Collaboration between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) is the best option for resolving the continent’s human security dilemmas. This paper, published by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, explores the UN-AU security architecture and difficulties that affect its ability to improve human security on the continent. While the UN and regional organisations such as the AU talk about security partnerships, many definitional issues call the nature of such partnerships into question.
The AU’s security regime is premised on several norms, including sovereign equality of member states and the AU’s right to intervene in a member state in grave circumstances. It has established institutional mechanisms, including the Peace and Security Council, to support its security role.
The relationship between the UN and regional organisations such as the AU is defined by Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, which discusses the type, nature and division of responsibilities. However, while the UN’s primacy in maintaining peace and security is recognised, the AU has also reserved for itself an interventionist role that only reverts to the UN where necessary.
However, the following issues highlight the continuing lack of definitional clarity and contradictory UN approaches to its AU relationship and internal AU weaknesses:
- The AU’s asserted right to intervene in a member state independent of the UN contradicts the UN Charter stipulation that no regional action can be taken without UN Security Council (UNSC) authorisation.
- UNSC responses to decisions made by regional organisations are, at best, ad hoc and improvisational. Questions remain as to how far the UN can go to support decisions made by regional organisations outside the remit of the UNSC.
- The UNSC’s approach to regional organisations tends to be politically selective, resource-skewed and lacking in coordination.
- There has been a recent trend towards ‘hybrid’ UN-regional organisation actions which are not fully defined by the UN’s Chapter VIII.
- The AU lacks in-depth conflict analysis and conflict management capacity and mechanisms for disseminating information about AU decisions and operations.
- To date, specialist non-governmental and civil society organisations have been under-utilised by the AU.
In order to strengthen the quality of the UN/regional organisations partnership in general and AU capacity in particular, the following recommendations should be addressed:
- The AU should expand its involvement of non-state parties in conflict prevention and management, both in conceptual/analytical work and practical peacebuilding activities.
- Regional organisations should be specifically empowered and supported to take necessary actions to restore peace and security.
- In defining how such cooperative and collaborative relationships should be established, regional organisations such as the AU should not be viewed in isolation.
- The UN needs to recognise that AU support mechanisms and infrastructure all have roles to play in achieving overall global security.
