The session will commence with opening remarks to be delivered by Rebecca A. Otengo, Permanent Representative of Uganda to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for July, and Chief Fortune Charumbira, the President of the PAP. It is expected that this will be followed by an address by Bankole Adeoye, the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security.

Although it is not being held on time as previously decided, the consultative meeting is being held in accordance with the outcome of the last consultative meeting of the two bodies held in June 2023, contained in the 1160^th Communiqué of the PSC. Most particularly, the two bodies committed to to institutionalise and regularise the annual consultative meeting, between the PSC and PAP, on peace and security in Africa to be hosted alternatively in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa and, in this respect, decide[d] that the next annual consultative meeting will be held in June 2024, in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Since the meeting was not held in 2024 as per the terms of the communiqué of the 1160th session, tomorrow’s meeting is accordingly being held in Midrand, Johannesburg, hosted by the PAP.

The holding of the session is preceded by a preparatory meeting. Apart from the usual preparatory work of the PSC Committee of Experts, recently, on the sidelines of the AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM) in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the two bodies held a high-level preparatory meeting to set the stage for their Joint Consultative Meeting.

Tomorrow’s session is being held in accordance with the legal instruments that set out the mandate of the two bodies. First and most importantly, Article 18 of the PSC Protocol stipulates that the PSC establishes a close working relationship with the PAP, recognising the complementarity of their respective roles in the promotion of peace, security, stability, human rights and democratic governance in Africa. Second, this consultative session also draws on the core objectives of the PAP, which, as stated in the 2001 Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to the PAP, cover the promotion of peace, security, stability, human rights and democratic governance. Additionally, the PAP is invested with the role of receiving reports from the PSC. Article 18 (2) and (3) of the PSC Protocol require the PSC to submit reports to the PAP through the AU Commission Chairperson whenever requested.

The consultative meeting is expected to have two dimensions. The first dimension is expected to involve exchange between the two bodies on the state of peace and security, as well as democratic governance in Africa. This exchange is expected to draw on the address by Adeoye. Within this framework, it will not be surprising for the deliberation to focus, among others, on the various conflict situations and the peace and security issues on the agenda of the PSC. These may include conflict hotspots, including the Sahel, the Horn of Africa (Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan), Eastern DRC and thematic issues such as countries in transition, unconstitutional changes of government, terrorism and the AU’s engagement in advancing the reform of the multilateral system. As the first vice-president of PAP indicated during the preparatory meeting, the meeting is also expected to engage on the need to include women and youth in continental fora focusing on peace, security and governance.’ In this context, the issue of children affected by armed conflict (CAAC) is expected to receive particular attention, drawing on the focus given to it in the program of work of the PSC for the month and the role of the PSC Chairperson as Co-Chairperson of the Africa Platform on CAAC.

The second dimension of the meeting is expected to address working methods and modalities in operaitonalising Article 18 of the PSC Protocol. The development of the working methods in the relationship between the two concerns the follow-up to commitments made in previous meetings. It is worth recalling in this context that the PSC in the communiquéof its 1160^th meeting on the previous consultative meeting underscored ‘the need for the two organs to continue to explore piratical means and way of further enhancing their collaboration and cooperation in the promotion of peace and security as well as African common positions on peace and security matters, particularly, in the international fora.’ It is expected that the PAP would put forward specific proposals on modalities for a close working relationship, as it did during the consultative meeting preceding the last one held during the 344^th session of the PSC. Underscoring ‘the importance of building durable working methods,’ at the time of the preparatory meeting held in Malabo, the President of PAP proposed the following modalities: ‘formation of specialised parliamentary committees to support peace and security hotspots; enhanced use of parliamentary diplomacy in conflict resolution and management; institutional and operational synergies backed by time-bound action plans; and consideration of technical and financial capacity-building for PAP’s engagement in peace efforts.’

Tomorrow’s meeting will be held under the theme, ‘Enhancing Institutional Synergy and Collaboration for Sustainable Peace and Security in Africa.’ As such, in addition to the foregoing modalities, it is expected that the exchange will also focus on establishing mechanisms to enhance the PAP’s advocacy role in implementing AU peace and security initiatives.

In the communiqué of its 1160^th session on the last consultative meeting, the PSC also requested ‘the PAP to regularly engage with it on its initiatives on the promotion of peace and security and democracy and good governance.’ There is no data to indicate that the PAP took on this invitation and engaged the PSC. Indeed, the report of PAP to the AU policy organs on its activities for 2024, other than the use of vague language of PAP engaging in fostering ‘collaboration on governance and security with AU and peace institutions,’ does not contain that the PAP engaged the PSC. The only notable engagement on peace and security contained in the PAP report is a reference to a resolution on peace and security in Africa and a recommendation on peace and security in Africa.

It clearly emerges from the foregoing that, notwithstanding, the solid legal foundation and the potential for a close working relationship, both the legal provisions and the potential remain unrealised. This is in no small part due to the governance and institutional challenges that have afflicted the PAP over the years. Apart from tarnishing the image and public standing of the continental body, PAP’s governance problems and the resulting institutional instability, including the controversy over the appointment of the clerk of PAP and the procedure followed in suspending the appointment, have had a direct bearing on the conduct of the activities of the institution.  There is also the issue of the lack of ratification of the 2014 Protocol to the Constitutive Act of the AU Relating to the Pan-African Parliament (the 2014 PAP Protocol), which designates the PAP as the legislative body of the AU. The status of signature and ratification did not change from the analysis we produced on the last consultative meeting in June 2023, which put States that signed at 22 and those who deposited the instrument of ratification at 14. While the PSC in the communiqué of its 1160^th session on the last consultative meeting held encouraged member states to ratify the protocol in order to enable it to enter into force, the recurring governance issues at PAP do not give confidence to member states on the wisdom of speeding up the entry into force of the protocol.

As such and in the face of the serious peace and security challenges on the continent that require the best performance of all AU institutions, it would be of interest to PSC members to ensure that the consultative meeting does not end up being an exercise in ticking boxes and that PAP organises and conducts itself for delivering on its role in advancing peace, security and stability and democratic governance in Africa. This necessitates not only the articulation of practical modalities for harnessing the mandate of the PAP but also the provision of mutual accountability in delivering on their common mandate.

Similarly, the proper functioning of the PAP would also facilitate the presentation on an annual basis by the Chairperson of the AU Commission on the state of peace and security within the framework of Article 18 (2) & (3) of the PSC Protocol. Since this is a mutual responsibility, the PSC in its 1160^th communiqué encouraged the AU Commission to enhance its engagement and continue to work closely with the PAP towards the implementation of these provisions.

The expected outcome is a joint conclusion identifying key areas for collaboration, to be adopted by the PSC as a Communiqué at a later session. It is expected that the PSC and PAP would resort to a unanimous roadmap for structured engagement between the two. In this regard, the two bodies would chart down thematic areas of engagement, including, but not limited to, youth in peacebuilding, climate security, women in peace processes, among others, in order to foster collaboration. It is also expected that the PSC would commend the AU Commission for the renewed efforts to enhance its engagements with PAP and stress the need for the AU Commission to continue to work closely with the Parliament. The outcome is also expected to reiterate the decision of the previous consultative session on institutionalising and regularising the annual consultative meeting and commits to holding the next meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is also expected to highlight and welcome the need for ensuring proper functioning of the PAP as a necessary condition for ensuring that the PAP effectively executes its mandate towards contributing to peace and security and democratic governance in Africa, working in collaboration with the PSC. Given the capacity issues clearly stated by the PAP President, the joint conclusions may also highlight the imperative of strengthened capacity of PAP both in terms of the role of its Committees on Cooperation, International Relations and Conflict Resolution and the use of parliamentary diplomacy by the PAP to advance conflict prevention, management and resolution.