Beyond Prospects: Strengthening the Panel of the Wise In the AU Peace and Security Architecture

Abstract

The regional peace and security architecture of Africa has crystallised with the adoption of the Protocol relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (Salim, 2002; Jegede, 2009; Sturman and Hayatou, 2010). However, the context of grave threats to peace, security and stability in which it has emerged, continues to date, in spite of the abundant resources that can make a difference. Different evidence of crisis involving, for instance, states such as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda (ICG, 2010), Somalia (Lindley, 2009) and Nigeria (Ojukwu, 2011) is a strong reason for concern. Besides, with 7 African states 'red-flagged' as struggling with state failure, while another 26 are considered to be in different state of fragility, no other region of the world rivals the African continent in its precarious peace and security situation (Hewitt, Wilkenfeld and Gurr, 2012). Yet, as the Solemn Declaration on a Common African...