Monograph 21: Resolute Partners: Building Peacekeeping Capacity in Southern Africa, Mark Malan (Ed.)
Africans are slowly but surely
moving towards the creation of a viable and sustainable indigenous
capacity to manage conflict on the continent, among others, through the
conduct of multinational peace operations. To this end, a group of
military experts and observers from 45 African nations met in Harare,
Zimbabwe from 19 to 23 October 1997 to draft proposals for consideration
by the Second Meeting of the Chiefs of Defence Staff of the Central
Organ of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) from 24 to 25 October.
The meeting was initiated by the June 1996 Meeting of the Chiefs of
Defence Staff of the Central Organ of the OAU, which called for a
working group of military experts to "come out with practical and realistic recommendations on the technical issues raised" on the concept and conduct of African peace operations.
The 1997 meeting of Chiefs of Defence Staff agreed on the need
for African efforts to strengthen the United Nations (UN) capacity for
peace operations by providing the bulk of a ready force package for
utilisation by the UN. However, if the UN proves tardy in its response,
it was agreed that the OAU could take preliminary action while awaiting
the response and sanction of the world body. The proposed concept for
the conduct of OAU peace operations which emerged from the meetings in
Harare includes the use of subregional organisations, as a possible
first line of reaction where the OAU is unable to act.
In the Southern African region, significant progress has
already been made in the enhancement of the collective peacekeeping
capacity of member states of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC). Within the SADC grouping, the Zimbabwe Staff College has been
identified by the UN as a possible regional centre of excellence for
peacekeeping training. Zimbabwe has also been asked by the Inter-State
Defence and Security Committee (ISDSC) to co-ordinate peacekeeping
training and education in the region. Tangible evidence of this role was
provided when the Zimbabwe Defence Force, in conjunction with the
British government, took the initiative in hosting a regional
battalion-level peace operations field exercise from 1 to 20 April 1997.
`Blue Hungwe`, as the exercise was named, contributed to the
building of mutual confidence among the region`s armed forces. It also
proved, albeit on a small scale and under simulated conditions, that
elements of the various armed forces of the region have the capability
to train and operate together as a joint force. The tactical problems
encountered during Blue Hungwe will, no doubt, be converted into lessons
learned, and incorporated into the training of the region`s armed
forces during the follow-on exercise `Blue Crane` which will be hosted
in South Africa towards the end of 1998.
In the interim, the obvious challenge to sustain the initiative
towards enhancing Southern African peacekeeping capabilities lies at
the policy level. It is still unclear how this evolving Southern African
peacekeeping capacity will or should grow, how it fits into the
continental and international scheme of things, and how it may
eventually be put to good use.
As a step towards meeting this challenge, the Institute for
Security Studies (ISS) and the Zimbabwe Staff College presented a
three-day regional seminar and workshop of experts for the purpose of
articulating and harmonising international, regional, subregional and
national approaches and policies regarding participation in future peace
operations. The seminar on Multinational Peace Operations: The Evolution of Policy and Practice in Southern Africa
was conducted from 4 to 6 November 1997 at the Centurion Lake Hotel,
Pretoria. It was arranged under the auspices of the `Training for Peace`
project, which is funded by the Norwegian government and supported by
the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI) and the African
Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).
Attendance was limited to fifty participants, and included
international experts and representatives of the departments of Foreign
Affairs and Defence from SADC countries. The programme covered a wide
range of issues, from the latest trends in UN capabilities for launching
timely peace missions to the need to co-ordinate the plethora of
foreign peacekeeping training initiatives in Africa.
The aim of this monograph is to provide an edited compilation
of select interventions relating to the following three broad themes for
wider dissemination:
- the multinational institutional environment
within which contemporary peace operations are conducted, with
particular reference to the international community, the UN, and the
OAU;
- foreign initiatives for enhancing [Southern] African capabilities for the conduct of peace operations, including those of the `P3` and `traditional` peacekeeping countries; and
- regional co-ordination and co-operation for peace operations,
with particular emphasis on peace and security in Southern Africa, and
ongoing local efforts to enhance the peacekeeping capabilities of the
region.
THE MULTINATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT
Former UN Under Secretary-General for
Political Affairs, Sir Marrack Goulding, presents a strong case for
placing peace operations within a broader and more integrated approach to international peace and security.
He argues that post-Cold War conflict resolution challenges could not
be dealt with by simply extrapolating from the form of peacekeeping
operations which had been used with success during the bipolar world
era. This approach has become increasingly inadequate to meet the
contemporary challenges of conflict prevention, management and
resolution.
Although peace operations with a large military component have
succeeded in ending conflicts in countries such as Namibia, Mozambique
and perhaps Angola, the broader `international community` beyond the UN
General Assembly and the UN Security Council with the voluntary
multinational military forces that carry out its mandates has an equal
role to play in maintaining peace and security. This includes the
economic and social agencies of the world body, regional and subregional
organisations, donor states, and a host of subnational actors which may
include transnational corporations.
Sir Marrack lists and describes the types of action which may be
taken by the international community, as well as a number of conditions
which must be met in any attempt to adopt an integrated approach to the
maintenance of peace and security through conflict resolution
initiatives. However, he laments the fact that the international
community has a poor track record when it comes to co-ordinating itself.
Brigadier General Mono Bhagat, Deputy Military Advisor to the UN, outlines the type of peacekeeping capabilities available to the UN,
as well as those initiatives currently in process within the broader UN
system to deal with threats to international peace and security. He
concurs with Sir Marrack that only the UN is suited to conduct
third-party interventions in order to contain conflict. When it comes to
co-operation with regional organisations, he warns that this can be a
double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can enhance the UN`s capacity,
but it can also lead to the pursuit of more narrowly defined national or
regional interests which are to the detriment of international peace
and security. Moreover, regional organisations are not always suitable
or available. They do not exist in many parts of the world, and some of
those that are in existence do not have a security element.
Despite the case for an integrated approach to the maintenance
of peace through intervention by the international community, Bhagat
points to the harsh reality that the `main tool` in the field remains
the military. The crux of the problem is the fact that the UN has no
standing army and only limited resources for upholding its
responsibilities. He outlines progress made with the development of UN
standby arrangements and a rapidly deployable mobile headquarters, as an
attempt to allow the UN to intervene in a more timely fashion to
contain the effects of armed conflicts.
Mr William Nhara of the OAU Conflict Management Division, outlines the role of the OAU in maintaining peace and security in Africa.
The OAU insists that the UN retains primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security in all regions of the
world, including Africa. It sees its role as one of encouraging African
nations to support the UN in the discharge of these duties, but is
concerned about the apparent uneven pattern of UN involvement in
addressing conflicts in the various regions of the world to the
detriment of Africa.
Nhara argues that the OAU has been forced to take the initiative
on several occasions during the past years to deploy limited observer
missions, sometimes in conjunction with UN efforts, in order to
ameliorate conflicts in Africa. It will continue to enhance its capacity
to undertake such missions, while working to enhance African
contributions to UN standby capabilities and to place the issue of
conflict resolution in Africa firmly on the UN agenda. The OAU also has a
key role in co-ordinating UN efforts with those of subregional
organisations in Africa.
FOREIGN INITIATIVES FOE ENHANCING [SOUTHERN] AFRICAN CAPABILITIES FOR THE CONDUCT OF PEACE OPERATIONS
General James Jamerson, Deputy Commander
in Chief, United States European Command presents an overview of the
aims, objectives and conduct of US training assistance under the
auspices of the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI). He
places ACRI in the context of other training initiatives, and outlines
the basic premise of the US `train the trainer` and `bottom-up/top-down`
approach. Jamerson stresses the need for combining resources and for
greater co-ordination and co-operation. In the final analysis, he argues
that the provision of ACRI training is a win-win proposition: "training is good for soldiers, no matter when and where you do it."
Alice Walpole, Head of Peacekeeping within the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, provides a British perspective on the `P3` initiative for enhancing African peacekeeping capability.
British training assistance is based on a long term approach to
capacity-building, and has been informed by widespread consultations
with Africans including simulation exercises in Accra, Cairo and Addis
Ababa. Substantive achievements include the establishment of a regional
centre of excellence for peacekeeping training in Ghana, which has
produced an Anglo-Franco peacekeeping dictionary.
The P3 (Britain, France and the United States) initiative arose
from the need for a more focused and co-ordinated effort to implement
the recommendations of the 1995 UN report on peacekeeping in Africa.
Walpole argues that the P3 do not intend to create a standing African
force, but rather to work towards the long term goal of creating an
interoperative capability for the conduct of peace operations in Africa.
She emphasises that the P3 initiative should not be considered a
prelude to Western withdrawal from future peace operations in Africa.
Outlining French views on the reinforcement of African peacekeeping capacities,
Mr Roland Dubertrand, First Councillor of the French Embassy in South
Africa, places the P3 initiative within the perspective of new trends in
the evolution of French military co-operation in Africa. Whereas such
co-operation has previously been based upon bilateral agreements, France
is moving towards multilateral partnerships which are defined by
emerging needs. In particular, the reinforcement of African peacekeeping
capacities has been superimposed upon France`s main objective of
strengthening the national armies of select African states.
Ambassador Helga Hernes, representing the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offers some Nordic perspectives on African capacity-building
for the conduct of peace operations. While drawing primarily on the
Norwegian experience, Hernes says that Denmark, Finland, Norway and
Sweden essentially have common views on the importance of international
peace and security, and on the role of the UN in solving international
conflicts. The Nordic countries have a long history of development
co-operation with Africa, but are relative newcomers to African security
issues in general, and capacity-building for peacekeeping in
particular.
Nordic interest in capacity-building has been ignited by a
growing concern about recurring conflicts which severely hamper the
development process and threaten international peace and stability in
various parts of the continent. The result is an enhanced Nordic
engagement in mediation, peacebuilding and conflict prevention measures
and, latterly, a consideration of military peacekeeping preparedness in
Africa. Hernes also emphasises the fact that the Nordic assistance has
nothing to do with leaving African security concerns for Africans to
address by themselves it is rather aimed at creating a feeling of
ownership and responsibility.
Lieutenant Colonel Ernie Reumiller, Head of the Peacekeeping
Section in the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, provides an
overview of Canadian perspectives on African capacity-building.
He shares the Nordic view that a viable UN security function is
essential, and notes that Canada has played a key role in initiating
measures to improve the UN`s rapid reaction capacity. Canada also
acknowledges the increasing role of the OAU in conflict prevention, and
has provided considerable financial assistance to the OAU Mechanism for
Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution. It supports the
increasing level of assistance co-ordination envisaged within the P3
initiative, as the overall Canadian objective is to encourage effective
and concerted support to enhance African capacity in peace operations,
peacebuilding, and conflict prevention.
REGIONAL CO-ORDINATION AND CO-OPERATION FOR PEACE OPERATIONS
Ambassador Ami Mpungwe, Tanzanian High Commissioner to South Africa, presents a number of policy considerations for the evolution of sustainable peace and stability in Southern Africa.
He provides a brief history of the evolution of the Southern African
security environment, highlighting some recent positive trends. Mpungwe
holds that policy aimed at sustainable peace and security must focus on
areas such as close political collaboration; the consolidation of
democracy; demilitarisation; and the strengthening of regional military
capacity for peacekeeping, in collaboration with other regions, the OAU,
and the UN. This regional policy agenda for the pursuit of peace and
security obviously goes far beyond the `downstream` issue of
peacekeeping, but Mpungwe argues that policy co-ordination in the latter
area is also bound to produce substantially positive results.
Colonel Kurt Mosgaard, a Danish military advisor seconded to the Zimbabwe Staff College, addresses the issue of training co-ordination through the North Atlantic Co-operation Council (NACC) Clearing House, and outlines developments in the establishment of a SADC Clearing House.
Although a relatively new function which is still undergoing
development, the NACC Clearing House has already made important and
visible progress in co-ordinating the training of peacekeepers from the
NACC and Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries. According to Mosgaard,
the establishment of a similar Clearing House for peacekeeping training
within SADC is well under way.
The final contribution is by Major General Michael Nyambuya,
Chief of Staff Administration and Quartermaster Staff, Zimbabwe Defence
Force. He presents a view on Zimbabwe`s role as lead nation for peacekeeping training within SADC.
Nyambuya refers to recent developments in the realm of conflict
resolution at the OAU and within SADC, before focusing on the role that
the ISDSC has asked Zimbabwe to play.
Beyond the establishment of the peacekeeping training clearing
house, Zimbabwe`s objective is to build regional capacity in conflict
prevention, management and resolution of which peacekeeping is a
subordinate but essential part. Nyambuya emphasises the fact that
Zimbabwe cannot do much to promote regional co-operation on its own, and
calls for the participation and support of other SADC countries in
enhancing regional co-operation for peacekeeping training and education.
It is sincerely hoped that this monograph will contribute to a
process which indeed sees wider participation and support for the
enhancement of regional co-operation for peacekeeping training and
education, and to the evolution of policy which will enable the
resultant capacity to be utilised effectively in the resolution of
conflicts and the maintenance of peace and security in Africa.
