The Director of ECOWAS Peacekeeping and Regional Security has said that the African Union’s African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) initiative has been crucial to the Economic Community of West African States’ Peace Support Operations, according to officials in Abuja.
APSA is a programme of the African Union designed to promote peace and security across Africa through support to Regional Economic Communities, including ECOWAS.
The initiative, funded by the European Union, was launched in 2002 to assist regional organisations in implementing peace and security projects.
ECOWAS has long maintained standby and peace support forces to address regional security challenges such as terrorism, insurgency, and other conflicts. Funding and logistical support for these operations often involve collaboration with continental and international partners.
Dr. Cyriaque Agnekethom, Director of ECOWAS Peacekeeping and Regional Security (DPKRS), said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria that APSA has provided innovative funding mechanisms enabling the African Union and ECOWAS to implement priority peace and security projects.
Agnekethom explained that APSA’s structure allows ECOWAS to access European Union support through the African Union for peace support and standby force deployment initiatives.
He noted that the process involves ECOWAS making formal requests to the African Union, which, upon approval, forwards them to the European Union for funding.
He cited APSA’s flexible funding facilities as having helped reduce financial burdens on member states and ECOWAS by providing additional resources for priority projects aligned with continental peace and security agendas.
Agnekethom also said that APSA funding aided development of preventative security measures, including ECOWAS’ Early Warning Systems and collaboration with training institutions such as the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra and others.
The director reiterated that APSA support has strengthened ECOWAS’ capacity to plan and implement peace support operations and enhanced cooperation between regional and continental peace and security frameworks.
APSA’s role in facilitating funding and cooperation shows how regional and continental mechanisms can support collective peace and security efforts.
Reliable access to funding and institutional backing may enable ECOWAS to coordinate regional responses to threats more efficiently and expand training, early warning, and standby force deployment capabilities.
The initiative also highlights the importance of partnerships between African organisations and international donors, such as the European Union, in addressing security challenges that individual states and regional organisations may struggle to manage alone.
