Towards an AU Civil-Military Coordination (CIMCOORD) Framework: Integrating Military Logistics and Social Work for Human Security in Conflict-Affected Communities

Abstract

Protracted armed conflicts in Africa increasingly produce humanitarian crises in which military insecurity, displacement, family separation, destruction of social infrastructure, trauma, poverty and weakened community institutions occur simultaneously. African Union (AU) peace support operations possess significant logistical capabilities, including transportation, engineering, medical evacuation, communications, route access and infrastructure support, while social workers possess specialised competencies in psychosocial support, protection, case management, family reunification, community mobilisation, social assessment and referral. Yet these capabilities are frequently planned and delivered through separate institutional systems. This article proposes an African Union Civil-Military Coordination (CIMCOORD) Framework for systematically connecting military logistics with professional social work within conflict-affected communities. Using a qualitative documentary research design, the study analyses AU peace and security policies, civilian protection frameworks, civil-military coordination guidance, social work literature and humanitarian practice. Human Security Theory and Ecological Systems Theory provide the analytical foundations. The article argues that military logistics should be understood not merely as operational support to armed forces but as a potential enabler of civilian protection and humanitarian access, while social work should be incorporated as a professional civilian capability within multidimensional peace support operations. The proposed CIMCOORD framework comprises joint assessment, logistics-social mapping, protected humanitarian access, civilian protection and referral, community engagement, information coordination, transition planning, and accountability and professional safeguards. The framework offers the AU a practical pathway for making peace support operations more human-centred, locally responsive and capable of connecting immediate security with long-term social recovery.