Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – The Addis Ababa-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said Thursday that African leaders’ decision asking an anti-terrorism think-tank without any military capacity to take the lead in battling security threats was a failure.
ISS Researcher Hallelujah Lulie, said the 23rd African Union Heads of State and Government Assembly, meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, emphasized the role of the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism in fighting terrorism.
The Centre has no real capacity to gather intelligence and lacks the requisite capability to act against terrorism threats.
“The Assembly should have come up with a stronger decision on fighting terrorism. They need a solid initiative to deal with the threat of Boko Haram and the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb,” Hallelujah told a gathering of diplomats and security experts Thursday.
ISS invited experts to review the outcome of the Malabo Summit, held against the background of mounting terrorism and extremism challenges.
The African leaders called for an immediate creation of the African capacity for immediate deployment, which would be made up of 10 countries.
Experts familiar with the discussions on the launching of the new military outfit, said the 10 countries agreed to avail troops and other logistics. The military outfit would be available for deployment within 21 days of an outbreak of any conflict.
Each of the deploying states would cover the cost of their operations for 90 days until a proper peacekeeping operation has been put in place.
Lulie said the failure to effectively address the issue of terrorism was partly caused by the lack of a proper definition on what constitutes terror.
He said the Summit should have emphasized the need for proper implementation of existing security agreements and documents, including the African Common Defence Pact and the African Non-Aggression Pact, which emphasise security cooperation.
ISS has also asked the Peace and Security Council (PSC) to consider revising the Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) with close attention to the fight against terrorism.
“We need to build the relevant institutions to deal with security threats in Africa,” Hallelujah added.
