The APSA evolved in the late 1990s, when the African continent was confronted with severe crises such as the civil war in Somalia, which was ongoing since 1991, and the genocide in Rwanda 1994. At the same time, the statutes of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) did not allow an intervention in the inner affairs of another state. In order to be able to intervene in situations of severe human rights violations, the member states of the OAU decided to establish the African Union (AU) in 2002. Two years later, the decision to establish the APSA was taken.