ACCORD will continue as the lead technical implementation partner of the African Standby Capacity (ASC), taking on the role from the Centre for International Peace Operations (ZIF) .
ACCORD participated in a three-day training from 26-28 October 2020. The purpose of the training was to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities from ZIF to ACCORD during the transition period which will end mid-2021, and to ensure that ACCORD will successively assume the complex roles and responsibilities of the ASC. The training was attended by ACCORD’s Peace Support Operations Cluster.
Recognizing the increasing need for civilian expertise in the Peace Support Operations (PSO), in 2008, the African Union Commission (AUC) took a decision to develop a continental stand-by roster for the African Standby Force (ASF) in order to identify, pre-select and retain a pool of experienced and trained civilian personnel for rapid deployment. Extensive planning began in 2010 under the auspices of the AUC Peace and Security Department, in close cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and ZIF, followed by a conceptualization and implementation phase from 2012 onwards. In 2015, the ASC roster was inaugurated. The ASC is part of the ASF, which is a critical element of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).
In order to support the operationalization of the ASC, ZIF was tasked in 2012 to provide ongoing client services to the AUC and its partners, covering, among others, advisory work and project management support on human resources management, rostering, capacity building, policy development and technical implementation of the roster infrastructure, including a personnel database. The roster serves the deployment needs of the AUC as well as its participating Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs and RMs) into peace operations.
ZIF will be phasing out as technical implementation partner of the ASC by mid-2021. ACCORD will continue its support to the ASC through the TfP Programme. The TfP Programme at ACCORD is an initiative funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
