Western Responses
Aware of the limitations of African responses (and their own unwillingness to intervene militarily), several Western countries, led by the so-called P-3, have begun to develop African peacekeeping capabilities. Eager to prove their commitment and compassion, Western countries have tended to label any effort even remotely aimed at enhancing African peacekeeping capabilities as ‘capacity-building’. Individual programmes vary considerably in terms of their level of financial and political commitment, as well as their primary emphasis. Yet, most focus on providing some combination of training, instruction and equipment to African troops.
The American, British, Danish and French programmes are the most substantial and well-developed capacity-building initiatives. The US African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) provides peacekeeping training and related non-lethal equipment to countries on a bilateral basis. France conducts subregional peacekeeping training exercises, provides classroom instruction and pre-positions heavy equipment in designated locations in Africa through its Renforcement des capacités africaines de maintien de la paix (RECAMP) programme. The UK African Peacekeeping Training Support Programme focuses primarily on training and education. Denmark’s programme focuses exclusively on the provision of peacekeeping instruction.
Several smaller scale Western programmes also merit mention. Canada and Ireland, for example, have assisted the Zambia Staff College in developing its peacekeeping training curriculum. Canada has also provided instructors for training courses held at the Egyptian Institute of Foreign Affairs and sponsors twenty to thirty African participants per year to attend peacekeeping courses offered both by its military and at the Lester B Pearson Canadian International Peacekeeping Training Centre.37 Together with Denmark, the other Nordic countries have held various training initiatives such as the Nordic Senior Management Seminar. On its own, Norway is financing a five-year Training for Peace in Southern Africa Project, through which it co-operates with two South African non-governmental organisations to disseminate peacekeeping doctrine and provide relevant training.38 Most recently, Sweden and Norway funded the first United Nations Police Officers Course for the SADC region scheduled for 4-14 November 1998.39
Training
United States
ACRI provides classical peacekeeping training to national contingents at the battalion level. The training is based on procedures from both national and intergovernmental peacekeeping doctrines.40 Basic soldiering skills as well as specific peacekeeping functions, such as establishing checkpoints, providing perimeter security and processing displaced persons are taught. The importance of respecting human rights and developing and maintaining good relations with civil society are also emphasised. The ACRI Special Co-ordinator speaks of the desirability of training ten to fourteen battalions and 10 000 to 12 000 troops.41 Initial recipients were each to provide a single battalion for training, with the exception of Ethiopia, which was to provide two battalions and a brigade headquarters. Training for smaller specialised units is being considered, as is the provision of training on a subregional basis.42
ACRI training is conducted in the recipient countries, at roughly six-month intervals over a three-year period. It is divided into two ‘phases’. Phase 1 lasts seventy days and culminates in a field training exercise (FTX) that involves humanitarian agencies and the local population. Phase 2 encompasses up to six shorter Sustainment Training (ST) modules for elements of the selected battalion. Each ACRI-trained battalion will receive four to six STs in one or more of the following areas:
- logistics and maintenance;
- battalion headquarters staff operations;
- operational interaction with international and non-governmental organisations;
- brigade headquarters staff operations; and
- human rights and train-the-trainer development.43
The first STs are to last thirty days. The timing and duration of the last ST, a regional training exercise, are undetermined given the number of variables involved.44
To date, seven African countries have concluded agreements with the US. Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Uganda were selected initially, and Benin signed a memorandum of understanding with the US in July 1998. (The US has announced that Côte d’Ivoire will also receive ACRI training.45) Tunisia was originally chosen to receive ACRI training as well, but it expected more than the US was willing or able to provide, and no agreement was ultimately concluded.46 Senegal and Uganda were the first to receive Phase 1 training (beginning in July 1997), followed by Malawi (September 1997), Mali (February 1998) and Ghana (April 1998). Ethiopia was scheduled to receive Phase 1 training in the second half of 1998, but this was put on hold due to the outbreak of hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea in May 1998. The decision to provide ACRI training to Ethiopia is being re-evaluated.47 Phase 2 training has already commenced in Malawi, Mali, Senegal and Uganda.
In addition to ACRI, the US conducts other military assistance programmes that enhance recipients’ peacekeeping capabilities through training. Unlike ACRI, however, they are not regional in application and peacekeeping is not their primary objective. The Joint/Combined Exchange Training (JCET), designed to enable US troops to train abroad alongside foreign militaries and develop important long-term contacts, provides some relevant training to African countries.48 The US provides medical training as well as humanitarian and civic assistance to several African countries each year through the Medical Conflagration (MEDFLAG) programme.49 In March 1998, for example, the US provided MEDFLAG training to medical personnel in Guinea.50 The US has also sponsored several regional training exercises in Africa through the FLINTLOCK programme. The focus of the May - June 1997 FLINTLOCK regional exercise in Mali was peacekeeping.51
France
RECAMP aims to develop Stand-by Force Modules that can be called upon to participate in UN- and OAU-authorised operations.52 Unlike ACRI, RECAMP prioritises training at the subregional level. Through RECAMP, France provides significant support to multinational peacekeeping exercises hosted by different African countries. Some of the participating troops are organised into multinational battalions, giving them an opportunity to work closely together.
The first RECAMP training programme, Guidimakha, took place in February 1998 in Senegal. The exercise built upon a more modest multinational undertaking held in Togo the previous March.53 Some 3 600 troops from eleven African and Western countries54 took part in the ten-day exercise. Mali, Mauritania and Senegal were represented at battalion strength. Five other African countries provided platoons: Cape Verde, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. France supplied roughly 900 troops. The UK and the US also provided small contingents.
Subregional training exercises under RECAMP are designed to prepare troops for a number of contingencies and thus cover a broad range of topics. For example, Guidimakha was divided into four separate phases, in order to simulate an actual operation and facilitate training. First, specialised personnel from participating countries gathered intelligence in the theatre of operations. Next, during the preliminary contingency operations phase, participating troops were tasked with securing key strategic points. During the third phase, operations centred around taking control of a particular area and securing a humanitarian zone, and included aerial bombardment simulations. The final phase was devoted to providing humanitarian assistance, such as regrouping and protecting refugees and displaced persons.55
France intends to support such subregional training exercises roughly every two years, in different locations around the continent. This does not preclude smaller French contributions to other African peacekeeping exercises. Each subregional exercise will be preceded by a civil-military planning seminar and a command post exercise. In view of the high cost of such undertakings, however, France intends to limit the size of future exercises to roughly 1 000 participants.56
United Kingdom
Unlike US and French capacity-building initiatives, the UK African Peacekeeping Training Support Programme focuses primarily on training officers. In light of the relatively small size of its programme, the UK has determined that its comparative advantage lies in ‘training the trainer’. The rationale underlying this ‘top-down’ approach is that the officers receiving training will then impart the lessons they learned to their soldiers.
A central goal of the British programme is helping to develop national military staff colleges into centres of excellence for regional peacekeeping training. Two African-based British Military Advisory and Training Teams (BMATTs) — BMATT West Africa (in Ghana) and BMATT Southern Africa (in Zimbabwe) — provide training to officers from the host countries as well as other African states.57 Whereas BMATT West Africa conducts programmes in Ghana only, BMATT Southern Africa trains throughout the subregion. After several years of discussions, the UK and the Ugandan governments recently concluded a memorandum of understanding for the establishment of a BMATT in Uganda to cover the East Africa subregion.58
Although the BMATTs are the most formalised component of the British programme, the UK also has smaller scale training initiatives. British Military Liaison Officers (BMLOs) are stationed in Angola, Ethiopia and Mauritius.59 The BMLO in Addis Ababa, for example, works closely with the Ethiopian military and the OAU.60 Among their various activities, Short-Term Training Teams (STTTs) provide training in specialised areas for periods of up to six weeks to African battalions preparing to deploy to peacekeeping operations. For example, STTTs provided mine awareness training to the Zimbabweans before they participated in the third UN Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III), and to a Ghanaian contingent in January 1996 before it deployed to Liberia as part of ECOMOG. Britain has also conducted map exercises for a wide range of African countries at the British Staff College in Camberley and in Addis Ababa.61
The UK has aided subregional training initiatives as well. In April 1997, it supported and helped organise a three-week peacekeeping exercise hosted by Zimbabwe, spending over US $500 000. More than 1 500 troops from ten SADC countries participated in Blue Hungwe.62 The UK also offered to help South Africa to plan Blue Crane, the regional peacekeeping exercise mentioned above, but South Africa has sought to limit external assistance to financial support.
Teaching
United States
During his March 1998 trip to Africa, President Clinton announced that the US will help to establish a centre for security studies in Africa.63 According to Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice, the African Centre for Security Studies (ACSS) will "provide a forum for senior military and civilian officials to explore together complex defence policy issues and provide training to strengthen civil-military relations in burgeoning democracies."64 The US has emphasised that the ACSS will not duplicate existing US government programmes geared towards African countries.65 Neither the centre’s location nor its opening date has yet been announced.
The US also provides peacekeeping and related instruction to African officers through several of its other assistance programmes. The International Military Education and Training (IMET) programme provides professional military education and training to foreign military personnel and civil servants both in the United States and abroad. IMET programmes include segments on human rights and civil-military relations.66 The Expanded International Military Education and Training (E-IMET) programme, which has the same core focus as IMET, provides instruction to a wider group of beneficiaries. Besides instructing military officers and civil servants, E-IMET programmes are open to members of civil society, such as the media and non-governmental organisations.67 The Enhanced International Peacekeeping Capabilities (EIPC) programme focuses on developing peacekeeping doctrine, rather than providing tactical training.68 The US Navy Justice School, which is open to African participants, conducts courses on military law, respect for human rights and the role of the military in democracies.69
France
Under RECAMP, France plans to provide additional peacekeeping instruction. Together with Côte d’Ivoire, France is establishing a regional peacekeeping training centre near Yamoussoukro, which is scheduled to open in early 1999. Initially, training will be offered to West Africans only, but the centre will eventually be open to officers from beyond the subregion as well. Although French will be the language of instruction, anglophone participants are welcome to attend. At the outset, all of the instructors will be French. Each course will comprise some forty officers, half of whom will be from Côte d’Ivoire.70 The centre’s construction alone will cost France more than US $3 million.71 Although France has encouraged donations from other Western countries, it will provide the necessary funds if no additional contributions are forthcoming.72
France also provides financial assistance and instructors to five African national military staff colleges, which have been designated to provide training to other nationals as well.73 Each of these schools is devoted to a particular aspect of military training. Although these centres focus on basic military savoir faire, their courses include peacekeeping modules. The military staff college in Koulikoro, Mali, for example, focuses on humanitarian law issues, relevant international treaties and conventions and recent African conflicts during its nine-month course.74
In addition, participation in courses conducted at French military staff colleges is open to a certain number of African officers. Recently, France invited African participants to attend a three-week course at its Institut de Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale, which focused on peacekeeping.75
United Kingdom
The provision of peacekeeping-related instruction is a central component of BMATT. Each of the BMATT programmes is tailored to the specific needs of the host country and the subregion. They cover such topics as international humanitarian law and civil-military relations. In Ghana, a small team of military officers works closely with the directing staff of the Ghanaian Armed Forces Command and Staff College to run the annual four-week peacekeeping module in the senior staff course, which is open to participants from throughout the subregion and beyond.76 In Zimbabwe, the BMATT team works closely with the directing staff of the Zimbabwe Staff College to run an annual, two-week peacekeeping module open to participants from throughout the subregion. Moreover, all of the tactical and staff training courses given by BMATT in Zimbabwe include peacekeeping modules.77
The UK also conducts a number of courses outside BMATT host countries. For example, BMATT Southern Africa has recently run a company commanders course in Swaziland, a disaster management course in Mauritius and a method of instruction course in Mozambique. Each of these programmes was open to military personnel from the host country only.78 In October 1998, BMATT Southern Africa held a four-week command and staff course in Malawi for officers from SADC countries.79 The above courses included a peacekeeping element.80 African officers also receive instruction at various military academies in the United Kingdom.
The UK has supported and initiated several other projects designed to strengthen African peacekeeping. British contributions to the UN Trust Fund for Improving Preparedness for Conflict Prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa have financed peacekeeping courses in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.81 Together with Nigeria, the UK co-chaired an informal working group that produced a paper entitled Conflict Prevention and Peace-keeping in Africa, which was submitted to the Secretaries-General of the UN and the OAU in April 1995. In an effort to promote anglophone/francophone military co-operation in theatre, it funded an English/French peacekeeping dictionary produced jointly by the Ghanaian and Senegalese armed forces.
Denmark
Denmark’s programme to develop African peacekeeping capabilities focuses on the SADC subregion in general and Zimbabwe in particular, where it is developing a Regional Peacekeeping Centre. In accordance with a memorandum of understanding signed with Zimbabwe in January 1997, Denmark has begun to construct and equip peacekeeping training facilities at the Zimbabwe Staff College. The same agreement calls for Denmark to organise ten peacekeeping courses there over a three-year period. Moreover, Denmark will provide the means for participants from the subregion to attend Nordic peacekeeping courses. The initial budget for the three-year programme is some US $900 000 per year.82
Denmark has also given SADC officials an opportunity to learn first-hand about the Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion (BALTBAT)83 and the Stand-by High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG),84 with the intention of helping SADC member states develop similar capabilities. The Danish government organised a visit for SADC Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence to Denmark and to Bosnia and Herzegovina in January 1998 and underwrote the costs of the trip.85 Denmark organised a second trip in May 1998 for senior SADC military officers to observe the joint Danish-Polish brigade serving in the NATO peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which includes a Lithuanian company serving with the Danish battalion.86
Other Danish educational initiatives designed to enhance the peacekeeping capabilities of African states also focus on the SADC subregion. Denmark is supporting the creation of a ‘clearing house’ at the Zimbabwe Staff College that will monitor peacekeeping training activities, identify new regional training requirements and keep a record of trained peacekeeping practitioners and instructors in the subregion and beyond. The budget for the establishment of this clearing house is some US $180 000.87 In addition, Denmark has funded a defence management course at a South African university for mid-level officers and civilians from SADC countries and has supported an effort to develop indigenous conflict resolution strategies.88
Equipping
United States
ACRI furnishes each participating African state with approximately US $1,2 million worth of related equipment, for the battalion as well as the individual soldier. The equipment provided is intended for use both in training and in the event of actual deployment. Provision is made for standard communications equipment (US radios and British repeaters), night vision binoculars (Russian) and mine detectors (Austrian). Emphasising interoperability, the US supplies recipients with equipment that meets UN specifications whenever possible. Except for small arms ammunition used for marksmanship training, the ACRI package does not include any lethal equipment. Each trainee is outfitted with a complete uniform, boots, personal gear and even eyeglasses if needed.89
The US has also provided equipment for specific peacekeeping operations in Africa, on a case-by-case basis. In 1996, for example, it provided a US $30 million equipment package (and related training) to ECOMOG troops in Liberia.90 The equipment consisted of trucks, generators and medical supplies.
France
The provision of peacekeeping-related equipment is another important element of RECAMP. France used Guidimakha as an occasion to pre-position equipment in Dakar, for use in the exercise as well as in future peacekeeping operations. Beyond the cost of the equipment itself — valued at some US $3 million — France spent roughly US $2 million to deliver and install it. This matériel will remain under French control, and France will also assume responsibility for maintaining it. After Guidimakha, France left behind some 140 vehicles, 650 individual and collective weapons and a field hospital.91 Much of this equipment has subsequently been used to support the UN peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic. France plans to pre-position additional equipment over the next two years in other African countries, in conjunction with future subregional training exercises.92
Like the US, France has supplied equipment for use in specific peacekeeping operations in Africa. In late 1997, for example, France provided roughly US $300 000 of equipment and logistical assistance to the OAU observer mission deployed in the Comoros. The French Ministry of Defence "loaned" a number of vehicles from its Reunion fleet to the mission while the Ministry of Co-operation "gave" a number of others.93
United Kingdom
The provision of equipment is not a central component of the British capacity-building programme, but the UK also donates peacekeeping-related matériel on an ad hoc basis. In view of the expense involved in providing equipment, the UK decided that offering training and instruction would be a better use of its limited resources. Nevertheless, on several occasions, the UK has allocated money to buy equipment for use in peacekeeping operations. In 1996, for example, Britain contributed more than US $500 000 to purchase and dispatch vehicle spare parts for contingents serving in ECOMOG. Subsequently, it has contributed more than US $3 million to the UN Trust Fund for Sierra Leone, with most of the money earmarked for logistical support to ECOMOG.94
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