“This paper will examine the ASF’s preparations in the area of rule of law. Part I discusses both what is meant by “RoL” and what particular rule of law challenges emerge in post-conflict environments. Part II addresses the development of the African Standby Force and provides a detailed analysis of the proposed structure of the civilian peacebuilding components. It also points to a number of flaws within the existing draft and proposes possible reasons for these gaps and oversights. Having captured the ASF’s current approach to, and attitude towards, RoL, Part III will seek to provide a counterargument. It will explain both why RoL is of vital importance for military peacekeepers and why it should be viewed as an immediate priority issue. Finally, Part IV proposes a number of basic measures that could be adopted to strengthen the Force’s capacity in this area.”
