ABUJA: The United States government has resolved to partner with its counterparts in Nigeria and other African nations in order to reform security sectors.
This disclosure was contained in the Testimony of Tuneet Talwar, Assistant Secretary, US Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, while briefing the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy in Washington, DC yesterday.
The US official pressed further that all the security problems in Nigeria and the entire Africa point to the need for strong government institutions. He added that the American government is committed to helping its African partners build institutions and reform security sectors, so that they can manage their security challenges over the long-term.
Briefing on the goals for U.S. Security assistance in Africa, Talwar said the America would work closely with Nigeria and its counterparts to achieve strong support for peacekeeping operations throughout Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
He stressed the government of his country would provide urgently needed logistics support, training and equipment for African troops participating in these missions, and as well build the long-term peacekeeping capabilities of Africa through the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) and the new Africa Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership (APRRP).
He also made it known that the US wants to build the military capabilities of its African partners to conduct counterterrorism operations, stressing that through the Trans Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) and the Partnership for East Africa Counterterrorism (PREACT), the US provides counter-terrorism training and equipment to African militaries in East and West Africa.
Speaking further, the US official said his country supports the professionalization efforts of African militaries with training and advisory support, including through the Security and Governance Initiative (SGI) and the African Military Education Program (AMEP). He added that through the educational programs, the America is helping to build African military forces that have a greater respect for human rights, the rule of law, and civilian control of the military.
Talwar also made it known that the US would help its African partners police their maritime domain and combat other transnational threats like poaching. Our Africa Maritime Security Initiative (“AMSI) and Africa Conflict and Stabilization Border Security (ACSBS) programs, respectively, provide training to select African security forces to police their maritime borders and counter poaching.
Formulating, Planning, and Implementing Security Assistance in Africa” he noted.
His words: “The Departments of State and Defense work closely to formulate, plan and implement security assistance in Africa. The Presidential Policy Directive on Security Sector Assistance (PPD-23), released by the Administration in 2013, guides this process. The directive mandates an inclusive, deliberate, whole-of-government approach to U.S. security sector assistance, which aligns activities and resources with our national security priorities.
“The directive calls for transparency and coordination across the U.S. government to develop long-term strategies for security sector assistance, which build the capacity of our partners in a way that is strategic and sustainable.
“In real terms, this means that our planning process begins with the Joint Regional Strategy, which are strategic plans developed in Washington by regional bureaus in consultation with functional bureaus and our missions abroad. Under the Joint Regional Strategy, each mission creates an Integrated Country Strategy, which includes input from other agencies at posts and in Washington. These strategies outline the U.S. government’s goals and objectives in a particular country and region.”
