Seeds on stony ground: the AU's crisis response aspirations

摘要

The African Union (AU) was deeply embarrassed by its failure in January 2013 to respond quickly to the conflict in northern Mali, an accusation to which it admits fairly readily. In addition, the failure of the Multinational Force of Central Africa (Force Multinational de l'Afrique Centrale: FOMAC) to defend the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), Bangui, against a major rebel offensive in March that year also rankles, although it is rarely mentioned openly. Against the background of these failures, the AU decided in April to establish the African Immediate Crisis Response Capacity (AICRC).