Background
Colonial history has left a legacy of numerous disputed national boundaries after African states gained independence. Only about a third of sub-Saharan borders are clearly delimited and demarcated. The AU considers these ill-defined borders potential sources of conflict, especially when natural resources are discovered in the border regions. Unclear borders therefore pose a threat to peace and security.
In 2007, the African Union Border Programme (AUBP) was launched as a direct response to these risks. The Programme´s core components are composed of: border delimitation and demarcation, cross-border cooperation, institution- and capacity building, and resource mobilisation.
On behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office, the GIZ project "Support to the AUBP" renders implementation assistance on the continental, regional, national and local level.
Objective
Effective and sustainable border management contributes to the prevention of conflicts between African states and fosters integration through "peaceful, open and prosperous borders" (AUBP vision).
Approach
Delimitation and Demarcation
The project currently supports fifteen African partner countries in the delimitation, demarcation and management of their borders: Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.
Cross-Border Cooperation
The project assists the partner countries in promoting and extending cross-border cooperation. In this context, the first Cross-Border Health Centre of its kind in Africa was inaugurated at the border between Burkina Faso and Mali in 2012. On the regional level, there has been cooperation with, among others, the "Trading for Peace" Programme of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The project has also initiated a network of border experts involving the AU as well as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Strengthening the AUBP unit and African support capacities
The project advises the AUBP unit in the elaboration and implementation of strategic plans, as well as in the areas of human resources and organisational development. In the political realm, the project supports the organisation of ministerial conferences on African border issues. Technically, the AUBP is strengthened as a continental coordination platform through the development of the AU Border Information System (AUBIS). Moreover, the project promotes cooperation and exchange with African universities and training institutes in order to consolidate sustainable border management capacities in various disciplines.
Results
The borders between Burkina Faso and Mali, Malawi and Zambia, as well as Mozambique and Zambia have been fully delimited and demarcated with GIZ support. Delimitation agreements on the maritime boundaries between Comoros, Mozambique, Seychelles and Tanzania were signed in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
As of mid-2014, 2.205km of African borders have already been fully delimited and demarcated in the framework of the GIZ project.
The programme succeeded in ending a protracted border dispute between two villages in Burkina Faso and Mali, using a participatory method of conflict resolution. Economic and cultural cooperation among border villages has increased, thanks in part to the construction of grain elevators for their joint use. Equally, the cross-border health centre is operated and used jointly by the two countries.
Besides this, GIZ supported the elaboration of the so-called Niamey Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation, which was adopted by the African Ministers of Justice in May 2014.
GIZ and AUBP have moreover jointly finalised five experience-based guidebooks on border management in English and in French to assist Member States and relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the Programme.
As a result of the ongoing technical and conceptual advice from GIZ, the AUBP is strengthened both on the implementation level, and in its role as the key African coordination and awareness-raising unit, promoting border management as a significant factor for peace and security on the continent.
Currently being the only direct partner of the AUBP, the German Cooperation is strongly visible among the AU Member States and the international donor community. Great Britain supports the work of the AUBP at the Sudan-South Sudan border via a co-financing agreement with GIZ.
External Links
AUBP and PSD Websites:
http://www.aubis.peaceau.org/home
http://www.peaceau.org/en/page/27-au-border-programme-aubp