The Responsibility to Protect and the African Governance Architecture: Explaining the Nexus

ABSTRACT: The implementation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle in Africa has typically followed the architectural framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This approach has engendered a paucity of knowledge in relation to the structural bases of conflict prevention based on the African Governance Architecture (AGA). This briefing paper surfaces the AGA framework and its components in view to informing policy on the African Union (AU) infrastructure for facilitating peaceful means of conflict prevention, protecting populations from atrocity crimes, and building stronger institutions for peacebuilding across Africa. The paper focuses on electoral governance in Africa, especially AU approaches to organizing, conducting, and observing elections within the provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. It concludes by proposing an approach for greater electoral governance in Africa.