Addis Ababa, 26 November 2013: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Monday, 25 November 2013, met with the team of experts, led by Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who are undertaking an assessment of the progress made towards the operationalization of the African Standby Force (ASF, including its Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC), at the AU Headquarters. Dr. Zuma commended the team of experts for their commitment and underscored the importance of their mandate in the pursuit of peace and security in Africa.

The mandate of the Assessment Team is in line with the decision by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, at its 20th Summit held in January 2013, where it was decided that there is a need to assess the progress made towards the operationalization of the ASF.

The assessment of the ASF was launched during the inaugural meeting of the Assessment Team on 26 July 2013 at the AU Headquarters. Since then, the team has visited four Regional Standby Arrangements in East, West, South and North Africa, and they plan to meet with representatives of the ASF Planning Element from the Central African region in the next few days. They have also conducted an assessment of the AU as the strategic headquarters of the ASF. The team is expected to produce its report in December, 2013.