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Toward Africa's Peacekeeping Force

Cameroon Tribune (Yaoundé)
NEWS
December 6, 2005
Posted to the web December 6, 2005

By Emmanuel Kendemeh

A five-day conference on the Reinforcement of African Peacekeeping Capabilities
(RECAMP) opened in Yaounde yesterday.
The resurgence of armed conflicts in Africa makes it imperative for Africans to
be trained and armed to take care of peacekeeping operations in the continent.
The desire to see peace and security reign in Africa with Africans being the
key actors prompted France in the mid-90s to conceive and introduce to other
peacekeeping actors the idea of "Reinforcement of African Peacekeeping
Capacities (RECAMP).
Officials of RECAMP have already organised peacekeeping sessions in other sub-
regions in Africa. Focus this time around is the Economic Community of Central
African States (ECCAS). This justifies the holding of the initial conference
for the building up and coordination of RECAMP cycle 5 in Yaounde. The
conference whose opening ceremony yesterday was presided over by Cameroon's
Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Remy Ze Meka is to
prepare for RECAMP 5 activities slated for Cameroon in November 2006. The close
to 150 eminent personalities taking part in the conference will by Friday,
December 9 it ends, define the specificities of the activities, and above all
gather support of partnership from European, American and Asian countries
working to maintain peace in Africa.
RECAMP according to its officials, "provides a solution to the peacekeeping
needs expressed by organisations and African States, which aims at helping them
reinforce their military capabilities as well as stage and conduct peacekeeping
operations on the continent when necessary". It is now evolving toward a
twofold partnership with the African Union and the European Union. RECAMP's
work is based on sections such as cooperation, training and commitment. Its
technical cooperation is implemented at the political, politico-military and
military levels in view of setting up of crisis prevention and management means
in Africa within sub-regional organisations with the European Union and in
association with the UN. The RECAMP training programme developed and conducted
in partnership with the African Union, European Union, African sub-regional
organisations, African countries concerned, focuses on developing decision-
making and planning abilities at the strategic and operative levels and
improving the interoperability of armed forces.

   

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