EUFOR Chad/CAR Mission on the Protection of Civilians: A Distinctive EU Way to Peace Operations

Abstract

The European Union (EU) conducted a military operation in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic (EUFOR Chad/CAR) from 28 January 2008 to 15 March 2009. Its mandate was to contribute to the protection of refugees from the Darfur region and internally displaced people, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and to contribute to the protection of UN personnel, under the mandate provided by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1778 of 25 September 2007. This operation was conducted under the European Security and Defence Policy (now Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP), with the agreement of the governments of Chad and the Central African Republic. EUFOR Chad/CAR has been the most multinational military operation deployed in Africa so far, with 14 EU member states present in the field, 19 in theatre, and 22 at the operation headquarters (OHQ) at Mont Valérien (France). It was a bridging operation where the EU prepared the ground for the UN Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINUCART), which focused among other things on the training of local police as part of a broader international multidimensional presence. After the one-year mandate expired, MINUCART took over the military component.