PSC field visits and follow up on their outcomes
Amani Africa
Date |12 June, 2018
Tomorrow (12 June) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) will have a session focusing on PSC field missions and the follow up to the outcome of the filed missions. The PSC Secretariat is expected to provide inputs. During the past two months the PSC undertook field missions to Sudan, Darfur and South Sudan.
Field visit has become part of the working methods of the PSC with the adoption of the Conclusions of the Yaoundé Retreat of the PSC held on 15-16 November 2012. The Conclusions provided that members agreed to ‘the need to undertake field missions, especially to the conflict areas’. The following year the PSC undertook field visits to a number of major conflict zones, notably Darfur in Sudan, Goma in the eastern DRC, Mogadishu in Somalia and Abyei in South Sudan, making the visits in 2013 the highest number of visits undertaken by the PSC in one calendar year.
The PSC field visits serve a wide range of purposes in terms of the effective implementation of the PSC Protocol. They provide PSC members first hand insights on the conflict parties, the nature of the conflict and indeed the security and humanitarian impact of particular conflicts. Such insights would help PSC members to have a more effective participation in the policy deliberations of the PSC on the specific conflict situations. Field visits can also play a role of supporting ongoing efforts for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts including mediation and peace-making efforts as well as peace support operations. In an ongoing conflict, field visits, if implemented effectively and are accompanied by follow up action, which can help in reducing violence.
Despite the fact that the field visits have become part of the PSC working methods, the details that could guide field visits are not elaborated in any of the subsequent retreats of the PSC. As a result, the role of field visits, the choice and timing of the places for field visits, the drafting and consideration of the reports including their publication and the mechanism for their follow up are yet to be properly clarified.
The current practice shows that PSC field visits are organized based on specific terms of reference. Often, the PSC Chair of the Month decides on the choice and inclusion of field visit in the monthly program of work of the PSC. For the field missions undertaken in the past two months, the visits were undertaken at a time different from the periods proposed in the program of the month.
In terms of best practice, the PSC Secretariat has started issuing statements on the field visits. When the PSC commenced its field visit to South Sudan, the AU issued a press statement outlining the purpose of the visit, how it relates to ongoing efforts for resolution of the conflict and the places that the PSC would travel to during its field visit in South Sudan. Even more interesting is the fact that the PSC Secretariat issued press release on PSC’s field visit to Sudan two times. The first time was on 7 May 2018 after its arrival and commencement of the filed visit. Apart from providing the itinerary of the PSC, it highlighted the various stakeholders the PSC plans to interact with. As the press statement for the field visit to South Sudan, this one also indicated the significance of the timing of the field visit.
It can also be gathered from these recent visits that timing of visits is generally tied with significant developments relating to the conflict situation. While the visit to South Sudan comes at a time when the sub-regional body the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has been trying to have the peace process back on track with its High-Level Revitalization Process, the visit to Sudan is linked to the ongoing process on the review and downsizing of the UN-AU Hybrid Mission to Darfur (UNAMID).
Another good practice is the preparation of the field visits report and its presentation to and consideration by the PSC. This is very critical. The report helps not only in documenting the information gathered during the field visit but also in informing the follow up to the field visits.
Currently, the PSC field visit reports are not made public. This is in part a result of the lack of detailed guideline on the PSC filed visits including the status of the field visit reports. Importantly however there is ongoing debate in the PSC on whether the report should include everything that the PSC gathered during its interactions with various stakeholders. There are members of the PSC who do not seem comfortable with the inclusion of certain details owing to the fact that they ring too intrusive and may undermine the sovereignty of the country concerned.
Apart from the foregoing issues on clarifying the mechanics of the organization and outcome of PSC field visits, in tomorrow’s session the PSC would also reflect on the outcome of its field visits. In this respect issues for consideration include timeline for finalizing the PSC decisions and follow up on the implementation of the decisions. Given the importance of field visits and the expanding richness of the PSC practice on field visits, the outcome of tomorrow’s session may include the formulation of the relevant practices into PSC working methods as guidelines on the conduct and outcome of PSC field visits.
Provisional Program of Work of the PSC for June 2018
Amani Africa
Date | June 2018
Sierra Leone assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of June when the monthly program of work of the PSC commences on 1st of June. Compared to the last two months and owing to the African Union (AU) summit, the June program is relatively light. The plan includes six substantive sessions and other sessions for consideration of the report on the activities of the PSC to be submitted to the AU summit, taking place from 25 June.
The program of the month starts with an open session on ‘the Delimitation and Demarcation of Boundaries in Africa the way forward to resolve interstate Conflict in Africa’. The meeting
commemorates the Africa Border Day, which is celebrated on 7 June. The African Union Border Program (AUBP) of the Peace and Security Department (PSD) will brief the session. The informal consultative discussions between the PSC Committee of Experts and the UNSC Experts will take much of the first week of the month. The event that will take place in New York from 4-8 June will discuss range of issues including the institutionalization of the relationship between the two bodies and the preparation for the annual consultative meeting between the PSC and the UNSC scheduled for July 2018.
On 11 June the PSC will to hold a session on two agenda items. The first is on the PSC field missions and follow up on implementation of decisions from missions. The second item is consideration and adoption of the provisional program of work for the month of July, this is important considering that the end of June would be taken up by activities of the AU summit.
On 12 June the PSC will have its session on UNAMID and the renewal of its mandate. Building on the early April joint visit to Darfur and UNAMID by Smaïl Chergui, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Peace and Security and Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, and the PSC field mission to Sudan that took place from 5 to 9 May 2018, this session will consider the special report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Secretary General of the UN on the Strategic Review of the UNAMID.
The PSC will receive a briefing on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 13 June. Recent events of instability and the status of preparation and the conditions for holding the muchanticipated national elections are expected to dominate the agenda. It is during the course of June that the candidatures for the presidential elections will be known. Following this items, the 13 June meeting will also look at the preparations for the PSC’s 12th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting with the UNSC. This is expected to focus on the agenda for the consultative meeting.
On 18 June, the PSC will meet on two agenda items. The first will consider the Draft Report of the Peace and Security Council on its Activities and the State of Peace and Security in Africa. This report will look at the status and updates of major conflict situations on the continent and the outcome of the various activities of the PSC. The Draft Report of the PSC on the Implementation of the AU Master Roadmap of the Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa by the year 2020. These two reports will feature again on the 21 June meeting of the PSC.
In commemoration of African Refugee Day, the PSC is scheduled to hold the second open session of the month on Refugee Protection, Migration and Human Rights in Africa on 20 June. The last session of the PSC is scheduled to convene on 30 June 2018 on the sidelines of the AU summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania. As a follow up to Heads of State meeting of the High Level Ad Hoc Committee of five African states expected to take place earlier on 30 June, this session will review the situation in South Sudan in terms of the implementation of the PSC Communiqué [PSC/MIN/COMM.(DCCXX) adopted at its 720 meeting held on 20 September 2017.
Briefing on the delimitation and demarcation of boundaries in Africa to resolve inter-state conflict in Africa
Amani Africa
Date | 31 May, 2018
Delimitation and demarcation of boundaries
Tomorrow (1 June) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) will have an open session under the theme ‘Delimitation and demarcation of boundaries in Africa the way forward to resolve interstate conflict in Africa’. The PSC is expected to receive a briefing and report on the theme from Frederic
Gateretse-Ngoga, Acting Head of the Conflict Early Warning and Prevention Division of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Department (PSD).
This session aims at providing members of the PSC update on the work being undertaken by the AU Borders Programme (AUBP), which was established in 2007 on the basis of the Declaration on the African Union Border Programme. It is also a session that is convened to mark the Africa Border
Day that is annually marked on 7 June.
The briefing from Gateretse-Ngoga is also expected to highlight not only the increasing importance of African borders for peace and security and regional integration but also the challenges facing the PSD in implementing the mandate of the AUBP. The briefing providing update on the progress in
the implementation of the AUBP is organized and will be presented around the five areas of work of the AUBP, with emphasis on the theme of the agenda for the session. The first, which is the main focus of tomorrow’s session, is delimitation and demarcation of boundaries.
As an instrument for promotion of peace and structural prevention of conflicts, Gateretse-Ngoga’s update is anticipated to highlight the work of the AUBP in supporting increasing numbers of AU
member states in the delimitation and demarcation of their interstate borders. While it is reported
that only a third of Africa’s 83,000 km of African interstate land borders are demarcated, it is interesting to note that since 2016, some 1592 km of borders have been delimitated and demarcated within the framework of the AUBP. Currently, more than 20 Member States are conducting operations to clarify their common boundaries whether they are lake, river, land or maritime borders. As its work on the border issues between Sudan and South Sudan shows, the AUBP also supports conflict resolution efforts. In support of the AUHIP, the technical team of the AUBP completed in March 2018 the first phase of the process of the marking of the ten crossing points along the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone (SDBZ) between South Sudan and Sudan with the marking of three crossing points.
Various factors including the presence of mineral and hydrocarbon resources, the rising demand for land and other resources due to population increase and climate change, the increasing need to
secure borders from terrorist and criminal networks are increasingly making delimitation and demarcation of boundaries key to preventing border conflicts and implementing cross border cooperation. Despite this, the level of member states’ engagement in delimitation and demarcation of their joint borders remains unsatisfactory. The percentage of the delimitation and demarcation of African borders remain low. Additionally, the AUBP intervenes only when all the states concerned agree to it.
Despite the amount of delimitation and demarcation work that has been done thus far and currently under way, there is concern that the new timeline of having African boundaries fully delimited and demarcated by 2022 would again be missed. Underscoring the importance of delimitation and demarcation for both security and regional socio-economic cooperation, member states would be encouraged to deliminate and demarcate their common border. In this respect, major issues that require attention in tomorrow’s session include the identification of the various factors that impeded delimitation and demarcation in the previous deadlines and the development of a realistic plan to address them.
Apart from sharing their experience, PSC members are expected to recognize the increasing risks associated with non-delimitation and demarcation of borders and the challenges arising from the
porous nature of the borders of many AU member states. In this context, issues requiring attention
include the need for initiating conflict prevention measures with respect to those borders facing
major threats and the beefing up of not only border security but also over all border management
capacities that ensure secure cross border cooperation and regional integration.
Tomorrow’s session and this year’s celebration of the Africa Border Day have come at a time when the AU witnessed landmark legal and policy developments. Notably, The adoption at the
extraordinary summit of the AU held in March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda of the African Continental
Free Trade Area (CFTA) and the Protocol to the Abuja Treaty on Free Movement of Persons, Rights
of Residence and Establishment is major development that brings African borders to the center of
AU’s push for regional integration. Indeed, key to the successful implementation of these instruments is the management by member states of their borders including in terms of delimitation and demarcation, policing, cross border cooperation and infrastructural development. It is thus of interest to PSC member states how the AUBP contributes for addressing the security, border policing and management capacity and other issues that can impede the CFTA and the Protocol on Free Movement of Persons.
Within the framework of its work on cross border cooperation, the AUBP supports various initiatives including the establishment of bilateral border agreements, facilitation of dialogue,
security cooperation and local development activities and cross border service infrastructure in the
common border areas of member states. The AUBP also promotes the ratification, domestication
and implementation of the AU Convention on Cross-border Cooperation (Niamey Convention) of
2014. The briefing will note that the Convention have been signed by fifteen countries and ratified
by only five. In this context, the importance and necessity of ratifying and implementing the Niamey
Convention as key instrument for pursuing the objectives of the CFTA and the Protocol on Free
Movement of Persons are issues that also deserve attention during the deliberation in tomorrow’s
session.
Other areas of work with respect of which the report highlights progress since the last report of June 2017 are capacity building, national and regional border policies and strategies, coordination within the AU and with Regional Economic Communities/ Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs). The work
done in these areas also show that the AUBP is serving as instrument for strengthening of the
capacities of personnel in charge of border issues and development of national and regional border
policies and strategies.
The expected outcome of tomorrow’s session is a press statement. The statement is expected to urge member states to ratify and domesticate the Niamey Convention as key instrument of regional
integration including for the effective implementation of the CFTA and the Protocol on Free
Movement of Persons. It would also underscore the role of the AUBP to address the various security
and border related issues for speeding up the ratification and implementation of these instruments.
In terms of conflict prevention, it may underscore the need to monitor and identify major risks of
border conflicts for timely deployment of preventive measures.
Illicit flow and financing of arms in Africa
Amani Africa
Date | 23 May, 2018
Illicit flow and financing of arms in Africa: Sources of conflict and impediment to silencing the guns’
Tomorrow (24 May) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) will have a briefing session on the theme of ‘Illicit flow and financing of arms in Africa: Sources of conflict and impediment to silencing the guns’. The PSC is expected to receive a briefing from the Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) and the AU Peace and Security Department (PSD), particularly its division on Defense and Security. Others who will participate in this session include members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and representatives of Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs).
This session is convened within the framework of the 430th meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council, held on 24 April 2014 under the theme ‘Silencing the Guns: Pre-requisites for Realising a Conflict-Free Africa by the Year 2020’ which identified the curbing of illicit flow of light and small weapons as one of the measures requested for achieving the AU agenda of silencing the guns by 2020. As reflected in the agenda for this session, this session is designed to support the efforts of the AU to achieve its aim of silencing the guns and adopt decisions identifying measures that help in preventing illicit flow of arms and its financing.
One of the aims of the session is to understand current dynamics in the flow of arms and their financing in Africa. The briefing from RECSA is expected to provide insights on patterns and trends in arms and ammunition inflows, illicit circulation, and gaps in control measures. It is in particular expected to share the experience of the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes regions in terms of both the challenges these regions face due to illicit flows and financing of arms and the measures being taken to address these challenges.
The briefing from PSD is expected to highlight the role of illicit flow of arms in fueling and sustaining conflicts, in the displacement of peoples, in disrupting development efforts and the scale and nature of casualties inflicted on civilians. In this regard, mention can be made of how the illicit flow of arms from Libya in the aftermath of the collapse of Col Gadhafi’s regime fueled the conflict in Mali and the surge in acts of terrorism and groups engaged in such acts in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin regions of Africa. It is also worth noting that the changing character of conflicts in Africa that witnessed the proliferation of small and poorly organized militias, insurgents, terrorist groups and criminal networks is partly attributed to easy access to illicit flow of weapons.
At the AU level, the policy framework that serves as point of departure is the ‘African Common Position on illicit circulation, proliferation and trafficking of small and light weapons’ (SALW), also known as the Bamako Declaration of 2000. This declaration commits member states to identify, seize and destroy illicit weapons. In January 2017, the AU Assembly adopted the AU Master Roadmap on Practical Steps to Silence the Guns by 2020. As a follow up to this master roadmap, in September 2017 the PSC declared the month of September an amnesty month for the Surrender and Collection of Illicit Weapons. As noted in our ‘Insight’ on the PSC Field Mission to Sudan, Darfur, one of the stabilization efforts being implemented in Darfur is the collection of weapons.
At sub-regional levels, important normative and institutional developments have taken place, including with the adoption of binding treaties. These include the 2001 SADC Protocol, the 2004 Nairobi Protocol for the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa and Bordering States, the 2006 ECOWAS Convention, and the 2010 Central Africa Convention.
Member states of the PSC would expectedly share their experiences with respect to illicit flow and circulation of weapons as well as its consequences and their efforts to address the threat that illicit flow and circulation of SLWPs poses. In terms of the efforts of the AU, it would be of interest to PSC member states to know why illicit flow and circulation of weapons persist despite the various legal and institutional regimes put in place and the various interventions both at AU and regional levels.
For PSC member states and the wider AU system, this session presents an opportunity not only to take stock of the policy and institutional architecture but also the steps that are required for both enhancing the effectiveness of the legal and institutional regime for curbing illicit flow of SALW and implementing practical measures for countering illicit flow and circulation of SALW at national, regional, continental and global levels. With respect to the legal and institutional regimes, one of the major challenges remains to be non-ratification and lack of adherence to the measures stipulated in the various regional conventions. The universal ratification and implementation of these legal instruments is thus necessary. Regional level efforts should include the strengthening of the legaland security measures for cracking down entry pointes and trafficking routs, arms dealers, including the activities of brokers and the sources of financing of the illicit flow, sell and circulation of SALW.
There is a need for regionally targeted approach to the challenge of illicit flows. The nature of the problem and its manifestations are not the same in the different regions of the continent. It is necessary in this regard that targeted interventions are designed and implemented in collaboration with RECs/RMs for parts of the continent most affected by the illicit flow and use of illicit weapons or arms. The measures to be taken in this regard include not only the strengthening of control measures and coordination between member states but also implementation of programs for collection of weapons and for the effectives physical security and management of stockpiles.
At the national level, issues that need attention include corruption and the strengthening of the regulatory measures for effective control, management and protection of SALW. Indeed, weak regulatory framework, including poor protection and management of stockpiles, and corruption often lead to diversion of legally sourced arms through leakages and raids by illegal non-state actors.
Given the global dimension of the movement and circulation of arms, the agenda for this session recognizes the need for the AU to work with international actors. In this respect, the agenda envisages a plan for the PSC, through its Chair with the support of the African members of the UNSC (A3) and the AU Commission, to brief the UNSC on Africa’s efforts for silencing the guns with a view to have a UNSC resolution calling on different arms producing countries to implement arms certification, including end user certification. Another avenue for effective follow up is the expected review of the UN Program of Action on small arms during 2018. The PSC can articulate African common position on this review addressing issues including transparency in small arms production and sell, the obligation of tight regulation and accountability measures by producing countries of the transfer of SALW and weapons registers as well as standardization of certification.
The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué.
Briefing on the Principles on the Protection of Civilians in conflict situations in Africa
Amani Africa
Date | 22 May, 2018
Briefing on the Principles on Protection of Civilians
Tomorrow (22 May) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) will receive a briefing on the principles on protection of civilians. The meeting is expected to receive a briefing from the AU Peace and Security Department and the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU).
As set out in the agenda for tomorrow’s session, one of the objectives of this session is to create more understanding among AU member states of the principles on the protection of civilians, also known as the Kigali Principles. The Kigali Principles on the Protection of Civilians are a set of eighteen pledges for the effective implementation of the protection of civilians in peace support operations. They emerged from the High-level International Conference on the Protection of Civilians held in Rwanda on 28-29 May 2015 in the run-up to the Leaders’ Summit on UN Peacekeeping. The event at which the principles were presented brought together the top 30 troop and police-contributing countries (T/PCCs) and the top 10 financial- contributing states of UN peace operations.
As its major contribution to the effectiveness of peacekeeping, for Rwanda this session presents useful avenue for not only promoting the principles but also secure the buy in of the AU system and AU members states. Some 40 countries have adopted the Kigali principles, of which 13 are AU member states. Framed from the perspective of T/PCCs and major peacekeeping financial contributors, the Kigali Principles aim at both enhancing ownership of the principles by T/PCCs and empowering T/PCCs and peace support operations in terms of their ability to effectively deliver on their protection of civilians responsibilities. In this sense, the principles could lead to better coordination between the filed and the dynamics at AU headquarters including in the PSC.
The AU has made conscious decision of making the protection of civilians a core task of its peace and security agenda, including its peace support operations. In 2010, the AU developed the draft guidelines on the protection of civilians. When the PSC adopted the mandate of the Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord’s Resistance Army (RCI-LRA), it tasked the force to ‘ensure the mainstreaming of the civilian protection in all military and security initiatives aimed at resolving the LRA problem’. In June 2012, the AU PSC issued a statement that stressed the importance of ‘mainstreaming’ PoC issues ‘in standard operating procedures of AU peace support operations’, and that ‘PoC must form part of the mandate of future AU missions’. In 2013, the draft guidelines informed the development and adoption of the Aide-memoire for the consideration of issues pertaining to the protection of civilians in Africa.
Apart from the points in the foregoing, the briefing from PSD is expected to highlight the various measures being taken for a comprehensive framework on the protection of civilians within the peace and security architecture of the AU. These include the elaboration of relevant guidelines including notably the draft AU policy on the Prevention and Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in AU PSOs and the Draft Conduct and Discipline Policy for AU PSOs. There is also the comprehensive assessment of the experience of AU peace operations vis-à-vis compliance with human rights, international humanitarian law and conduct and discipline standards. As noted in the 13 March 2018 session of the PSC, other dimensions of AU work include a child protection institutional framework or architecture and the work currently underway with respect to the women, peace and security agenda of the AU.
While the protection of civilians has become central component of AU peace and security work, delivering on this agenda has not always been easy for the AU and its peace support operations. The major issues faced in pursuing this civilian protection agenda include clearly formulated and contextually tailored civilian protection mandate, translation of the mandate into operational guidelines including diversity of perspectives, lack of clarity on what the civilian protection mandate entails both with respect to security measures and in terms of civilian tasks, the possession of the requisite skills and awareness by personnel, lack of resources in terms of supply of the requisite logistics and equipment, and the involvement of mission personnel in perpetration of abuses including sexual exploitation and abuse.
For PSC members and the AU broadly, the content of the Kigali principles and their value addition to existing protection of civilians agenda of the AU would be of particular interest. The Kigali principles address the various issues that affect not only the effective implementation of protection of civilians but also peace support operations mandate broadly. One such issue is training on protection of civilians, which underscores the responsibility of T/PCCs for ensuring the provision of training on protection of civilians before deployment. In underscoring the importance of the role of mission leaders in the implementation of the civilian protection mandate, principle 2 of the Kigali Principles provides troop-contributing states should ensure that their sector and contingent commanders, as well as their nominees for mission leadership positions, have a high level of training and preparedness on peacekeeping operations and, particularly, on the protection of civilians.
The use of force and rules of engagement are other items rightly addressed in various parts of the Kigali Principles. The principles emphasize the need for personnel to be prepared to use force as necessary and within the mandate and to act, in accordance with the rules of engagement, where the host government does not show capacity or willingness to protect civilians. On the rules of engagement, principle 9 underscores the need for seeking clarity on the rules of engagement including on the circumstances under which use of force is permitted.
Other issues covered in the Kigali Principles include caveats, delays in response and rapid deployment; resources and capabilities; respect for human rights and IHL and conduct and discipline as well as accountability of personnel; and consultations in the development and review of mandates. Clearly, in emphasizing discipline and accountability of personnel, the Kigali principles highlight the challenges to protection emanate not only from the external sources of threat and the limitations affecting peace support operations but also at times from those that are mandated and expected to protect them from other threats.
The expected outcome of the session is a statement. Apart from calling on AU member states to endorse the principles, the statement is expected to provide for the dissemination of the principles among AU member states in the context of the ongoing efforts for the operationalization of the African Standby Force. Given their major contribution on enhancing the role of T/PCCs, the use of the Kigali principles by the AU, Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) not only as useful benchmark in engaging with member states but also as useful means for empowering T/PCC’s in shaping and effectively implementing the civilian protection agenda is also expected to be part of the outcome. The outcome is also expected to underscore the importance of ownership of the principles by member states particularly T/PCCs for guiding their actions in the protection of civilians including protection of educational and health infrastructure and personnel.
