"[This document captures] in one single document the vision and functioning of the African stand-by Force (ASF) within the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), as currently perceived by the AU Commission ... It is structured in the following way: ... a recollection of the major decisions taken so far to design the ASF ... based on this, a summary of the vision that led to the creation of the ASF and that is to guide its further development ... [and] an attempt to describe how the ASF will actually [function]." (Quoted from paper)