African securityEU to fund improved C3IS capabilities for African-led security operations

The EU on Friday confirm it will provide €12.5 million through its African Peace Facility to improve the command, control, communication, and information system (C3IS) used in African-led peace support operations.

AllAfrica reports that the newly funded capabilities aims to provide secure data, voice, and video services through satellite communication between the African Union, the sub-regional organizations, and peace missions deployed at country level.

Andris Piebalgs, EU Commissioner for Development said: “There can be no development without security and the African Peace Facility’s work is fundamental in laying the foundations for sustainable development across the continent. Our new support will help our African partners to set up the necessary communication and management systems to rapidly deploy and manage African-led peace support operations wherever they are needed.”

“This program is one of the concrete deliverables of the Joint Africa-EU Partnership aiming at establishing long-lasting African crisis management capabilities, based on the lessons learned from recent and on-going peace support operations such as AFISMA [African-led International Support Mission to Mali] and AFISMA-CAR [Central African Republic],” said Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-president of the European Commission.

The program approved Friday is the result of technical work conducted jointly by the African Union and the EU, as part of the AMANI Africa exercise. The AMANI Africa comprises a number of exercises and training activities conducted since 2008 to make the African Standby Force operational, the main operational tool of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).

AllAfrica notes that since 2004 the EU has provided €1.1 billion through the African Peace Facility (APF). The APF was created in 2004 as the main source of funding to support African peace and security.