The Peace and Security Department (PSD)  of the Commission of the African Union (AU) provides support to the efforts aimed at promoting  peace, security and stability on the Continent.   Currently, the PSD activities focus on the following:

 
• implementation  of the Common African Defence and Security Policy (CADSP); 
• operationalization  of the Continental Peace and Security Architecture as articulated by the  Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council (PSC)  of the AU, including the Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) and the  African Standby Force (ASF); 
• support to the efforts to prevent, manage and  resolve conflicts; 
• promotion  of programmes for the structural prevention of conflicts, including through the  implementation of the AU Border Programme (AUBP); 
• implementation  of the AU’s Policy Framework on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development  (PCRD); and 
• coordination,  harmonization and promotion of peace and security programmes in Africa,  including with the Regional Economic Communities (RECs)/Regional Mechanisms for  Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (RMs), the United Nations and  other relevant international organisations and partners.

The Department comprises four (4) Divisions.  These are:

1. The Conflict Management Division  (CMD), which focuses  on the operationalization of some of the aspects of the African Peace and  Security Architecture (Continental Early Warning System – CEWS, the Panel of  the Wise, the Memorandum of Understanding - MoU - between the AU and the RECs/RMs.  The CMD supports and coordinates activities relating to conflict prevention and  management, as well as to PCRD.  The CMD  supervises and coordinates the work of the AU Liaison Offices on the ground.
   
   
2. The Peace Support Operations  Division (PSOD), which works towards the operationalization of the ASF and the MSC, including  the elaboration of relevant policy documents and the coordination with relevant  African structures and AU partners. The PSOD  plans, mounts, manages and supports AU peace support operations. 
   
   
3. The Peace and Security Council Secretariat, which provides the operational and  administrative support required by the PSC, to enable it and its subsidiary  bodies to perform their functions effectively. The Secretariat acts as the  builder and custodian of the institutional memory on the work of the PSC and  facilitates its interaction with other organisations/institutions on issues of  peace and security. 
   
   
4. The  Defence and Security Division (DSD), which addresses  long-term cross-cutting security issues. The DSD is in charge of issues  relating to arms control and disarmament, counter-terrorism and other strategic  security issues, including security sector reform.