The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), and several other regional blocs have signed a landmark memorandum of understanding to streamline the deployment of the African Standby Force.
The agreement was signed by ECOWAS Commission President General Birame Diop on behalf of the West African bloc in El Alamein, Egypt, during the Fifth Policy Session of the Inter‑Regional Knowledge Exchange on Early Warning and Conflict Prevention (I‑RECKE), on the sidelines of the 8th AU Mid‑Year Coordination Meeting.
The memorandum sets out a clear operational framework that delineates the roles, duties and command structures of the AU and the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms throughout every phase of standby‑force management—from preparation and logistics to troop employment, deployment and post‑deployment activities.
Under the new arrangement, regional standby brigades will be trained, harmonised and formally mandated by the AU to conduct peace‑support operations and to intervene in complex humanitarian and security crises across the continent. The accord also garnered the endorsement of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the North African Regional Capacity (NARC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
