Evaluation of the implementation of the African Peace Facility 2014-2016

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Authors

Upon request of the European Commission, ECDPM’s Security and Resilience programme, together with Particip Gmbh and Cardno, has conducted an evaluation of APF’s implementation throughout the period 2014-2016 to assess its (i) relevance, (ii) impact and effectiveness, (iii) management efficiency, (iv) contribution to capacity-building and institutional development, (v) complementarity with other EU actions, (vi) contribution to African ownership and sustainability and finally (vii) its added value and complementarity with other donors.

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    Summary

    The African Peace Facility (APF) is the European Union’s main instrument to address peace and security issues in Africa, building on the principle of enabling ‘African solutions to African problems’. Funded with resources from the European Development Fund (EDF), the APF has supported both African-led Peace Support Operations and capacity-building and institutional development activities in the context of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).

    The evaluation started in March 2017 and is based on both desk research in Brussels and Addis Ababa and field visits in Somalia, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Mali and the Central African Republic. Since March 2018, the final evaluation report is available on the Commission’s website.

    The main conclusions of the evaluation are as follows:

    • The APF is widely seen as a relevant instrument to contribute to EU and AU policy objectives
    • APF contributions can be mostly linked to positive effects on peace and security on the ground
    • Some progress has been made on streamlining APF management
    • The APSA Support Programme has made mixed progress on capacity-building
    • Progress has been made on the coordination of programming of various EU inputs
    • The APF has clearly helped African efforts to set up and run peace and security operations (PSOs)
    • It remains difficult to say to which extent the APF has helped make partnership on peace and security stronger and more effective

    Among the main recommendations are the following:

    • Continue to build on priorities and dynamics emerging from intra-African policy discussion on APSA
    • Use the APF to strengthen the AU-EU partnership
    • Promote as a high-value instrument to deepen the partnership
    • Sharpen common sense of purpose on capacity development
    • Further invest in optimising complementarity of APF with other peace and security support from different sides
    • Working closely with UN and other strategic partners, and let African partners increase their leading role
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