Stabilizing Africa’s Security

Terrorism continues to be one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and Africa has not been spared the horrors of this scourge. Over the past decade， the threat of terrorism in Africa has assumed great proportions. Terrorist groups have not only occupied land， administered territory and subjected citizens to their harsh barbaric rules but have also shown a capacity to destabilize countries and even entire regions.

Terrorism in Africa is spreading at an exponential rate compounded by foreign terrorist fighters and escalation of terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State-affiliated groups.

The strong linkages that exist between terrorism and violent extremism， on the one hand， and transnational organized crime， notably， drug and human trafficking， money laundering， trafficking in firearms and mercenaries， on the other hand， have added substantially to the complexity of the situation， posing serious threats to peace， security， stability and development in Africa. The substantial financial resources derived from various forms of crimes perpetrated by terrorists have scaled up their capacity to acquire highly sophisticated weapons and ammunition， recruit new members and expand their support network and areas of operations.

Moreover， political instability in North Africa， Syria and Yemen has made an already challenging security situation worse. The threat of terrorism in Africa is influenced by a number of factors such as radicalization and violent extremism， transnational organized crime， kidnapping for ransom， proliferation of arms， weapons and ammunition， mercenaries， and the consequences of the uprisings in North Africa.

The African Unions （AU） efforts to prevent and combat the scourge of terrorism have a long history， guided by the Organization of African Unity （OAU）/ AU Counterterrorism Framework， as reflected in the continents counterterrorism instruments， namely the 1999 OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism， the 2002 Plan of Action and the 2004 Protocol to the OAU convention， in addition to the establishment of the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism and other mechanisms.

The AU focused its efforts on capacity building， improvement of an antiterrorist legal framework， promotion of better institutional interaction and coordination at national and regional levels， as well as development of early warning capacity. While acknowledging the progress made， many challenges still remain in so far as coordination among relevant institutions and within and among member states is concerned.

Real-time sharing of critical information is also still a major challenge. Therefore， as a follow-up to existing African instruments and decisions， the AU has taken a number of other initiatives. These relate to the prohibition of payment of ransom to terrorist groups； development of an African Anti-terrorism Model Law， appointment of an AU Special Representative for Counterterrorism， collaboration with relevant stakeholders， organization of evaluation missions， development of an African arrest warrant and establishment of the Peace and Security Council Sub-Committee on Counterterrorism.

In addition， the AU Commission has launched initiatives targeting specific threats in some regions， such as the AU Mission to Somalia-led Fusion and Liaison Unit， the Nouakchott Process（a 2013 framework for regional cooperation）， the Djibouti Process， and the AU-led regional cooperation initiative for the elimination of the Lords Resistance Army （an armed group operating in Uganda， South Sudan， the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo）. The objective is to facilitate the pooling of efforts and resources to enable the countries concerned to address the common challenges facing them more effectively.

The AU has continuously shown innovation and creativity in its approaches， given the various challenges it faces as an organization and the multiplicity of threats bedeviling the continent. In the fight against terrorism， it has led the way since the 1990s， highlighting the need to respect human rights and the rule of law while combating terrorism and promoting international legality， state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This and the importance of the role of the regional economic communities and mechanisms in implementing the AUs peace and security agenda are reflected and highlighted in the African Peace and Security Architecture （an action framework for peace and security）.

The threat of terrorism is global， thus requiring concerted international action to overcome it. The African continent should fully play its role in this respect.