Force—a continental peacekeeping force established by the AU—as a response to the presence of uninvited military forces. However, it requires several African regional economic communities (RECs) to ratify an agreement with the AU before deployment can proceed.

“The Council encourages the finalization of the MoU between the AU and RECs so as to fully operationalize and facilitate the deployment and employment of the African Standby Force (ASF) and to ensure its effective use in preventing full-blown conflicts and also manage conflicts in accordance with the relevant provisions stipulated in the PSC Protocol,” reads the communique.

The AU also expressed deep concern over the growing scourge of illegal exploitation and trade of Africa’s natural resources by armed and terrorist groups, which are destabilizing the continent and fueling conflict.

“[The Council] underscores the importance of strengthening national and regional regulatory frameworks governing natural resource management [and] encourages Member States to adopt and implement AU guidelines on natural resource governance, while reinforcing their national laws,” reads the communique.

The Council also warned of the externalization of conflicts in Africa.

“The Council takes note with concern of the proliferation of peace initiatives and externalization of African conflicts that undermine AU efforts. To this end, it condemns external interferences in the AU peace processes and in this context, strongly calls for harmonization of peace initiatives under the leadership of the AU and in the same vein, strongly urges AU member states to refrain from taking any action that will seek to externalize African conflicts, thereby undermining the leadership of the African Union in its peace endeavors and inadvertently prolonging the conflicts in the continent,” reads the statement.

The communique echoed previous calls to revamp the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS), to effectively preempt and mitigate conflict, as well as the need for ensuring inter-agency collaboration and coordination between African governments.

“The Council takes note with deep concern that Africa continues to face multiple interlocking challenges in preventing and resolving conflicts across the continent, including but not limited to the lack of predictable and sustainable funding; external interference; and limited implementation of AU decisions, and difficulties in implementing and monitoring peace agreements,” reads the communique.