EU Bridging Operation in Support of AU and UN Missions in the Central African Republic

Abstract

In the practice of EU-UN collaboration in international crisis management, examples of European Union (EU) military operations have emerged when contingents of troops are dispatched to African conflict zones for limited period and purpose as temporary support for pending United Nations (UN) or already operating African Union (AU) missions. These EU deployments are intended to ‘bridge’ the gap in international capabilities until a more comprehensive and sustained ‘multidimensional presence’ under UN direction is not prepared to take over full responsibility for the security and protection of civilians and humanitarian assistance. Bridging operations can be conducted as temporary EU military crisis management undertakings in support of other multinational missions. The current deployment of an EU-led military contingent in the Central African Republic (CAR) began originally to help the AU intervention force, then it continued its operation to complement the subsequent UN mission on the way to its full operational capability. EU bridging operations are closely coordinated with the UN, implemented under explicit Security Council authorizations and concluded with the transfer of tasks and responsibility to a succeeding UN mission.