The Role Of The African Union In Promoting Peace, Security And Human Rights. Case Study: South Sudan

ABSTRACT

The research will trace the evolu tion of the African Union as a successor to the Organization

of African Unity in terms of its mandate for conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peacemaking

and peace building. I will briefly touch upon the origin of the organisation, its role and

mandate on the African continent in e nsuring peace, security and human rights through IS

organ the Peace and Security Council and particularly its effo11s in South Sudan.

The state of South Sudan is less than seven years old, but the world's newest nation now tops

the ranks of fa iled states worldwide. After decades of c ivil war between south, north Sudan

and now within independent South Sudan, whe rein a conflict eru pted in mid-December 20 13.

and quic kly transformed into a nationa l, political and ethnic cri sis. T his was followed by yet

another outbreak of cri sis in July 20 16 forc ing people to take refuge in United at ions

Protection of Civilian (PoCs) sites within South Sudan as IDPs o r refugees in neighbouring

countries.

A case study of South Sudan was taken because of the precarious situation in the world's

youngest nation and also the numerous efforts by the AU and some regional arrangements.

The s ituation that South Sudan presents provides a fert ile ground for assessing the role of the

African Union through the Peace and Security Counc il of the AU in the realm of promoting

peace, security and human rights. Within this study, African Union impediments to peace,

security and human rights promotion on financ ia l, po li tical, and socio-cultural fronts will be

analysed. A number of secondary methods will be employed to ens ure that relevant

information regarding the Ro le of the African Union is ascerta ined. These in c lude. Reports or

the Organs of the AU, desktop research, and library based info rmation.

Furthermore, the research will seek to explore and examine whether the initiatives and

approaches by the AU to the s ituation in South Sudan have been appropriately examined so

as to end the conflicts and explain whether conflict founded upon socio-cultural, po litical

divers ity undermines the very foundation of regional solidarity and therefore compromises or

makes it hard for the African Union to do its work as a regional organ in promoting peace,

security and human rights or hinders its fulfilment of its mandate as the Constitutive Act.The

research will end with a number of recommendations to the AU and South Sudan on what

steps need to be taken to put an end to the current deadl ock in efforts to reso lve the connict that South Sudan presents in the Continent.