Stabilising northern Mali: different approaches to peace operations

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies examines the doctrinal differences between United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and African Union (AU) peace support operations, using these distinctions to propose strategies for stabilising northern Mali.

• The UN's traditional peacekeeping approach is governed by three core principles: the consent of the parties, impartiality, and the non-use of force except in self-defence or in defence of the mandate. This model generally requires a 'peace to keep' to be present before deployment.
• The African Union (AU) employs 'peace support operations' rather than peacekeeping. Influenced by the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the AU's 2002 Constitutive Act allows for forceful intervention in member states during genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity, and the AU does not require a pre-existing peace or political process to intervene.
• The AU is more risk-tolerant than the UN regarding casualties. For example, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has suffered several hundred casualties, a rate that would be considered unacceptable by UN standards.
• The author suggests a complementary division of labour where the AU handles peace enforcement and later transitions to the UN for long-term stabilisation and post-conflict reconstruction. This model has been previously applied in Burundi and Darfur.
• To stabilise northern Mali, the document suggests that the international community should initially support the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) with significant UN financial and logistical aid, transitioning to a UN peacekeeping operation only when conditions are appropriate.
• The author warns that a peace operation alone is insufficient to resolve the crisis in Mali, as the country is facing a profound security and governance crisis.

APA

Théroux-Bénoni, L.-A. (n.d.). Stabilising northern Mali: different approaches to peace operations. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/stabilising-northern-mali-different-approaches-to-peace-operations

Chicago

Théroux-Bénoni, Lori-Anne. Stabilising northern Mali: different approaches to peace operations. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/stabilising-northern-mali-different-approaches-to-peace-operations.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Théroux-Bénoni |first1=Lori-Anne |title=Stabilising northern Mali: different approaches to peace operations |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/stabilising-northern-mali-different-approaches-to-peace-operations |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{throuxbnonindstabilising, author = {Théroux-Bénoni, Lori-Anne}, title = {{Stabilising northern Mali: different approaches to peace operations}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/stabilising-northern-mali-different-approaches-to-peace-operations}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }