INTRODUCTION
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
have played a major role in pushing for sustainable development at the
international level. Campaigning groups have been key drivers of
inter-governmental negotiations, ranging from the regulation of hazardous
wastes to a global ban on land mines and the elimination of slavery. But NGOs
are not only focusing their energies on governments and inter-governmental
processes. With the retreat of the state from a number of public functions and
regulatory activities, NGOs have begun to fix their sights on powerful
corporations - many of which can rival entire nations in terms of their
resources and influence.
In this paper will would be discussing the role of African union (AU)a
nongovernmental organization as a peace
keeping organization in international
conflict. The African Union (AU, or, in its other official
languages, UA) is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in
the AU is Morocco. The AU was established on 26 May
2001 in Addis Ababa and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa[7] to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made
by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and
government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African
Union Commission, is
based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Definition of terms
Conflict
There is no generally acceptable definition
of the term conflict. Conflict is defined as the pursuit of incompatible
interests and goals by different groups. Armed conflict is the resort to the
use of force and armed violence in the pursuit of incompatible and particular
interests and goals. Conflict is by nature, an intrinsic and inevitable part of
human existence. The original meaning of conflict as it was derived from the
latin word which means to clash, or engage in a fight, a confrontation, between
two or more parties aspiring towards competitive means or ends. Conflict may
also be defined as a type of interaction that is characterized by antagonistic
encounters or coalitions of interest, ideas, policy, programmes and persons or
other entities. Dougherty and Zfaltzgraft (1997) see conflicts as situation in
which one identified group of individuals being they ethnic, linguistic,
cultural, political, socio-economic etc is in conscious opposition to one or
more other human groups because of the pursuit of incompatible goals. It is a
social problem. When these conflicts go across state borders, it is referred to
as International Conflict.
Conflict resolution
Resolution, according to the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary, refers to the action of solving or settling problems,
doubts, etc. Peace agreements are an integral part of conflict resolution.
Without some form of agreement among the conflicting parties, it is hard to
talk about conflict resolution. However, an agreement, even if implemented, may
not be sufficient to establish a durable peace.
Peace requires more than an agreement among the parties. The peace
agreement is, however, a necessary step to a lasting arrangement. Thus, we can
preliminarily define as a situation where the conflicting parties enter into an
agreement that solves their central incompatibilities, accept each other’s
continued existence as parties and cease all violent action against each other.
This means that conflict precedes conflict resolution.
NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
NGOs are legally constituted corporations
created by natural or legal people that operate independently
from any form of government. The term originated from the United
Nations,
and normally refers to organizations that are not a part of a government and
are not conventional for-profit businesses. In the cases in which NGOs are
funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its
non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from membership
in the organization. In the United States, NGOs are typically non-profit organizations. The term is usually applied
only to organizations that pursue wider social aims that have political aspects, but are not openly political
organizations such as political parties.
The number of NGOs operating in the United
States is estimated
at 1.5 million.[1] Russia has 277,000 NGOs. India is estimated to have had around 3.3 million NGOs in 2009, just over one
NGO per 400 Indians, and many times the number of primary schools and primary
health centres in India.
Theoretical Explanations for Conflict and Conflict Resolution
Peace and conflict studies are concerned with
the transformation or resolution of conflict and the building of amicable and
positive peace. However, successful and effective conflict resolution and
transformation requires thorough and systematic understanding of the root or
remote cause of the conflict, which would consequently provide the fundamental
ground on which strategies for resolution, prevention, and intervention can be
mapped-out by conflict resolution and negotiation
experts,peaceresearchers,activists,agents,and/orconcernedinstitutions.Inorderto
understand peace and conflict resolution mechanisms, it is important to look at
the theories underpinning the subject. The theories must be such that they help
in the understanding of the causes of conflicts.
AFRICAN UNION
The AU significantly departed from the OAU’s
reluctance to intervene in states’ affairs. Indeed the AU embodies an
interventionist and activist stance towards peacekeeping. It explicitly
declares in its mandate that the organization will intervene in conflicts on
the continent through peace Keeping Organizations, even when a peace agreement
or cease-fire agreement is not in place. The AU is convinced that in certain
conflict situations in Africa, it is not possible to negotiate peace agreements
without first establishing a certain degree of stability. The organization once
again departed from the position of the OAU, since the OAU intervened only in
conflicts if they were invited by the parties to the conflict. In contrast with
the OAU, the general belief of the AU is that the protection of civilians
should not be sacrificed at the expense of sovereignty. Currently The AU
significantly departed from the OAU’s reluctance to intervene in states’
affairs. Indeed the AU embodies an interventionist and activist stance towards
peacekeeping. The AU is convinced that in certain conflict situations in
Africa, it is not possible to negotiate peace agreements without first
establishing a certain degree of stability. The organization once again
departed from the position of the OAU, since the OAU intervened only in
conflicts if they were invited by the parties to the conflict. In contrast with
the OAU, the general belief of the AU is that the protection of civilians should
not be sacrificed at the expense of sovereignty.
THE ROLE OF AFRICAN UNION IN THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Libya
The
AU attempted to mediate in the early stages of the 2011
Libyan civil war, forming an ad hoc
committee of five presidents (Congolese
President Denis
Sassou Nguesso, Malian President Amadou
Toumani Touré, Mauritanian President Mohamed
Ould Abdel Aziz, South African President Jacob Zuma,
and Ugandan
President Yoweri Museveni)
to broker a truce. However, the beginning of the NATO-led military intervention in
March 2011 prevented the committee from traveling to Libya to meet with Libyan leader
and former head of the AU until 2010 Muammar Gaddafi.
As a body, the AU sharply dissented from the United Nations Security Council's
decision to create a no-fly zone
over Libya,[31]
though a few member states, such as Botswana, Gabon, Zambia,[ and others expressed support for the resolution.
As a result of Gaddafi's
defeat at the Battle
of Tripoli, the decisive battle of
the war, in August 2011, the Arab League
voted to recognise the anti-Gaddafi National
Transitional Council as the legitimate
government of the country pending elections, yet although the council has been
recognised by several AU member states, including two countries that are also
members of the Arab League, the AU Peace
and Security Council voted on 26 August 2011
not to recognise it, insisting that a ceasefire be agreed to and a national unity
government be formed by both sides in
the civil war. A number of AU member states led by Ethiopia,
Nigeria, and Rwanda requested that the AU
recognise the NTC as Libya's interim governing authority, and several other AU
member states have recognised the NTC regardless of the Peace and Security
Council's decision. However, AU member states Algeria
and Zimbabwe
have indicated they will not recognise the NTC, and South Africa has expressed
reservations as well.
On 20 September, the
African Union officially recognised the National Transitional Council as the
legitimate representative of Libya.
Interventions
in support of constitutionality
Togo
In response to the death of
Gnassingbé
Eyadéma, President of Togo, on 5 February 2005, AU
leaders described the naming of his son Faure
Gnassingbé the successor as a military coup.[
Togo's constitution calls for the
speaker of parliament to succeed the president in the event of his death. By
law, the parliament speaker must call national elections to choose a new
president within sixty days. The AU's protest forced Gnassingbé to hold
elections. Under heavy allegations of election fraud, he was officially elected
President on 4 May 2005.
Mauritania
On 3 August 2005, a coup in
Mauritania
led the African Union to suspend the country from all organisational
activities. The Military Council that took control of Mauritania promised to
hold elections within two years.[citation needed]
These were held in early 2007, the first time that the country had held
elections that were generally agreed to be of an acceptable standard. Following
the elections, Mauritania's membership of the AU was restored. However, on 6
August 2008, a fresh coup overthrew the government elected in 2007. The AU once
again suspended Mauritania from the continental body.
Regional
conflicts and military interventions
One of the objectives of
the AU is to "promote peace, security, and stability on the
continent".[50]
Among its principles is 'Peaceful resolution of conflicts among Member States
of the Union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the
Assembly'.[51]
The primary body charged with implementing these objectives and principles is
the Peace and Security Council. The PSC has the power, among other things, to
authorise peace support missions, to impose sanctions in case of
unconstitutional change of government, and to "take initiatives and action
it deems appropriate" in response to potential or actual conflicts. The
PSC is a decision-making body in its own right, and its decisions are binding
on member states.
Article 4(h) of the
Constitutive Act, repeated in article 4 of the Protocol to the Constitutive Act
on the PSC, also recognises the right of the Union to intervene in member state
in circumstances of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Any
decision to intervene in a member state under article 4 of the Constitutive Act
will be made by the Assembly on the recommendation of the PSC.
Since it first met in 2004,
the PSC has been active in relation to the crises in Darfur, Comoros, Somalia,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire and other countries. It
has adopted resolutions creating the AU peacekeeping operations in Somalia and
Darfur, and imposing sanctions against persons undermining peace and security
(such as travel bans and asset freezes against the leaders of the rebellion in
Comoros). The Council is in the process of overseeing the establishment of a
"standby force" to serve as a permanent African peacekeeping force.
In response to the ongoing Darfur
conflict in Sudan, the AU has deployed 7,000
peacekeepers, many from Rwanda and Nigeria,
to Darfur.
While a donor's conference in Addis Ababa in
2005 helped raise funds to sustain the peacekeepers through that year and into
2006, in July 2006 the AU said it would pull out at the end of September when
its mandate expires.]
Critics of the AU peacekeepers, including Dr. Eric Reeves,
have said these forces are largely ineffective due to lack of funds, personnel,
and expertise. Monitoring an area roughly the size of France has made it even
more difficult to sustain an effective mission. In June 2006, the United
States Congress appropriated US$173
million for the AU force. Some, such as the Genocide
Intervention Network, have called for United
Nations (UN) or NATO intervention to augment
and/or replace the AU peacekeepers. The UN has considered deploying a force,
though it would not likely enter the country until at least October 2007. The
under-funded and badly equipped AU mission was set to expire on 31 December
2006 but was extended to 30 June 2007 and merged with the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur in
October 2007. In July 2009 the African Union ceased cooperation with the International
Criminal Court, refusing to recognize the
international arrest warrant it had issued against Sudan's leader, Omar
al-Bashir, who was indicted in 2008 for War crimes
From the early 1990s up
until recently, Somalia
was without a functioning central government. A peace agreement aimed at ending
the civil war
that broke out following the collapse of the Siad Barre
regime was signed in 2006 after many years of peace talks. However, the new
government was almost immediately threatened by further violence. To
temporarily shore up the government's military base, starting in March 2007, AU
soldiers began arriving in Mogadishu as
part of a peacekeeping force that was intended by the AU to eventually be 8,000
strong.[56]
Eritrea recalled its ambassadors to the African Union on 20 November 2009[57]
after the African Union called on the United Nations Security Council to impose
sanctions on them due to their alleged support of Somali Islamists attempting
to topple the Transitional Federal Government of
Somalia, the internationally recognized government of Somalia which holds
Somalia's seat on the African Union.[ On 22 December 2009, the Security Council
passed UNSCR 1907,
which imposed an arms embargo on Eritrea, travel bans on Eritrean leaders, and
asset freezes on Eritrean officials. Eritrea strongly criticized the
resolution. In January 2011, Eritrea reestablished their mission to the AU in
Addis Ababa.
AU
and conflict resolution in Kenya’s crisis of 2007–2008
The general political
discussions, conflict resolution, and peace analyses regarding Kenya’s crisis
clearly reveal that the AU“as a body” did not participate or involve itself in
the conflict resolution and mediation processes in Kenya. Rather, Ghana’s John Kufuor,“probably”
based on his position as the Chairman of the AU, former individual heads of
states, and other prominent or influential Africans in their personal capacity;
and the East African Community (not as a body) together with diplomats from the
United States and the European Union were involved in the conflict resolution
and mediation process in Kenya. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the
specific role played by the AU (as a body) in the resolution of Kenya’s crisisof2007–2008.However,thepartplayedbytheAUmembers,particularlythe
AU Chairman John Kufuor, in an attempt by the international community to resolve
the crisis will be examined.
CONCLUSION
This article has explored
the role of the AU in regional conflict resolution and dispute settlement. The
introduction provides a glimpse into the historical origins as well as the
normative and institutional structure of the AU. The AU was seen as a slave of
time. It was created at a period when nationalism and sovereign integrity of
states were the foremost concepts in international relations-especially for African
states which were emerging from colonial subjugation. The AU thus assimilated
and entrenched these concepts into its architectural foundation. Its
unprecedented attempt to nullify the military coup in Sierra Leone has been
viewed as an attempt on the part of the AU to come to terms with the changing
realities of inter-state relations.
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