Egypt Role in Peacekeeping Operations
First: Egypt's contribution in peacekeeping missions:
Egypt supports cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in order to keep international peace and security. Egypt maintains a leading position amongst the top countries contributing in the UN peacekeeping operations since its first contribution by participating in Congo in 1960, as it contributed in 37 peacekeeping missions with more than 30 thousand troops who carried out their tasks in terms of maintaining international peace and security in 24 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
Thereby, Egypt contributes in all UN peacekeeping missions in the African continent with elements from the armed forces and police, including observers, who reached 2809 personnel in March 2016, as follows: The African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID), The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), The United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), thereby ranking 13 in the world peacekeeping operations largest contributing countries' ranking.
In March 2016, Egypt was considered the largest contributing country from among Arab countries, and ranks third as the largest contributor from the International Organization of la Francophonie member-States. Egypt always seeks to increase its contribution to UN peacekeeping operations, especially in peacekeeping missions in Africa, which would enhance the Egyptian role in the continent.
Second: the African Standby Force "ASF" (The North African Regional Capacity "NARC
Egypt participates in the activation efforts of the African Standby Force "ASF" since its inception in 2005, including its participation in the "AMANI AFRICA II" Exercise and its related workgroups and military maneuvers and exercises; it seeks in this framework to activate the role of the North African Regional Capacity "NARC" in the framework of the ASF, in light of the growing trend towards strengthening regional peacekeeping capacities. Egypt hosts, in this context, the NARCs brigade command headquarters, and one of its two administrative bases; it also nominates armed forces and Interior Ministry officers to work in the planning element of the Capacity's Secretariat, in addition to organizing a number of training courses for the military, police, and civilian elements of the Capacity's Member States at The Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa, being a center of excellence for training in the continent and the NARC accredited training center.
As Egypt seeks to activate the NARC, restore its ordinary course of action, and bring it to the progress level achieved by the other Capacities of the African Standby Force after the Capacity's work has been suspended since 2011, the meeting of the NARC Member States' defense ministers was held in Addis Ababa on November 25 to 29, 2015, during which Egypt received the Capacity's presidency from Algeria as of 29/11/2015 for a year, at the end of the NARC fourth ministerial meeting which took place after a five-year hiatus. The meeting issued an action plan to complete the Capacity's activities so that it could allow its harmonization with the current regional circumstances. Egypt's NARC presidency already started to seek the completion of its membership, to activate the role of all the rest of the region's countries, in addition to developing aspects related to capacity building, and mobilizing the necessary funding; besides communicating with the other regional Capacities to apply the lessons learnt and push for cooperation among all those mechanisms affiliated with the African Standby Force.
In the framework of the approval by the NARC Sixth ministerial meeting on a number of recommendations to develop NARC action, including the holding of six workshops in order to achieve the full operation of the NARC and the completion of its components' activities, the Egyptian presidency currently seeks, in coordination with the NARC Executive Secretariat in Tripoli, to hold the workshops, and offered using the CCCPA facilities as being the accredited training Center by the African Union for the NARC, as follows:
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Workshop on the status and style of deployment of the African Standby Force.
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Workshop related to the police component.
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Workshop related to the military component.
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Workshop related to the civil component.
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Workshop on military observers.
- Workshop on strategic transport requirements.
Egypt pursues its endeavors to complete the NARC membership to include all the region's countries. It believes that 2016 represents a unique opportunity to assess the African Standby Force, the main mechanism for peacekeeping within the African Union, in the context of the United Nations review of the peacekeeping operations and the special political missions, including in terms of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, topped by the African Union, especially considering the magnitude of the challenges facing our glorious African continent, as there is a quantitative change on one hand, given the large number of conflicts and disputes, on the other hand, there is a qualitative change, as the nature of conflicts evolve, with the rising threat of terrorist organizations and armed groups, which imposes on everyone to be vigilant, to mobilize efforts to promote the African peace and security structure, and to upgrade the African peace and security mechanisms, especially the African Standby Force which is taking today a further step towards full activation.Egypt, through its membership in the Security Council as elected to represent the African continent, and through its position as rapporteur of the UNGA special Committee for Peacekeeping Operations, raises the banner of the African contributions in maintaining international peace and security within the UN.Egypt's presidency of the NARC coincides with the presidency of the African Association of the peacekeeping training Centers by The Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa, being another path by which Egypt contributes to strengthen African coordination and cooperation. The past year witnessed an upswing of the CCCPA in this area, as it hosted the training course for the African Peace Support Operations cadres, in addition to holding the training courses of the UN peacekeeping operations cadres, so as to build an additional bridge between the African Union and the United Nations.
Third: the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC):
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The African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC) consists of voluntary military contributions from the African Union Member States willing to, as being a standby force for immediate response which units are stationed in the contributing countries and are deployed in conflict zones according to a decision by the African Peace and Security Council or at the request of the concerned State, in accordance with a strengthened mandate including the authority to use force.
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The process of establishing ACIRC evolved since the adoption by the AU Summit in May 2013 of its creation decision as a transitional arrangement until the fully operational phase of the African Standby Force. 14 countries have so far pledged to contribute military troops to the ACIRC (Egypt / South Africa / Uganda / Tanzania / Chad / Burundi / Mauritania / Algeria / Senegal / Niger / Ethiopia / Angola / Sudan / Burkina Faso).
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Egypt has pledged to contribute to the "ACIRC" with a second-level field hospital or with elements of military engineers, command officers, and training programs, as it pursues national engaging in supporting African peace and security structures. Egypt also hosted a delegation of the cell concerned with the ACIRC action at the AU Commission from February 16 to 19, 2015 in the framework of consultations with the States which pledged to provide military units to run the Capacity. During the visit, Egypt affirmed keenness to enhance its involvement in the African Union mechanisms to maintain peace and security with their different levels.
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Two officers from the Ministry of Defense participate in the ACIRC cell at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa since August 2015.
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The relationship between the African Standby Force and the ACIRC was the main subject of the debate during an extraordinary meeting of the AU Technical specialized Committee for defense, safety and security in December 2015, in order to assess the continental field training, in light of some African countries endeavors to merge the Capacity in the ASF's Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC), while other countries stressing ACIRC transitional nature and thereby its dissolution and giving priority to achieve a fully operationalized African Standby Force with all its components.
Fourth – Egypt's initiatives within the framework of the African peace and security structure:
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Stemming from Egypt's awareness that maintaining regional peace and security is not only confined to peacekeeping, but also extends to preventive diplomacy before the outbreak of conflicts, then peace-building after reaching comprehensive settlement agreements, Egypt has proposed two initiatives to further activate the African peace and security structure, namely the initiative to establish the African Union Center for Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development "AUC-PCRD", and the establishment of a unit for mediation support and conflict prevention within the AU Commission structure.
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With its accession to the African Union Peace and Security Council in April 2016, Egypt will spare no effort to provide all its available potential through its membership of
the
Council, in order to contribute to maintaining regional peace and security in our glorious continent, and in response to the aspirations of our African peoples for peace, stability, and prosperity.
Fifth - Egypt's support for cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations for maintaining international peace and security:
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Supporting international peace and security maintenance efforts at the international and regional levels, paying attention to elaborating policies and concepts related to peacekeeping on the United Nations and the African Union levels, contributing in peacekeeping and peace building review process, via hosting in Cairo of both the Arab regional peacekeeping consultations in March 2015, and the workshop on the regional dimension of peace building in Africa in November 2014, thus becoming the only city that brought together such two events, in addition to organizing the Member States workshop at the League of Arab States on "the future of the UN peace and security structure", in the framework of preparations for the initiative by the President of the UNGA to convene a high-level thematic debate in New York in May 2016.
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The importance of strengthening joint cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union for conflict prevention and resolution in line with the provisions of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, from the standpoint of enhancing the United Nations efforts to support the capacity building of the African Union and sub-regional organizations in the field of preventive diplomacy, including mediation, early warning, and post-conflict reconstruction and development. Egypt took the initiative by launching "the Forum of peace envoys to Africa" in 2010 which it hosted for two consecutive years, and was the first framework bringing together the heads of UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions, with their counterparts appointed by the African Union, aiming to harmonizee peacemaking and peace-building policies, on the UN and continental scales.
- Egypt's interest in the subject of the African countries capacity building in the peace and security areas, in the context of endeavors aiming to improve the potential of the continent's human cadres, as well as through training courses held by the Egyptian Agency for Development and The Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa.