In Post-conflict situations, civilian capacities are a crucial part of peace building and a critical complement to the political and military components of peacekeeping missions. Without the development of a civilian capacity, resilient institutions for political, social and economic reconstruction are unable to function efficiently and there is always a risk for renewed violence. Non-Aligned Movement has emphasised the development of civilian capacities in post-conflict zones, especially those in the developing world and has expressed readiness to support national civilian capacity development and institution building in support of peace-building activities in post-conflict situations, including through peacekeeping operations in accordance with their mandates, as well as enhanced regional, South-South and triangular cooperation.
Non-Aligned Movement has welcomed UN General Assembly Resolution 66/255 adopted on 16 March 2012.

The Resolution encourages “ national Governments, the United Nations and regional and sub-regional organizations to broaden and deepen the pool of civilian expertise for peace-building in the immediate aftermath of conflict, including from countries with relevant experience in post-conflict peace-building or democratic transition, giving particular attention to mobilizing capacities from developing countries and of women as vital to the success of United Nations peace-building endeavours”. In accordance with Resolution 66/255, NAM has reaffirmed the fundamental principle of national ownership.

NAM has taken note of the UN Secretary-General’s final report on Civilian Capacity in the immediate aftermath of conflict (A/68/696-S/2014/5) which calls for integrating efforts, strengthen joint action and clear division of labour to support political, security, and rule of law institution-building and the extension of state authority as pivotal to civilian capacity building. The report calls for civilian capacity building mechanisms to be aligned closely with national ownership and states that translating national ownership into practice requires that civilian mission formulation and implementation should be sensitive to national decision-making cycles. The report also stresses the importance of supporting rapid confidence-building, integrated assessment and planning processes. NAM has underlined the necessity for the UN to make full use of South- South cooperation arrangements in the development of civilian capacities in post- conflict countries. The Heads of State or Government stressed the need for the UN to draw from the expertise of leaders and practitioners from countries of the Global South who have grappled with civilian capacity challenges with the aim to deploy effective civilian expertise.

Prominent regional organisations such as the African Union s deployed numerous civilian capacity initiatives in the last few years in order to address the high demand from post-conflict countries on the continent. These include the African Civilian Capacity (AFCAP), a platform for disseminating information on training and deployment, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), focusing on socioeconomic development. African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) recognize the importance of civilian capacities.

African Standby Force (ASF), the African Solidarity Initiative (ASI) and the African Union Civilian Standby Roster are the primary civilian capacity building mechanisms of the AU. Article 13 of the protocol related to the establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union states that ASF will have both civilian and military components. The African Union Commission (AUC), Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms (RMs) finalised and subsequently launched in June 2015 the African Standby Capacity (ASC) roster which marked an important milestone as it paved way for the AU, RECs and RMs to populate the roster with the required civilian capacities for Peace Support Operations .

The African Solidarity Initiative (ASI) was launched in 2002 focuses on security sector; national reconciliation; peace building, maintenance and consolidation; agriculture; infrastructure and energy, humanitarian issues and livelihoods; governance and rule of law; judicial reform; social and educational sectors; youth development; gender agenda and women; private-sector rehabilitation; macro-economic; and capacity building and development. The development of the AU civilian roster, divided into three main categories (post-conflict and reconstruction, mediation and mission support). Since 2010, the AU has worked with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Regional Mechanisms (RMs) on the establishment of an AU Civilian Standby Force.