African-led peace operations are playing an increasingly prominent role in continental peace and security. At the African Union, commitment to protecting civilians is growing through new policies and frameworks, including the 2023 Protection of Civilians policy. This report presents the challenges limiting the policy’s implementation and proposes expanding the African Union’s protection tools by recognising communities as protection actors and linking mission capacity to community-based approaches.

About the authors

Emmaculate A Liaga is a Researcher at the ISS Training for Peace Programme in Addis Ababa.

Lesley Connolly is the Regional Policy and Advocacy Manager focusing on the African Union at Nonviolent Peaceforce.