Strengthening United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) Coordination on Peace Missions

General and focused debates on United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) coordination on issues of peace and security have for a while been and continue to be a topic of importance. The topic of UN-AU coordination dates back to the 2005 World Summit, where UN member states approved the development and implementation of a ten-year AU capacity building plan that would be supported by the UN. The ten-year plan was followed by the introduction of the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security, which is a resolution aimed at strengthening UN-AU coordination on peace and security. Pergnatis (2015, p.4) asserts that institutionally and operationally coordination between the United Nations and the African Union are in no way exhaustive. Andrews and Holt (2007), Derblom, Frisell and Schmidt (2008), Boutellis and Williams (2013) and Coleman and Williams (2017) all highlight the partnership and coordination on peace missions between the UN and the AU; lauding past and present coordination efforts whilst re-calling for an enhanced and structured future coordination. It is without a doubt that strengthened coordination between the two organisations would make the resolution of African conflicts even more effective. It is with this background knowledge that both the UN and AU place an emphasis on strengthening their coordination on peace missions. Notwithstanding the already established resolutions, mechanisms and institutions that promote UN and AU coordination on peace missions, this policy brief aims to openly discuss how strengthening of UN and AU coordination on peace missions can be enhanced further. In this policy brief, policing is divided and discussed in three categories- resolutions, practices and processes that would help strengthen UN-AU coordination on peace missions.