PSC Program of Work for February 2019
Amani Africa
Date | February 2019
Gabon assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of February 2019. The provisional program of work envisages six substantive sessions other than the meetings on the consideration of the PSC reports. One open session is scheduled.
The PSC program of work starts on 1 January with a meeting of the PSC for consideration of its reports on a) the implementation of the African Union Master Roadmap of Practical Steps on Silencing the Guns in Africa by the Year 2020 and b) its Activities and the State of Peace and Security in Africa. If the consideration of the reports is not finalized, it is expected to continue on 4 February.
On 5 February, the PSC is scheduled to have a session for ‘Exchange of views between the PSC and the AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns’. This session is envisaged to be open to all AU member states. Considering the 2020 timeline for silencing the guns, this session offers good opportunity for taking stoke of the progress made, if any, the remaining challenges towards achieving the targets of the AU Master Roadmap of Practical Steps on Silencing the Guns and the changes required.
The next session of the PSC scheduled on 14 February focuses on the consideration and adoption of the draft PSC Program of Work for the month of March 2019.
On 15 February, the PSC plans to consider and adopt the new Concept of Operations (CONOPS) of AMISOM, a session carried forward from January. This session may however be brought forward to the early days of the week of 4 February. It is to be recalled that the PSC at its 806th session expressed its expectation to the consideration and adoption of the new revised CONPOPs of AMISOM. This was developed within the framework of the AMISOM Operational Readiness Assessment (ORA) and the process on the reconfiguration of AMISOM including the anticipated reduction of its size by 1000 troops by February 2019.
The only fully open session of the PSC is planned on 19 February. Interestingly, the focus of the session is on climate change funding in line with the Africa Adaptation Initiative (IAA) to contribute to peace and security.
Carried forward from the January program, on 21 February the PSC plans to have a briefing session on the situation in Darfur and the reconfiguration of UNAMID.
The next session on 26 February involves the quarterly briefing by CISSA on terrorism and violent extremism in Africa.
On 27 February, the PSC will have another session carried from its January program. PSC is scheduled to consider the Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of the A3 Draft Resolution on Financing. Following the last minute withdrawal of the A3 resolution from proceeding to voting on 21 December despite it being co-sponsored by about 90 UN member states, the matter was referred to the PSC for its direction. After discussing it as AOB on 24 December, the PSC requested the AU Commission to submit to it a report, outlining the issues encountered in the negotiation of the resolution. It is expected that the PSC will provide guidance on the parameters for negotiations in the UNSC in taking the resolution forward.
On the same day, the PSC will have a monthly review of the implementation of the harmonization of ACIRC into the ASF as per its decision on the Report and Recommendations of the Military Staff Committee on the Harmonization of ACIRC into the ASF.
In the last anticipated session on 28 February, the PSC is scheduled to have a session to review post- conflict reconstruction and development in Africa.
Briefing of the AU Ad hoc committee (C5) on South Sudan
Amani Africa
Date | 25 January, 2019
Tomorrow (25 January) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is scheduled to hold a briefing session. The briefing focuses on the AU High-Level Ad Hoc Committee of five countries from the five regions of the AU (C5) on South Sudan. It is anticipated that the chairperson of the C5, South Africa, will deliver the briefing report to the PSC.
The session is expected to enable the PSC to be updated on the activities of the C5. It is also expected to serve as an opportunity to clarify the terms of reference of the C5 and how its role can best be leveraged for supporting IGAD in the South Sudan peace process. It was during its 474th session that the PSC called for the establishment of an AU High-Level Ad-hoc Committee of Heads of State and Government, comprising one representative from each of the five regions of the Continent (C5). Initiated to enhance and scale up AU’s support to IGAD and its mediation efforts in South Sudan, the role expected of the C5, according to the terms of the communiqué of the 474th session of the PSC, is to ‘strengthen Africa’s support to (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) IGAD and assist the South Sudanese parties and stakeholders to achieve
durable peace in their country’.
Following consultations with the IGAD and the five regions, the AU Commission designated Algeria, Chad, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa as members of the High-Level Ad Hoc Committee. Welcoming the constitution of the C5, the summit level 484th session of the PSC held on 29 January
2015 encouraged the ‘committee to take all the necessary steps to enhance the IGAD-led mediation’. At its 494th session held on 30 March 2015, the PSC urged the C5 ‘to meet as early as possible to elaborate its terms of reference and determine its work plan in support of IGAD.’ It was only during the AU summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2015 that the C5 was officially launched.
Since that time, the C5 has for quite sometime had only a passive and episodic engagement in the South Sudan peace process. During the course of 2018, the C5 has come to assume an active and substantive engagement. In the briefing to the PSC, South Africa’s Ambassador Ndumiso Ntshinga is expected
to provide updates on the activities that the C5 has undertaken in pursing its role.
On 30 June 2018, the C5 held a summit level meeting on the margins of the AU summit held in Nouakchott, Mauritania. The meeting that South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired discussed the peace process in South Sudan and the issue of how to leverage and reinforce the role of the Committee vis-à-vis the work of IGAD.
In the communiqué that it adopted following the meeting, the ‘Ad-hoc Committee emphasized the added value of the Ad hoc Committee to the IGAD-led peace process and underscored the need for Africa to fully assume its responsibilities and create all requisite conditions for definitively ending the war in South Sudan’. Importantly, the communiqué called for ‘the elaboration of a roadmap to guide actions, including imposition of punitive measures against those who violate the ceasefire and obstruct the peace efforts.’ Following the signing of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (RACRSS) in September 2018, Ambassadors of members of the C5 held a meeting on 13 November 2018 with the Chairperson of the AU Commission to discuss on the role of the C5 in the implementation process of the R-ARCSS. Elevating the active role of the C5 further, the meeting underscored the importance of a filed visit by the C5 to South Sudan. A meeting that the C5 held with the Special Envoy of IGAD Ismail Wais on 19 November 2018 highlighted the need for Africa to accompany IGAD and the parties to the peace agreement for ensuring successful implementation of R-ACRSS. The meeting also agreed on two important course of action. The first and most important was the proposal for the C5 to sign as guarantors of the RARCSS.
It was also agreed that the C5 would undertake a visit to South Sudan on 2 December 2018. In a ceremony held on 21 November at the AU Commission headquarters, the C5 signed the RARCSS as guarantors. This has helped in writing the C5 into the R-ARCSS and assigning to it a role of guarantors of the peace agreement. As the briefing report would highlight, subsequently the Ambassadors of the C5 visited South Sudan on 1-5 December 2018. During the visit, the expectation of the C5 and indeed the AU to ensure the successful implementation of the peace agreement was underscored. Most importantly, the C5 were able to have first hand assessment of the challenges facing the implementation of R-ARCSS.
It is expected that the briefing will highlight the major issues facing the implementation of the RARCSS. It is to be recalled that the lack of trust between the leaders of the major parties and the problems in the security arrangement precipitated the collapse in July 2016 of the initial August 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS). Addressing this issue of the trust deficit in the political leadership remains an issue facing the R-ARCSS, which the C5 can work on to address. Other challenges observed include breaches of the ceasefire agreement, perpetration of violations against civilians and maintain the cohesion of the opposition groups signatory to the peace agreement. In a statement he delivered to the 3rd reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) board meeting held on 23 January, the Interim Chairperson A. Njoroge observed the split within the leadership of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), an umbrella body constituting the third group, in addition to President Salva Kiir, and SPLA-IO leader Riek Machar, to sign the R-ARCSS. Njoroge stated that ‘it should be made clear to all leaders of SSOA that what we have achieved so far must be well guarded, and we must not let our unity of purpose fragment through absence of dialogue.’ In terms of clarifying the role of the C5, there are several issues that need to be addressed. One and most important is the division of labor and the modalities for coordination and collaboration between the C5 and IGAD. This is particularly crucial for ensuring that no divergence emerges and there is a common approach in dealing with issues that arise in the implementation of the R-ARCSS. In the context of the elaboration of the terms of reference and program of work of the C5, another issue is whether and how the C5 plays a role, beyond providing political support, with respect to the implementation of specific elements of the peace agreement. Given that there is detailed matrix for the implementation of the R-ARCSS with timelines and responsibilities of different actors, the briefing is expected to highlight the areas where the C5 is best placed to make contribution in facilitating or taking a role in the implementation of the agreement. It is expected that one of the role that the C5 can play is in contributing to providing guidance in carrying out the AU’s assigned role with respect to the implementation of specific areas of the agreement, including notably in the establishment of the Transitional Justice institutions such as the Hybrid Court.
The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. This will help in defining the broad terms of reference of the C5 within the framework of the terms of the 474th session of the PSC and identify the areas from the R-ARCSS implementation matrix where the C5 is expected to have active role in supporting implementation. The PSC may also envisage the establishment of a consultative meeting as a framework for coordination the role and support of the C5 with IGAD.
Consideration of the report the MSC on the harmonization of ACIRC in the ASF
Amani Africa
Date | 8 January, 2019
Tomorrow (9 January) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is scheduled to have a session for consideration of the report of its Military Staff Committee (MSC) on the harmonization of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis (ACIRC) within the African Standby Force (ASF).
It is to be recalled that the PSC held a session for consideration of the summary of records of the MSC on 19 November. Following the meeting the PSC requested the MSC to submit to it a report building on the proposals outlined in the summary of records of the meeting of the MSC with inputs from member states.
ACIRC was put in place in 2013 as a gap filling measure for availing the AU a rapid response capability pending the full operationalization of the ASF. ACIRC became a reality in the following years, although it has not been used. Over the years divisions emerged over the role of ACIRC and its relationship with and implications on the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in general and the ASF in particular. While countries participating in ACIRC viewed it as availing the AU pragmatic capability for rapid response based on the concept of coalition of the willing organized around a lead nation, others came to view ACIRC as diverting attention from the operationalization of the ASF and carrying the risk of fragmenting or undermining the APSA framework. Some RECs/RMs, such as ECOWAS, ECCAS and EASFCOM, have in particular been critical of ACIRC both for lack of their participation in its establishment and for their exclusion in its operationalization and potential utilization.
The Specialized Technical Committee on Defense, Safety and Security (STCDSS), during its seventh meeting held on 14 January 2014 in Addis Ababa, recommended that both the ACIRC and the ASF RDC concepts should be harmonized to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure that the ACIRC assists in expediting the operationalization process of the RDC. In 2015, the Report of the Independent Panel of Experts’ Assessment of the African Standby Force recommended that the AU Commission ‘takes steps to harmonise and integrate the ACIRC into the ASF model, as an additional tool for further enhancing the AU’s capacity to respond rapidly to Scenario Six-type mass atrocity crimes, and that it be synchronised with the ASF’s national or stand-alone RDC (Rapid Deployment Capacity) model.’
Subsequently, the AU Assembly adopted decision 679 which called on all stakeholders to support the realization of the full operationalization of the ASF, and harmonization of the activities of ACIRC with the Framework of the ASF and enhance cooperation with all ad-hoc coalitions namely, the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram terrorist group, Group of Five Sahel Joint Force and the Regional Cooperation Initiative against the Lord’s Resistance Army (RCI-LRA), and requested the Commission to submit a plan on the harmonization of ACIRC into ASF, including steps to be taken by the AU and the Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention (RECs/RMs) to coordinate ad-hoc coalitions, within the context of Articles 13 and 16 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union.’
Despite the policy decisions, the actual implementation of the harmonization of ACIRC within the ASF has faced challenging questions of political, legal and resource preconditions. Various institutional, technical, human and financial inputs have been put in place for putting ACIRC in place. An ACIRC Planning Element (PLANELM) within the Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD) of the AU Commission in Addis Ababa has been established. Politically, it remains unclear that all ACIRC participating countries are convinced that ACIRC should merge into the ASF RDC. The legal issue pertains to the memorandum of understanding that the AU may need to sign with ACIRC members on the integration and use of their pledged capabilities within the ASF. It is also imperative that the harmonization addresses the question of what happens to the various technical, logistical and institutional resources, including the personnel making up the ACIRC PLANELM, currently servicing the ACIRC.
These were the issues that the 5 October meeting MSC considered with the Defense Attaché of the Congo chairing by virtue of the fact that Congo was the PSC chair of the month. The meeting of the MSC proposed the steps to be taken and the accompanying timeline for implementing the harmonization. The steps to be taken consist broadly of a) letter of appreciation by the AUC to ACIRC countries (for their contributions), and communication to AU member states (urging them to comply with Assembly decisions 679 and 695) and partners (notifying them of the merger of ACIRC and ASF), b) the legal process to be followed (in terms of review of existing legal frameworks between AU and ACIRC countries and reporting to the PSC in May 2019), and c) the approach to the re-deployment of the assets and resources of ACIRC into the ASF, and the measures to be taken at the level of the PSOD, RECs/RMs and finally the AU Assembly.
It has been noted during the 19 November session that the various steps are envisaged to run from November 2018 to February 2020 when the AU Assembly is expected to make final pronouncement. This has now been adjusted to reflect the time that has lapsed since November 2018. The integration of ACIRC into the ASF seems to fit the ongoing AU reform process that seeks to avoid duplication and ensure mainstreaming of efforts.
Yet, some of these issues such as the proposal on integrating the human resources of the ACIRC PLANLEM into PSOD are likely to trigger discussion from the perspective of the human resource regulations of the AU. It is however clear from the report of the MSC that the MSC ‘reached the consensus that the term ‘harmonization’, in the context of Assembly Decisions 679 and 695, means that ACIRC should be integrated within the ASF Framework.’
One of the issues that arose within the PSC has been the proposal from some member states for the ACIRC volunteering countries to put their capabilities at the disposal of the AU for use within the framework of the ASF. The emerging view that seems to be carrying weight in the PSC is that these are capabilities availed voluntarily and could not be made binding without the consent of the volunteering states.
The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC may endorse the proposed steps in the report with a request for the AUC to report periodically on progress.
PSC Program of Work for January 2019
Amani Africa
Date | January 2019
Equatorial Guinea assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of January 2019. Other than the meetings of the Military Staff Committee (MSC) and the Committee of Experts of the PSC, the PSC program of work for the month anticipates some seven substantive sessions. No open session is scheduled. Much of the substantive agenda of the provisional program reflect sessions from the AU Commission.
The PSC program of work starts on 8 January with a meeting of the MSC to finalize its report on the harmonization of the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis (ACIRC) with in the African Stand-by Force (ASF) based on the guidance given from the PSC session of 18 December.
On 9 January, the PSC is scheduled to consider the Report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of the A3 Draft Resolution on Financing. Following the last minute withdrawal of the A3 resolution from proceeding to voting on 21 December despite it being co-sponsored by about 90 UN member states, the matter was referred to the PSC for its direction. After discussing it as AOB on 24 December, the PSC requested the AU Commission to submit to it a report, outlining the issues encountered in the negotiation of the resolution. It is expected that the PSC will provide guidance on the parameters for negotiations in the UNSC in taking the resolution forward.
As per the conclusion of the 18 December session of the PSC on the subject, on 10 January the PSC is scheduled to consider the Report and Recommendations of the MSC on the Harmonization of ACIRC into the ASF. It is expected that the PSC will adopt the recommendations on the steps to be taken towards harmonization and the accompanying timeline for implementing the various steps.
During the same session on 1o January, the PSC is also expected to consider and adopt the Indicative Annual Programme of Activities of the AU PSC for 2019.
On 14 January, the PSC session is envisaged to have two agenda items. First, the PSC will have a briefing session on the situation in Darfur and on UNAMID. The second agenda item involves the consideration and adoption of the draft program of work of the PSC for the month of February 2019.
On 17 January the Committee of Experts of the PSC are scheduled to start considering the two reports of the PSC that will be submitted to the AU summit expected to take place in early February. These reports are the PSC report on its activities and the state of peace and security in Africa and the progress report on silencing the guns by 2020.
The following day on 18 January, the PSC is scheduled to have a session for ‘Exchange of views between the PSC and the AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns and the High Representative for Financing’.
On 22 January, the PSC session is envisaged to have two agenda items. It is to be recalled that the PSC had a retreat on the study on the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA) held on 29-31 October in Cairo, Egypt. The first item during this session is accordingly to consider the outcome of the Cairo retreat, which is expected to focus on the areas proposed for the reform of the PSC. The second agenda item of the session is for consideration and adoption of the Conclusions of the 6th High Level Seminar, held in Nairobi, Kenya on 12-15 December 2018.
The following day on 23 January, the Committee of Experts of the PSC will meet again to consider the two draft reports that the PSC will submit to the AU Assembly.
On 24 January the PSC will meet for consideration and adoption of the new concept of operations (CONOPs) of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). It is to be recalled that the PSC at its 806th session expressed its expectation to the consideration and adoption of the new revised CONPOPs of AMISOM. This was developed within the framework of the AMISOM Operational Readiness Assessment (ORA) and the process on the reconfiguration of AMISOM including the anticipated reduction of its size by 1000 troops by February 2019.
On 25 January, the AU ad hoc Committee of five member states on South Sudan is scheduled to brief the PSC. As the first such briefing by the Committee, this is reflective of the active role that the Committee has come to take in the South Sudan peace process.
In the last anticipated session on 28 January, the PSC is scheduled to have a session to consider its two reports namely, the report on its activities and the state of peace and security in Africa and the progress report on the AU roadmap on silencing the guns by 2020.
