listening and referral units for victims of sexual and gender based violence was established. After the first phase, recommendations for future interventions focused on including income generating activities to promote the economic empowerment of victims with a view to facilitating their reintegration. The PSC implements the Africa Peace and Security Architecture working closely with the RECs/RMs in conflict prevention, management and post conflict resolution, focusing on harmonising respective decision making functions in these aspects.117 Key to this is coordination of the African Standby Force buttressed by the Regional Standby Forces of the RECs/RMs .118 Out of the 5 peace support operations in 2017, AU and REC collaborations led to ECOMIG in Gambia in 2016 and ECOMIB in Guinea Bissau and the AU Mission to Somalia AMISOM) that receives forces from various countries.119 Other contributions of RECs to the AU African Standby Force include SADC’s SAPMIL in Lesotho.120However, payment of membership dues into the Africa Peace Fund has not been consistent, creating challenges for effective operationalisation of these efforts.121 The AU PSC in recognition of the vulnerabilities faced by women and girls in conflict situations continually urges AU member states to urgently ratify and domesticate the Maputo Protocol, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the Kampala Convention. Furthermore, the PSC has advocated for better synergistical collaborations between the AU gender machinery, human rights mechanisms and conflict prevention, management and resolution mechanisms and the AU Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.122 The AU coordinates regional security arrangements working with member states to address emerging challenges. The AU Regional Strategy for the Stabilization, Recovery and Resilience of the Boko Haram affected areas of the Lake Chad Basin 117 Peace and Security Council Communique 20 August 2019 SC/PR/COMM.(DCCCXLXX) Eastern Africa Standby Force, ECCAS Standby Force, ECOWAS Standby Force, North Africa Regional Capability and SADC Standby Force. 119 APSA Impact Report 2017, Institute for Peace and Security Studies 120 Peace and Security Council Communique 20 August 2019 SC/PR/COMM.(DCCCXLXX) 121 H.E. Paul Kagame ‘Report on the Proposed Recommendations for the Institutional Reform of the African Union’, 29 January 2017 122 AU Peace and Security Council Communique August 2019 PSC/PR/COMM.(DCCCLXVI) 118 47