Omanghana
African countries and regional institutions continue to play a central role in maintaining international peace, combating terrorism, protecting maritime trade and mediating complex conflicts.
Rather than serving only as recipients of foreign security assistance, African states frequently provide personnel, operational leadership and diplomatic expertise to address crises with consequences extending far beyond the continent.
African countries collectively remain the largest source of troops for regional and international peace operations, contributing an average of about 70,000 personnel annually over the past decade. Their forces have also carried a disproportionately high share of casualties while serving in some of the world’s most dangerous missions.
On the continent, troops operating under the African Union and regional blocs have led peacekeeping and enforcement missions in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique. The AU has deployed 27 peacekeeping and enforcement operations since the African Standby Force was established in 2004.
African security leadership has also extended beyond the continent. Kenya deployed police officers to Haiti in 2024 under the United Nations Security Council-authorised Multinational Security Support mission to assist the Haitian National Police in confronting heavily armed gangs. That mission was later approved for transition into a new Gang Suppression Force.
African forces also remain on the front line against organizations affiliated with al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Multinational campaigns in Somalia, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin have disrupted efforts by extremist groups to establish territorial, financing and coordination hubs.
In northern Somalia, Puntland authorities mobilised thousands of personnel under Operation Hilaac to dislodge Islamic State fighters from positions in the Al Miskaad mountains. Troops from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt and other countries have meanwhile supported successive African-led missions against al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Maritime security represents another major African contribution to global stability. The Yaoundé Code of Conduct, adopted in 2013 by 25 West and Central African countries, created a regional framework for naval coordination, surveillance and information sharing in the Gulf of Guinea.
Cooperation under the Yaoundé Architecture has contributed to a significant decline in piracy and armed robbery along the West African coast. By protecting ports, commercial vessels and energy shipments, participating states help secure trade routes that support international commerce and supply chains.
African institutions have also built extensive conflict-mediation mechanisms. The African Union, East African Community, Southern African Development Community and other regional bodies have worked to negotiate ceasefires, support political dialogue and prevent local conflicts from developing into wider regional crises.
A notable example was the AU-led process that produced the 2022 cessation-of-hostilities agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The mediation panel included former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
These contributions demonstrate that African countries are active architects of international security. However, sustaining their role will require predictable financing, stronger institutions, modern equipment and equitable partnerships that recognise African leadership instead of treating the continent solely as a theatre for external intervention.
Source: Omanghana
