Abstract
The doctrine of human protection as articulated by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the Cyril Foster Lecture in February 2011 addresses immediate threats to human security. International responses to such threats are often initiated in the context of peace support operations by the United Nations (UN). These pacific measures available under Article 33 of the UN Charter, in particular international mediation, are fairly well developed within the UN. The role of regional organisations, particularly the African Union (AU), can be enhanced if these tools, such as mediation, are equally developed. As proposed in this article, this will involve restructuring the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and African Governance Architecture (AGA) so as to bring mediation within the ambit of the latter, in line with the proposed Mediation Support Unit, and remove it from its current location under the APSA. Strengthening the AU's mediation capacity may also require developing additional pacific tools, such as arbitration. Arbitration capacities could then be integrated into a mediation mechanism for enhanced human protection. This article theorises the concept of 'preventive arbitration' as a means of strengthening the AU's pacific mechanisms for conflict prevention through peaceful means.
Published Version
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