The African Union (AU) deploys Peace Support Operations (PSOs) to restore and maintain peace during conflict environments. Taking into account the nature of contemporary threats on the African continent and context in which AU PSOs are being deployed, the success and reputation of the mission mandate is often reliant on the compliance, conduct and discipline of PSO personnel in achieving the mission mandate. It is for this reason that the AU Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD) hosted the AU Pilot Course on Compliance and Accountability for PSOs. The course took place in Windhoek, Namibia from 1-5 November 2021 and was supported by ACCORD/TfP, the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU), and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)-AU.
A highly-experienced African audience of 21 participants, well-versed in Peace Operations, adhoc-mission, private and public sector shared their experience and knowledge during the training allowing for a realistic perspective on the conflict environment where Peace Operations are deployed and the practical difficulties faced.
The pilot training provided the participants with the necessary knowledge base and skillset as well prompted a shift in their attitudes in supporting the implementation the African Union’s Compliance Framework in accordance with AU doctrines, policies, standard procedures. This implementation process is important and essentially follows the underlying legal obligations under international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law. The pilot training programme also allowed for time to test and review the newly developed Compliance and Accountability curriculum, and assess whether the content was appropriate for meeting the training objectives of the AU’s Compliance Framework. In doing so the pilot training tested and assessed the relevance and logical flow of the AU Compliance and Accountability Curriculum to current and emerging needs of contemporary AU PSOs. The review process of the curriculum was led by the facilitators with comments from participants, and it was identified that the logical flow of the curriculum needed to be reviewed with minor changes.
The finalized Compliance and Accountability Training Curriculum will be distributed and used by Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), Training Centres of Excellence and Training Institutions (TCEs/TIs) and AU mandated and/or authorized Peace Operations to prepare and enhance the capabilities of Peace Operations.
