ISS and ACCORD participated and contributed in the ASF 8th Annual TIW held in Abuja, Nigeria from 25-28 October 2016. The 8th TIW was organised with a primary aim to guide training for further enhancement of the ASF. Specifically, the objectives of the workshop were to:

• Provide update on the successful conduct of the AMANI AFRICA II (AA II) Field Training Exercise (FTX) and recommendations that should be implemented by the African Union (AU), Regional Mechanisms (RMs) and Member States (MS);
• Determine concrete process that needs to be undertaken to further enhance capabilities of the ASF;
• Facilitate the review of the 2015/2016 ASF Training Directives and ensure issuance of harmonised multi-dimensional training to guide ASF training and capability development for 2017.

Different institutions including AU, RMs, TCE, TIs, AMISOM and AU partners participated in the TIW. Presentations and discussions were made on the following key points: updates on 2015/2016 ASF Training Directives, updates on RMs training implementation, briefing on AMISOM Training, updates on APSTA Training Harmonisation, Standardisation and Certification process, briefing on Continental Training Architecture and Modalities of the Africa Peace Operations Library and Learning Online (APOLLO) Platform, Conduct of Exercises based on the STCDSS decision, AU and APSTA relationship, Strategic Focus and Direction for 2017 ASF Training Directives and recommendations that will be considered by STCDSS.

As part of the outcomes of the workshop, key issues were recommended for STCDSS considerations. The following are among the key recommendations:

• AU should issue a Directive on Periodical verification of pledged capabilities to guide RECs/RMs and MS;
• RMs should confirm MS pledges and ensure periodic verification of such capabilities;
• The Chair of each RMs should declare their RSFs readiness to the AU PSC at least 30 days before their scheduled standby time;
• ASF planning elements (PLANELMs) and MS should focus their training activities on pledged capabilities and MS should be encouraged to deploy what was trained when need raises in accordance with STCDSS decisions;
• Training should be based on ASF doctrine and other relevant PSO policies and guidelines;
• AU in collaboration with RMs should expedite review of the ASF doctrine to cater for contemporary security challenges;
• The 2nd ASF Training Needs Analysis (TNA) should be implemented in 2017/2018;
• The training component of the pre-deployment verification (PDV) should be strengthened to ensure the quality of pre-deployment training (PDT) in according to the required standards to facilitate deployment of sufficiently trained personnel;
• The AU in collaboration with RMs should review the existing AU 2 Weeks SML Training package to assess its usefulness and relevance, and make recommendations towards enhancing its effectiveness;
• AU and RMs in collaboration with TCEs should establish and utilize Mobile Education Training Teams (METT) to support ToT processes at MS level;
• The review of the existing AU-APSTA MoU should seek to strengthen the coordination role of APSTA. In this regard, APSTA is encouraged to double its efforts to expand its membership geographically and multi-dimensionally;
• The AU should begin the APOLLO project with a pilot to test the processes and generate lessons;
• AMISOM Joint Mission Training Centre (JMTC) should be strengthen by co-locating training assets to ensure a more effective coordination of training;
• AU and RMs should ensure lateral coordination and have harmonised training and planning for effective execution of multi-dimensional continental and regional Exercise.