Central Africa Report

The report evaluates the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and its peace and security architecture, specifically the Central African Early Warning Mechanism (MARAC) and the Central African Multinational Force (FOMAC). It finds a significant gap between the organization's ambitions and its operational reality, noting that conflict prevention is hampered by a highly centralized, state-focused structure and a narrow military approach to security. The document highlights critical regional threats, including the Boko Haram insurgency, maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, and the instability in the Central African Republic (CAR). It concludes that ECCAS lacks a credible regional lead nation and a shared vision, remaining heavily dependent on external funding, primarily from the European Union, which undermines regional ownership of the peace and security process.

• ECCAS faces a significant gap between its ambitions and operational reality in preventing regional crises, hindered by a state-focused structure and a narrow, militaristic approach to security.
• The Central African Early Warning Mechanism (MARAC), which began operating in 2007, is limited by human and financial resource shortages, a reliance on external donors, and the reluctance of member states to share sensitive internal security data.
• The Central African Multinational Force (FOMAC) has faced constant delays in becoming operational, with its capacity largely dependent on the willingness and resources of a few strong member states, such as Angola and the Republic of the Congo.
• Central Africa is characterized by severe security threats, including the expansion of Boko Haram, which the member states acknowledged in the February 2015 Yaoundé Declaration as a risk to the entire sub-region.
• Maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea is a critical economic challenge, as the region holds 4.5% of the world's oil reserves and experiences more than one-quarter of all worldwide pirate attacks.
• The crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR) has a regional dimension, acting as a stronghold for armed groups and mercenaries, with neighboring states like Chad heavily influencing its cycles of instability.
• ECCAS lacks a legitimate regional lead nation to drive security cooperation, as candidates like Angola are torn between multiple memberships (SADC and ECCAS) and others lack sufficient recognition or experience.
• The organization's decision-making is often paralyzed by a lack of consensus and a culture of 'auto-censorship' where heads of state avoid criticizing each other's undemocratic conduct, such as the crisis in Burundi.
• The relationship between ECCAS and the African Union (AU) is marked by competition and ambiguity rather than complementarity, exemplified by the AU-led MISCA mission replacing the ECCAS-led MICOPAX in the CAR in 2013.

APA

Meyer, A. (2015). Central Africa Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo3.pdf

Chicago

Meyer, Angela. Central Africa Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2015. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo3.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Meyer |first1=Angela |title=Central Africa Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2015 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo3.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{meyer2015central, author = {Meyer, Angela}, title = {{Central Africa Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CentralAfricaReportNo3.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }