Support for the African Peace and Security Architecture
The German Government is committed to actively supporting G8 and EU efforts to create a viable African security architecture and seeks also, at the bilateral level, to promote peace and security in Africa. At the centre of this security architecture are the peacekeeping forces of the African Union (AU), which by the end of 2010 should be available on standby in each of Africa's five regions.
The plan is to establish the kind of "integrated brigades" deployed on modern-style peace missions, i.e. brigades with both a military and a civil component, the latter including also police officers. The Federal Foreign Office is increasing its support for the development of these civil components, including police officers.
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AU soldiers in Sudan (2005)
(© picture-alliance/dpa)
The African Union (AU) has requested assistance from the German Government in upgrading the strategic management capacity of its Department of Peace and Security. In this connection the German Government is funding a new building offering improved facilities for planning and managing peace missions. It will house not only offices for the Department, but also a plenary chamber for meetings of the AU's Peace and Security Council and a crisis response centre. This will enable political decision-making and operational responses to be better integrated than in the past.
New AU building
Germany is also providing funding and consultancy services to help establish a police unit within the Department of Peace and Security to serve as contact point for this aspect of peacekeeping.
Capacity-building in this area is crucial, since the AU and the continent's regional organizations want to assume responsibility for resolving conflicts in Africa in the future. In West, North and East Africa, police officers and civilian personnel are accordingly being trained and prepared for service with multilateral missions and at the same time the foundations laid for them to later take on this task themselves.
Source: Federal Foreign Office
