The African Union's mandating authority and processes for deploying an ASF mission

Currently, the African Union is in the process of operationalising the various components of the African Peace and Security Architecture. One of these is the African Standby Force (ASF). Once the ASF becomes operationally ready, it will be used by the AU and regional economic communities for undertaking peace support operations as chief means of conflict management and resolution. In the discussion on this subject, one issue that received very little or no attention is the question of the AU's mandating authority and the decision-making processes for deploying an ASF mission. The purpose of this article is accordingly to identify the legal and institutional processes leading towards the deployment of the ASF. To this end, the article seeks to determine the various legally identifiable situations in respect of which the ASF is intended to be deployed as one of the AU's response mechanisms to crisis situations on the continent. It also involves examination of the legal sources of the AU's mandating authority, the decision-making processes involved in respect to each of the legally identifiable situations, and the role various actors play in this. Keywords: African UnionAfrican Standby Forcemandating authorityAfrican Peace and Security Architecturepeace support operationsinterventionPeace and Security Council

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