The African union and the phenomenon of foreign fighters in Africa

Abstract

As the pre-eminent regional organisation entrusted with the maintenance of peace and security in Africa, the African Union (AU) has been engaged with the development of legal and normative instruments as well as mechanisms for addressing complex security challenges confronting the continent. It would appear however that the AU is lagging behind on developing relevant instruments and mechanisms for addressing one particular threat which has recently emerged, namely, the phenomenon of people participating in armed conflicts in countries of which they are not nationals or habitually resident, i.e. foreign fighters. Although Africans have joined armed conflicts in countries of which they are non-nationals and nationals of other countries have been involved in conflicts on the African continent, the focus of the Continent’s collective security organisations, i.e. both the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and its successor the AU, has largely been on mercenaries and in more recent times, those foreign fighters who engage in acts of terrorism. The aim of this chapter is twofold: first, to discuss whether and to what degree the general provisions for peace and security may be used to address the issue of foreign fighters, and second, to look at additional measures that can be instrumental to strengthen the fight against terrorism and extremism in the region.