Cahiers de la RDN

The crises and conflicts that have affected Africa in recent years have been a major obstacle to its development. Recognition of this fact has led to mobilisation of effort and new initiatives coming from Africans themselves. All those who collaborate in helping the continent must today adapt to this new situation, in which a tireless search for peace and stability has become the sine qua non of its development.

Through better understanding of the common characteristics of African armed conflicts, it is easier to define the obstacles that so often block the Reform of Security Systems (RSS), parti- cularly when it comes up against diverging local interests. The support of numerous national and international, economic and political actors is essential to lead these crisis-ridden countries out of their problems and to restart their development. In this article, the author sketches out a system for certification of sound and secure governance.

This thought-provoking article takes up the theme of a colloquium held at the Doctrine Centre (CDEF *) on 19 October 2006, on the subject of ‘Farewell to arms – the planning and manage- ment of crisis resolution’. It offers useful information on the commitment of armed forces in contemporary crises and on the reformation of societies in which violence has become endemic.

This article approaches the security aspects of the Africa-EU Joint Strategy from the perspective of African ownership. Situations of fragility have multilateral and trans-national elements which pose many challenges to leaders, notably on how to achieve a consensus between the many ways in which ‘peace and security’ can be understood, an on how to achieve intra-continental coordi- nation (between the African Union and African regional organisations) and inter-organisational coordination, such as between the European Union and the African Union.

The overall approach to Reform of Security Systems (RSS) in Africa links development with security and highlights three significant factors: first, the heterogeneous aspect of African conflicts; then the number of international actors concerned (including the OEEU, UE, UN, AU, France and the United Kingdom) and also national ones (which include civil and military ones, and those private and public); and finally the conditions needed for success of the reform. Because of these, RSS takes on several different forms and new processes on the way to democratisation, each having a link to one or more of these factors.

Civic service for action for development is intended to train young volunteers for a trade, but has to adapt to the needs of each country in order to support national development. With its link to the military environment, for this ambitious programme to succeed requires three conditions to be fulfilled concurrently. The benefits to be had are numerous and include combating the neglect of youth and the over-manning of the forces, restoring harmony between the population and the armed forces, conducting the process of disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation and esta- blishing long-lasting security and stability in Africa.