The Sunday Mail
According to Article 13 of the African Union Peace and Security Council Protocol, signed in 2002, the functions of the ASF include:
◆ observation and monitoring missions;
◆ other types of peace support missions;
◆ intervention in a member state in respect of grave circumstances or at the request of a member state in order to restore peace and security, in accordance with Article 4(h) and (j) of the Constitutive Act;
◆ preventive deployment in order to prevent;
i. a dispute or a conflict from escalating,
ii. an ongoing violent conflict from spreading to neighbouring areas or States, and
iii. the resurgence of violence after parties to a conflict have reached an agreement;
◆ peace-building, including post-conflict disarmament and demobilisation;
◆ humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of civilian population in conflict areas and support efforts to address major natural disasters; and
◆ any other functions as may be mandated by the Peace and Security Council or the Assembly.
