PSC Program of Work for the Month of March 2019
Amani Africa
Date | March 2019
Kenya assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of March. The provisional program of work includes five main sessions on substantive issues including one country specific update and one open session. During the month, the PSC is scheduled to undertake a field mission and convene an induction retreat with the newly elected and returning PSC members.
The March PSC program of work starts on March 4thwith a briefing on the situation in Somalia. The second agenda item for the day is dedicated for the preparation of the field mission to South Sudan taking place on March 5-8.
After the four day field mission to South Sudan, the PSC will convene on March 12 to adopt the provisional program of work for April and to prepare for the induction of the PSC new members. It is to be recalled that at the recently concluded African Union (AU) Summit, three new members namely Lesotho, Burundi and Algeria have been elected to join the PSC and two, Kenya and Nigeria have been reelected for another term. The new members are expected to commence their three-year term in the PSC on 1 April. They will however start attending the PSC meetings from March 18.
On March 14 the PSC is scheduled to have a briefing on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and its impact on the AU plan for Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020.
This theme forms a major part of the AU Master Roadmap for Silencing the Guns by 2020.
The only open session of the PSC is planned on March 19 and it will focus on the role of women in conflict prevention and post-conflict peace building. The meeting will receive a briefing from the Special Envoy of the AU Commission Chairperson on Women, Peace and Security as well as from AU member states, representative of RECs, UN, non-AU member states and civil society organizations.
On the same day, the PSC will again discuss the preparations for the induction of the PSC new members scheduled to take place by the end of the month.
The next PSC session is scheduled for March 21, where the Council is expected to receive a briefing on the nexus between maritime security, safety and development of the blue economy in Africa. The session is expected to examine the link between peace, security and development within the context of maritime domain and the overall Africa’s economic growth. The session may receive briefings from the Commission in line with instruments such as the existing Charter on Maritime Safety and Security and Development in Africa adopted in October 2016 and the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIMS) adopted in 2014.
On March 26 the PSC will have a monthly update on the implementation of the harmonization of ACIRC into the ASF in line with the PSC decision of its 821st meeting held on 9 January 2019. The PSC tasked the Chair of the month and the Commission to provide monthly updates on the harmonization until July 2019. The Commission is also expected to report on the completion of the harmonization of ACIRC within the ASF by February 2020 at the Ordinary Session of the Assembly.
In the last week of the month, on 27-30 March the induction of the PSC new members is scheduled to take place in Zanzibar.
In addition to these agenda items, the provisional program of the month also envisages in footnotes three items that may be added in the course of the month. The first is the meeting of the committee of experts which the exact dates are yet to be confirmed. The second one is the briefing by the Chairperson of the PSC to the PRC on the activities of the PSC during the month of March. The last footnote provides the timeline for the visit of the Military Staff Committee to the Continental Logistics Base in Doula, Cameroon, on 19-22 March.
Briefing on Darfur and UNAMID
Amani Africa
Date | 26 February, 2019
Tomorrow (26 February) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is scheduled to hold its first briefing of the year on the situation in Darfur and on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operations in Darfur (UNAMID). The Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of UNAMID Jeremiah Mamabolo is scheduled to brief the PSC. Ademore Kambudzi, Acting Head of the Peace and Security Department is also expected to deliver a statement on behalf of Smail Chergui, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security. The PSC also expects to hear update statement from the Government of Sudan. The agenda for the session anticipates the participation of the UN office to the AU (UNOAU) and representatives of the African members (A3) of the UN Security Council (UNSC).
In terms of the situation in Darfur, Mamabolo is expected to update the PSC on the developments in the security situation in Darfur since the PSC’s last meeting of 19 September 2018. Like the October 2018 report of the Secretary-General, his latest report covering 4 October 2018 to 3 January, noted that the security situation in Darfur remains relatively stable except for intermittent clashes between government forces and the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid in the Jebel Marra area. It also indicates improvements noting in particular the decline in inter-communal violence and human rights violations, enabling some internally displaced persons to return to their place of origin.
It is to be recalled that one area of concern highlighted in the PSC field visit to Darfur and the communiqué on its field mission report has been the treatment of internally displaced persons and the challenges surrounding clashes over land including for IDPs seeking to return to their place of origin.
In this regard, its communiqué of the 773rd meeting highlighted the ‘need to urgently and equitably address the land tenure issues as it relates to the returnees’. The Secretary-General’s latest report also observed that the underlying causes of the conflict remain unaddressed. This is one area on which the briefing from Mamabolo is expected to provide some update to the PSC.
It is to be recalled that the various communiqués of the PSC (communiqués of its 778th and 794th sessions) and notably its communiqué of the 773rd session urged ‘the Government of Sudan to intensify efforts towards addressing the root causes of conflict in Darfur, including the return of the IDPs.’ PSC members may wish to learn about the government’s specific plans and concrete measures in these respects.
Members of the PSC would wish to follow up on the effort for achieving political settlement, particularly with groups that are not signatories to the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) as highlighted in its 794th session. In this respect, some progress has been observed. The African Union High-level Implementation Panel on Sudan and South Sudan (AUHIP) convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 22-23 November 2018 with the Sudan Liberation Army-Minni Minawi (SLA-MM) and the Gibril Ibrahim faction of the Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM-Gibril), focusing on achieving a pre-negotiation framework that would facilitate the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement and the resumption of political negotiations. On 6 December 2018, at a meeting in Berlin, Germany the government of Sudan and the SLA-MM and JEMGibril signed a pre-negotiation agreement, providing for the resumption of negotiations within the framework of the DDPD, under the auspices of the AUHIP.
Despite this slow progress and the renewal by these groups of their cessation of hostilities until February, fighting has not completely stopped. With respect to UNAMID, developments relating to
the benchmarks in the exit process of UNAMID are of particular interest. It is to be recalled that its communiqué of the 778th session ‘while welcoming the proposal by the Special Report of the Secretary General and the AU Commission Chairperson that the UNAMID would exit on 30 June 2020 and its liquidation be completed by December 2020,’ the PSC noted that consideration should be given to ‘[e]nsuring a gradual drawdown that would allow the Mission’s exit to be guided by the political and security situation on the ground so as not to create a security vacuum and expose civilian populations’.
As expected to be highlighted in Mamabolo’s briefing, it is of interest for the PSC that the October 2018 report of the Secretary General contained proposed ‘benchmarks and indicators of achievement’ for the eventual exit of UNAMID with a view towards this exit taking place in 2020, ‘provided that there is no significant change in the security situation in Darfur and key indicators are fulfilled’. Also of significance for the PSC to note is the UNSC presidential statement of Cote d’Ivoire of 10 December that requested the Secretary-General, and invited the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to provide detailed reporting on the progress made towards achieving the benchmarks and indicators attaching ‘particular priority to progress against the benchmarks and indicators focused on protection of civilians, particularly relating to internally displaced persons and returning refugees, human rights, rule of law, the humanitarian situation, and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in the regular 90-day reports’.
A key issue that may be raised during the briefing is the challenge around resource and financial mobilization to support the implementation of the transition to plan. The UNSC presidential statement makes reference to the need for resources not only to the successful attainment of the benchmarks and indicators but also to the long-term transition to peacebuilding and development.
In line with the timetable adopted by the UNSC, the UNAMID troops have been reduced from 8,735 to 5,470 and the number of police officers has also been lowered from 800 to 760 by the end of December 2018. The upcoming joint UN and AU assessment mission in March will review the reconfiguration of UNAMID in light of the set benchmarks and present report both to the PSC and UNSC.
Beyond troop reduction, the transition plan includes the transfer of various locations to the control of the Government of Sudan. In a press statement that UNAMID issued on 20 December 2018, it reported that it concluded the closure and handing over of 10 team sites to the Government of Sudan. In the
statement UNAMID urged the Government of Sudan to use the facilities for non-military civilian purposes, including to ‘contribute towards institutions such as universities, hospitals and schools, that meet critical needs of health and education, while benefiting large parts of communities.’
It is of interest for the PSC to inquire from Mamabolo if there are aspects of the situation in Darfur and UNAMID’s exit processes that, in the assessment of UNAMID, could be affected by these ongoing political instability in Sudan, most notably the most recent declaration of state of emergency
and the removal of state governors. The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. On the situation in Darfur, the PSC could reiterate its earlier concerns on the challenges facing IDPs and returnees and the need for addressing the underlying conflict drivers in Darfur such as those leading to inter-communal clashes, including land issues and resource distribution. The communiqué could also welcome the progress towards inclusive political settlement and the need for not losing momentum. With respect to UNAMID’s exit process, the communiqué could take note of the benchmarks and indicators of progress contained in the UN Secretary-General and the UNSC’s Presidential statement calling for periodic reports using the benchmarks and indicators for assessing progress, which is in line with the PSC’s communiqué of the 778th session. The PSC may also wish to request that UNAMID monitors and provides feedback on the impact of the overall situation in Sudan on Darfur and the mission.
Climate Change Funding in Line with the Africa Adaptation Initiative to Contribute to Peace and Security
Amani Africa
Date | 19 February, 2019
Tomorrow (February 19) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will have an open session on climate change funding in line with the Africa Adaptation Initiative (IAA) to contribute to peace and security.
The session has been initiated by Gabon as the incumbent PSC chair of the month. The session is designed as part of Gabon’s role as both the AU Champion of IAA and the coordinator of the Committee of African Heads of States and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC).
It is envisaged that the Chair of the PSC, Gabon’s Ambassador Hermann Immongault, will make an opening remark on the theme. Mr Tanguy Gahouma Bekale, Permanent Secretary of the Conseil National Climat (CNC) of Gabon, is expected to provide the PSC with the lead briefing on the theme to frame the deliberations of the session.
The core focus of tomorrow’s session is not simply on the nexus between climate change and insecurity but also importantly on the financing of climate change adaptation as a peace and security measure. The session is to be held under the theme ‘Financing of climate change adaptation within the framework of the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) to contribute to peace and security’. The concept note envisages that the session will address the climate change and conflict nexus, highlighting the main correlation ‘especially how climate change gives rise to or aggravate conflicts in Africa’. Of particular interest is the attention that the concept note draws to the role of climate change related events in precipitating forced displacement and migration of people.
The security dimension of climate change is being increasingly recognized. It is elevated as a factor that destabilizes communities’ coping capacity and as a trigger of tension due to competition over depleting resources. The security narrative is gradually dominating the way climate change and its effects are being characterized. In Africa, environmental degradation exacerbates existing economic inequality and political polarization as it can be observed in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin regions where the compounded effects of insecurity and climate change are critically affecting communities’ survival and livelihood. According to the Climate Change Profile undertaken by the government of the Netherlands, the Sahel contributed an estimated of 0.92% of the global gas emission yet almost all of the countries in the region rank among the 20% most vulnerable to climate change, and three (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali) are among the most vulnerable 10%. Similarly, the Greater Horn of Africa region including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan makes a negligible contribution of 0.59% to global gas emission, however four countries in the region (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan) are among the most vulnerable 10%.
Previously the PSC held three sessions on climate change and peace and security in Africa. At its first session on the subject at its 585th session under the theme ‘Climate Change: State fragility, peace and security in Africa’, the PSC stressed the importance of the Commission to mainstream climate change in all its activities, particularly in early warning and conflict prevention efforts. Moreover, at its 660th meeting the PSC highlighted the correlation between human security and environmental protection, and expressed ‘serious concerns over the devastating impact of climate change in Africa as manifested through recurrent droughts, which is one of the major triggers of tensions and violence in communities’. More relevant to the focus of tomorrow’s session, the PSC at its 774th session noted the importance of ‘coordinated efforts in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change’. During the session the Council has requested the Commission to undertake a study on the nexus between climate change and peace and security and to appoint an AU Special Envoy for climate change and security.
While it has been more than 11 years since the issue of climate change and peace and security started to feature on the agenda of the UNSC (the latest being the open debate on addressing the impact of climate-related disasters on international peace and security held on 25 January 2019), it expressly recognized under Resolution 2349 the need for adequate risk assessments and management strategies by governments and the UN relating to the adverse security effects of climate and ecological factors in the Lake Chad Basin.
Climate change and its related effects in the continent particularly on peace and security has become an important theme featuring annually on the agenda of the PSC over the past few years. It will however be the first time for PSC to address climate change in the context of the IAA and funding for adaptation. For Africa, adaptation is seen as a policy priority in addressing the adverse impacts of climate change. During the COP 21 Africa has taken a clear direction towards addressing its major concern by launching the IAA to enhance adaptation financing and address loss and damage in Africa. In 2017 Gabon became the first African country to make a financial contribution by pledging USD$500,000 to the IAA.
As set out in the concept note, the objective of the session is to address the impacts of climate change including ‘the complete link existing between climate risks and conflicts on the one hand and how the Africa Adaptation Initiative could be a collective response both for the fight against climate change and to guarantee peace and security’.
In focusing on adaptation and its financing, the session positions the channeling of funding to adaptation to be a conflict prevention tool, particularly in relation to conflict risks arising from climate change. This will be of particular interest for conflict situations or vulnerabilities in the Sahel, Lake Chad and Horn of Africa regions. It would thus be of interest for PSC members and more immediately for Nigeria in the context of the implementation of the regional strategy on the stabilization of the Lake Chad Basin Region. Also of note is the links of the theme of the session to the policy framework on post-conflict reconstruction and development, which encompasses protection against environmental degradation. One of the issues raised in the concept note is also the link between IAA and the AU Peace Fund particularly under the preventive diplomacy window. The linkage to such existing policies will provide a holistic picture of the nexus between security, climate change and adaptation.
The session is taking place following the recently concluded 32nd AU Summit which reiterated the need for developed countries to continue to increase climate finance towards achieving the 2020 finance goal to reach the US$100 billion annually. The Summit has noted the increased role of the IAA in close collaboration with other Africa led global processes to spearhead the adaptation agenda of the continent. The AU may also work towards mobilizing financial and political support before the cutoff date of 2020, which is considered as a critical turning point in the global climate change agenda. The PSC session will also be a platform to share an update on the last IAA partners’ roundtable meeting held at the margins of the 73rd UN General Assembly, which has made a decision to produce and launch the first Africa State of Adaptation Report.
The expected outcome is a press statement. The statement may call on further support to the IAA by African states as well as the international community. It may particularly call for the strengthened integration of climate change and adaptation into the security agenda, hence the need to tap into existing funding associated to peace and security to also be utilized for climate change adaptation. The PSC may call for the establishment of a mechanism that establishes complementarity between IAA and the AU Peace Fund with respect to the climate change dimension of conflicts. Taking forward its previous meetings on the theme of climate change and peace and security, the PSC may also reiterate its call for a study on the nexus between climate change and peace and security as a basis for determining the appointment of a special envoy on the theme.