African-Led Peace Support Operations in a declining period of new UN Peacekeeping Operations

Abstract

The United Nations is known to be the preeminent body to authorize and oversee international peacekeeping missions; however, new forms of African-led Peace Support Operations (PSO s) are increasingly common, innovative, and context-specific. This paper examines the evolution of African-led PSO s and argues that African-led PSO s are filling a vacuum and taking on responsibilities once assumed by the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UN PKO). The paper posits that the rise of African-led PSO s is due to the growing need for security and respond to the changing nature of conflict, the spread of insecurity and terrorism, and cross-border violence. Finally, the paper explores the implications of these operations for future missions in Africa, arguing that the future of African-led PSO s may be the preferred choice, with Regional Economic Communities and Ad-hoc Security Initiatives leading the way.

Beyond the Battlefield: the Impact of United Nations and African-Led Peacekeeping on Enhancing Capabilities of African Armies

“…The relations with rec s/rm s through deployments from states like Chad and Ghana have been central to some of the UN pko success and effectiveness of some missions in Africa, resulting in many cases where African-led pso s deploy, and the UN takes over once a UN Security Council mandate is attained. 79 In West Africa, the UN has deployed a range of peacekeeping and peace support operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and Côte d'Ivoire and collaborated with ecowas and pivotal states within a co-deployment framework. In May 1990, assessing the situation in Liberia, ecowas established a Standing Mediation Committee (smc) to resolve conflicts peacefully.…”