The Africa Facility to Support Inclusive Transitions (AFSIT) is a collaborative initiative by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide integrated programmatic support to African countries undergoing complex political transitions, including countries experiencing or at risk of unconstitutional changes of government (UCG). Its overall objective is to support credible, inclusive and legitimate transition roadmaps, mechanisms and institutions towards a return to constitutional rule, democracy and stability in relevant countries.
AFSIT is a response to the call made by the AU Heads of State and Government at the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa, held on 28 May 2023 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The Heads of State and Government reiterated their stance on zero tolerance against UCGs and called for collective actions and solidarity in developing a robust response mechanism, deepening democracy, and collective security on the continent.
Against this backdrop, the Facility will coordinate and complement (not duplicate, replace or consolidate) AU, Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and United Nations (UN) instruments, as well as other development partners’ instruments and initiatives, in support of inclusive transitions.
The Facility will seek to swiftly pre-empt, respond to and address complex political crises within AU Member States. The Facility will equally provide and deploy rapid political, technical, financial and human support to the AU, RECs and affected AU Member States to prevent, respond and mitigate risks associated with complex political transitions.
The Facility will be rolled out in phases and will first prioritize unconstitutional changes of government (UCG) as defined by the African Union norms and include responses to military coup d’états and instances where there has been manipulation of democratic processes. AFSIT will also support ‘at risk countries’ that are either on the edge of a precipice or whose early warning signs and data by the AU, RECs and UN suggest that, if unattended, they could slide back into complex political crisis.