The African union’s efforts in addressing the Civil War in Sudan (2023– present): a case study of El fasher in the Darfur region
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Date
2026-05-13
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Uganda Christian University
Abstract
This dissertation explores how the African Union institutionally reacted to the conflict, particularly in El Fasher between April 2023 and February 2026. The study is guided by five interrelated research questions: to explore the mechanisms of the peace and security of the AU and how they were employed in El Fasher; to evaluate the effectiveness of the institution of the four dimensions of operations, ceasefire compliance, civilian protection, humanitarian access and accountability; to determine the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights as an accountability institution; and suggest practical steps to enhance the capacity of the institution to manage conflicts and build peace.
The research is a single case study (qualitative) based on the methodological approach of Creswell and Poth (2018). Only secondary sources such as official documents of the UN and the Peace and Security Council, ACHPR documents, scholarly literature were used as sources of data. Bowen (2009) protocol of document analysis was used to provide a systematic and consistent extraction of data in all sources. The results indicate that there is an enduring and causal disconnect between the normative commitments and operational capacities of the AU. Several institutional mechanisms initiated by the African Peace and Security Architecture, an AU Roadmap to Sudan, a High-Level Panel formed in early 2024 and a May 2024 PSC mandate authorizing the ACHPR to investigate atrocities in El Fasher were all activated by the AU, however none of this could stop the siege or the eventual fall of the city. The dissertation suggests complete operationalization of the African Standby Force, integration of the disjointed Sudan policy of the African Union, a regional conference to discuss the issue of external interference, structural reform of the ACHPR and strategic exploitation of the comparative political advantage of the African Union with Khartoum to gain entry to humanitarian access. These suggestions are directly based on the evidence presented at El Fasher, and not based on generic prescription of the institution, and presented as a contribution to the academic and policy discussion around the changing role of the AU in peace and security in Africa.
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Undergraduate