PREPARE AND PARTICIPATE

Abstract

“Africa has an indispensable contribution to make in ensuring that 2005 becomes a turning point for the continent, the United Nations and the world.” According to UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan’s statement on January 30th, 2005 to the 4th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union held in Abuja, Nigeria, this contribution includes continued involvement in peacekeeping “when prevention fails, UN peacekeepers, including men and women in uniform from this continent, have proven time and again their value in helping to end civil wars.” Later in his presentation he called for closer peacekeeping ties between the UN and Africa and the African Union and acknowledged that “we must work hard to achieve” those ties. In his conclusion, he noted that “We are at a defining moment for the international community and its primary instrument of common progress, the United Nations.” This article will examine and comment on some recent writing and reports on African participation in peacekeeping and peacekeeping-related activities and submit some considerations for future research, exploration and action. As of the end of December 2004, according to UN statistics, just over 30 % of the 102 countries supplying peacekeepers are from Africa. African countries have suffered 457 of the 1965 peacekeeping fatalities suffered by UN forces to date. It is thus clear that the majority of African countries are participating in peacekeeping activities. It is also clear that a large number of countries have yet to take part in a single mission. Of course, these figures also need to be understood within the context of the participation of African countries in non-UN peacekeeping missions in Africa and elsewhere. Three articles on various aspects of African present and future contributions to peacekeeping writ large are featured in Volume 13, #2, 2004 of the African Security Review. The first is African Standby Force: East Africa Moves On by Nelson Alusala of the Institute for Security Studies. Alusala comments on African endeavours to develop a common security policy and then to form an African Standby Force (ASF) within that policy. Dealing with the “early prevention of conflicts and maintenance of durable peace in Africa”, he quotes other sources as believing that “the African challenge is a complex one...reflected in the continent’s economic decline as well as its political and institutional failures.” The author concludes his introductory material by asserting that “Africa therefore continues to demonstrate PREPARE AND PARTICIPATE Africa’s contribution to peacekeeping