Rwanda Brig Gen Rwivanga Calls for Africa Self-Reliance in Peace Efforts

• Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga, Director of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), emphasizes the need for greater African self-reliance in peace and security efforts.
• The EASF has been operational for over two decades and attained full operational readiness in 2014, demonstrating the region's capacity to respond to conflicts and humanitarian crises without external aid.
• Rwivanga stresses that preventing conflict should remain a priority, and the EASF's verification missions assess member states' readiness to build internal resilience.
• The EASF's seventh scenario prioritizes humanitarian assistance and disaster response, reflecting the increasing climate-related emergencies affecting Eastern Africa.

We are at a point in our history that we need to find African solutions to African problems, and the dependency on external donors has to stop,

The African continent has made significant strides in establishing regional standby forces to respond to crises, but its reliance on external donors for peace and security efforts remains a pressing concern. Brig Gen Ronald Rwivanga, Director of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), emphasizes that this dependency must be addressed to ensure effective crisis response. The EASF's operational readiness, achieved in 2014, is a testament to the region's capacity to respond to conflicts and humanitarian crises without external aid. However, internal mechanisms for financing and deploying peace support operations need strengthening to break free from reliance on external partners. Rwivanga's call for greater African self-reliance aligns with the African Union's Peace and Security Architecture, which aims to enable the continent to respond rapidly to crises. The EASF's verification missions in member states demonstrate its commitment to assessing readiness and building internal resilience.

The EASF has been operational for over two decades, with a robust mandate extending beyond deploying troops after conflict has erupted. Its scenarios include peace support operations, conflict prevention, mediation, and responses to severe crises, including genocide situations. The region's extensive peacekeeping experience is evident in the participation of member states in various peace operations across Africa. Rwanda, under Brig Gen Rwivanga's leadership, has contributed significantly to peace operations in Sudan, Darfur, South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Mozambique. Other EASF countries have also demonstrated their operational readiness through contributions to peace operations. The EASF's verification team visits member states periodically to assess standby forces' personnel, equipment, and capabilities required for response scenarios.

Climate-related emergencies have increasingly affected Eastern Africa, including floods, droughts, and other disasters that can overwhelm individual countries. The EASF's seventh scenario prioritizes humanitarian assistance and disaster response under Brig Gen Rwivanga's leadership. He emphasizes the importance of building internal resilience to respond to crises on the continent without relying heavily on external partners. The region's capacity to respond to conflicts and humanitarian crises is evident, but internal mechanisms for financing and deploying peace support operations need strengthening. Rwivanga's call for greater African self-reliance underscores the need for African countries to find solutions to their problems rather than relying on external aid.

Lawyers advising African governments on peace and security efforts should note that the Director of the Eastern Africa Standby Force has emphasized the need for greater self-reliance, highlighting the region's capacity to respond to crises without external aid. Compliance officers may want to review their clients' internal mechanisms for financing and deploying peace support operations.

Source: Original reporting via AllAfrica Rwanda