Press Release
27 May 2013
South Africa pledges support for the establishment of an African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises on the Continent
Today, Monday, 27 May 2013, the African Union Summit adopted a historic decision to establish the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIR) at the initiative of South Africa.
President Jacob Zuma, has, on behalf of South Africa, championed the African Union Heads of State's response in support of the proposal by the African Union Commission for the establishment of an African Rapid Response Capacity to crises on the Continent.
The proposal is in response to the ongoing challenges of peace and security that undermine democratically elected governments. Currently, the African Union does not have such an immediate response mechanism as the process of implementing the African Peace and Security architecture is ongoing.
The proposed African Capacity is an interim measure pending the operationalisation of the African Standby Force and its rapid deployment capability.
The African Capacity is therefore not a new concept but is built on the principles of the African Standby Force.
This interim measure will further provide African countries with the flexibility to take concrete measures to address the challenges in the interim whilst allowing the process of operationalising the African Standby Force to take place.
President Zuma said:"South Africa volunteers and stands ready to provide support to deal with urgent matters of the Continent."
South Africa's pledge for resources and capacity was followed by a substantial number of countries taking the floor in pledging their support and readiness to contribute to the interim mechanism.
South Africa's initiative has thus received broad consensus from Member States of the African Union and has been adopted as a decision of the Summit.
Enquiries:Mr Clayson Monyela, spokesperson for DIRCO, 082 884 5974
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