Police Officers Join First Regional Standby Force Training
For the first time, senior police officers from seven Eastern African countries joined the African Standby Force training in Bujumbura, Burundi. The training strengthened leadership and peacekeeping skills, setting a model for other regions.
Under the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture, the African Standby Force serves as an important tool for promoting peace and stability across the continent. It brings together military, police, and civilian components to respond collectively to crises whenever they arise.
To strengthen its police capacity, the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) Secretariat invited its member states to nominate Police Professional Staff for deployment under the African Standby Force. In June 2025, the EASF conducted competency-based interviews, from which 14 officers were selected out of 45 nominees representing Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. These senior officers bring valuable experience and expertise in policing and peace operations.
The selected candidates took part in the first Police Professional Staff Foundational Training Workshop in Bujumbura, Burundi in August. The training covered areas such as senior mission leadership, police management, and the planning of peace support operations. Participants exchanged knowledge and strengthened their leadership and coordination skills.
The success of this pioneering workshop has inspired other Regional Economic Communities and Mechanisms to replicate the initiative. The experience will serve as a best practice example at the Annual AU Coordination Meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, in October 2025.