Converging Global Norms and Institutional Policies with Bottom-Up Approaches to the Protection of Civilians

Abstract The participation of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) in the protection of civilians (PoC) has shown that their respective experiences have evolved and helped to support the ideals of PoC. PoC is considered a key indicator to the success of the UN mission, and the concept has grown in relevance across activities of the UN. Equally, over the last two decades, the AU Peace and Security Council has increasingly mandated and deployed Peace Support Operations ( pso s) to prevent and respond to human security threats and mass atrocities on the African continent. However, the existence of Ad hoc Security Initiatives ( asi s) and Enterprise Security Arrangements ( esa s) that are swifter at deploying to areas of insecurity allows affected states to use forces within and across their borders to attempt to deal rapidly with protection concerns. The use of asi s and esa s for protection concerns differs from large UN and AU operations, which rely on a clear mandate, policy, guidance, and principles developed from built-up experience. The article explores the nature and use of asi s and esa s and asks whether these new operations can provide better civilian protection outcomes. It explores how asi s and esa s can adopt PoC guidelines from the AU to allow for better protection and PoC in the specific environments where asi s and esa s operate. Finally, the article proposes ways asi s and esa s can integrate the AU PoC policy into their operations.