African Free Movement of People
Amani Africa
Date | 11 May, 2018
Session on free movement of people and migration crisis
Tomorrow (11 May) the PSC will hold its session on the African free movement of people and the migration crisis. This is now one of the themes that Rwanda champions within the AU system. It is to be recalled that in last year’s 21 July session on the same theme, on which today’s session builds, Rwanda addressed the PSC in its capacity as Chair of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) on Free Movement of People in Africa and Mitigating Security Impediments.
During this session, the PSC is expected to once again receive briefings from the CISSA. Additional briefings are expected from the Departments of Political Affairs and Peace and Security. Others expected to make statements include representatives of Regional Economic Communities /Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs). It is the third session of the PSC focusing on this theme during the past year and half.
This session comes on the heels of the successful extraordinary summit that was held on 21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda during which the AU Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Rights of Residence and Establishment was adopted. The briefing from the Department of Political Affairs, the AU Commission’s department that was responsible for the elaboration of the Protocol, would focus on sustaining the momentum on the signing of the Protocol and on addressing the concerns that member states, particularly those who did not sign the Protocol, have. Given the large number of member states (27) that signed the Protocol, discussions are expected to focus also on how to expand signature and accelerate its ratification. In this regard, the AU Commission is expected to provide updates to the PSC on its plans and strategy for promoting ratification.
During this session, member states are expected to share their experiences on the economic benefits of cross border movement of peoples, including for peace and security. In this respect the PSC is expected to commend member states who provide for a regime that allows issuance of visas for Africans on arrival. This session would also assess the status of implementation of the AU Assembly decision of July 2016 [Assembly/AU/Dec.607 (XXVII)]. In this respect, an issue of particular importance relates to the issuance of an African passport by member states and steps that should be taken to make progress.
Particular attention is also expected to be given on the security related challenges associated, in fact or perception, with free movement of peoples and how best these challenges would be addressed, including through enhanced security cooperation. This is an area that CISSA and the Department of Peace and Security are expected to provide analysis of the risks, potential or actual, which is often associated with free movement of people. It would also highlight the actions and processes that is required of member states, including the enhancement of their institutional and regulatory capacity to facilitate the free movement of people.
TThis session is also expected to underscore that free moment of persons is one of the crucial parts in efforts aimed at deepening continental integration as outlined in Agenda 2063. In sharing their experiences, RECs/RMs such as the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) and the East African Community are expected to share regional best practices and mechanisms to address the security threats associated with free movement of people.
Another area expected to receive attention is the so-called the African migration crisis. Understandably, this would highlight not only the tragedy befalling African migrants as they travel within the continent across difficult terrains of the Sahara and Mediterranean Sea. But also it is expected to underscore the importance of the Protocol on the free movement of people for addressing the crisis as well.
AnotherThe expected outcome of the meeting is a press statement. It is anticipated that it would welcome the adoption of the Protocol on the Freedom of Movement and urge member states to ratify it. Importantly, the outcome of the session is expected to endorse and support initiatives notably those at the level of CISSA and the AU Commission to address the security concerns that continue to impede efforts of member states towards free movement of people. The PSC would also indicate how it plans to follow up on this agenda, although it is remains unclear if this theme would become a standing thematic agenda of the PSC.
AU-UN Special Report on the Strategic Review of UNAMID and the renewal of its mandate
Amani Africa
Date | 11 May, 2018
Tomorrow (11 May) the Peace and Security Council (PSC) will hold a session on the Special Report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the UN Secretary-General on the Strategic Review of the UN/AU Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The PSC will also consider the renewal of the mandate of UNAMID whose current mandate ends on 30 June.
Ademore Kambudzi, Acting Head of the Peace and Security Department is expected to deliver a statement on behalf of Smail Chergui, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security. The Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of UNAMID Jeremiah Mamabolo is also scheduled to brief the PSC. The agenda for the session anticipates the participation in this session of the UN office to the AU (UNOAU) and representatives of the African members (A3) of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the five permanent members of the UNSC. The Government of Sudan is also expected to make statement emphasizing the need for supporting the stabilization of Darfur and to this end for putting Darfur on the agenda of the UN Peacebulding Commission. Although much of the ongoing UN efforts in ending and reducing its peacekeeping operations is a result of the push from the US for budget cuts, the US seem to have concern over setting a final timeline for finalizing the withdrawal of UNAMID, which it is expected to raise during its intervention tomorrow.
During the session, the PSC is expected to make an assessment of the progress made in the review and reconfiguration of UNAMID. Currently, phase two of the reconfiguration of the mission running until end of June is underway. The repatriation of three infantry battalions from the mission handing over the team sites to formed police units has been ongoing, with the repatriation of the two battalions from Rwanda and Senegal. As the delay in the departure of the third battalion from Ethiopia until the end of June for addressing prevailing security conditions shows, there is a level of flexibility required in the implementation of the reconfiguration of UNAMID. With the closure also of three military sector headquarters (Sectors East, North and West) during this second phase, the force will be left with two sectors the Jebel Marra Task Force, with its headquarters at Zalingei, and the State Security Assistance Force, with its headquarters at Nyala.
In the statement of the PSD, Kambudzi is expected to highlight the progress made including in terms of the security situation in Darfur, while noting the remaining security challenges in Darfur
including the intermittent clashes pitting the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid faction against government forces and nomads in the Jebel Marra area. The statement would also underscore the need for full political settlement, peacebuilding initiatives and the responsibility that the Government of Sudan bears for taking initiatives for addressing the root causes and remaining legacies of the conflict in Darfur.
Apart from updating the PSC on the efforts of UNAMID to deal with the current security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, Mamabolo’s briefing is expected to address the status of the implementation of the second phase of the reconfiguration of UNAMID. It is also anticipated to address UNAMID’s expectations on its mandate and on its plan on the implementation of its mandate while implementing its phased withdrawal during the coming year. In April, the Joint AU-UN Strategic Review of UNAMID undertook a two-week visit to Sudan. Apart from considering a new mission concept with adjusted priorities, the review has culminated in the special report of AUC Chairperson and UN Secretary-General finalized on 1 June.
The Special Report provides an analysis of the conflict, highlighting the current security situation and conflict drivers in Darfur, the political and humanitarian situation, as well as the development needs critical for avoiding a relapse into conflict. Importantly, the report provides details on the redefined priorities of UNAMID focusing on protection of civilians and mediation both of the political process between government and non-signatory armed forces on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and at the local level to address inter-communal and other local conflicts. It also envisages a limited area of operation for UNAMID, with the withdrawal and liquidation of UNAMID set to end in December 2020.
In its deliberation, the PSC will also benefit from the filed visit that the it undertook to Sudan from 5 to 9 May and the briefing that it received in April from Smail Chergui and Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under Secretary-General for Peacekeeping on their joint visit to Darfur. From both the briefings it received from Chergui and Lacroix and its filed visit, the PSC has established that the security situation in Darfur has stabilized. Most notable in this regard is the cessation of direct hostilities between government forces and armed rebel groups in Darfur. The implementation of the weapons collection campaign of the government seems to be limiting militias and bandits from freely using their weapons and thereby contributing further to the improvement of the security situation.
Despite such improvements, concerns remain. There are incidents of inter-communal violence leading to major displacement of civilians. Over 11,000 civilians fled their homes to IDP camps following inter-communal clashes in Jebel Marra area in April. Another source of threat for civilians comes from attacks from armed militias and criminals. Apart from the lack of full political settlement and of resolution of the underlying causes and the legacies of the armed conflicts, there are also incidents of clashes relating to the compulsory collection of weapons. There are members of the PSC who may require clarification about plans for addressing the concerns that IDPs expressed to PSC members during its field visit to Darfur over the withdrawal of UNAMID. Despite supporting the December 2020 timeline for the final liquidation of UNAMID, it is also expected that AU PSD and PSC members would call for flexibility in terms of both the implementation of the withdrawal plan and the area of operation of UNAMID until 2020. On both counts, the expectation is that the process should allow adequate space for UNAMID to address changes that may arise in the security situation in Darfur. This would entail that UNAMID continues to have a wider area of operation than envisaged in the Special Report.
In terms of measures to be taken for preventing the withdrawal of UNAMID from creating security vacuum, as has been noted earlier, the Government of Sudan, while pushing for UNAMID’s withdrawal, has sent a request to the Secretary-General to have Darfur under the UN Peacebuilding Commission mandate. Indications are that some permanent members of the UNSC may not support that, while it is expected to receive the support of members of the PSC as one measure for preventing return of the armed conflict in Darfur. The outcome of the session will be a communiqué. This will present the PSC’s appreciation of the current security and humanitarian situation in Darfur and its assessment of the implementation of the reconfiguration of UNAMID. While welcoming the Special Report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Secretary General of the UN on the Strategic Review of UNAMID including the December 2020 end date for completion of the liquidation of UNAMID, the PSC could also articulate its expectations on the modalities of implementation of the revised concept of operation of UNAMID. Its endorsement of the process of withdrawal would come with a caveat of its plan to continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action that developments on the ground warrant. The PSC would also renew the mandate of UNAMID for another twelve month. The role that the AU could play in supporting the stabilization process in Darfur including in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and security sector reform and the steps to be taken in this respect including the conduct of a needs assessment are also matters that could feature in the outcome of this session.
PSC Briefing on the AU Peace Fund
Amani Africa
Date | 02 May, 2018
Tomorrow (2 May) the PSC will hold a briefing session on the AU Peace Fund. The AU Special Envoy on the Financing of the African Union (AU) and the Peace Fund, Donald Kaberuka, will brief the PSC providing updates on the status of operationalization of the Peace Fund.
The AU Assembly at its 24th and 25th Ordinary Sessions adopted decisions expressing the agreement of AU member states to contribute 25% of the financing for AU peace and security efforts, including peace support operations. In its Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.605(XXVII) on the financing of the Union adopted at its 27th Ordinary Session held in July 2016 in Kigali, which decided to endow the AU Peace Fund with $400m by 2020.In this session the Special Envoy will update the PSC on the progress made in the contribution of member states to the Peace Fund.
Although implementation was meant to start as of 2017, the F10+ (the Committee of the 15 Finance Ministers) decided a transitional period with a target amount of $65 million for the Peace Fund for the year 2017. Of this amount, some $40 million has thus far been collected. Issues of interest for member states in this regard include when and how the amount collected would start to be used and the institutional and decision-making measures required to this end. Also of interest to PSC members is the strategy for realizing the collection of both the full initial targeted amount and the July 2016 decision to endow the Peace Fund with $400m by 2020. In this respect, the briefing session is expected to note the January 2018 summit decision that ‘member states annual contributions to the Peace Fund shall be made on the basis of the AU Scale of Assessment’. It is expected that the AU would have a new scale of assessment from 2019.
It is to be recalled that the PSC at its 30 May 2017 session decided the Peace Fund to have three (3) thematic windows, namely Mediation and Preventive Diplomacy; Institutional Capacity; and Peace Support Operations, as well as the Crisis Reserve facility provided for in Article 21 (4) of the PSC protocol and envisaged to fund rapid response to emergency crisis. As a follow up to that, this session is expected to highlight progress made in organizing the Peace Fund around these three windows in particular in terms of determining the scope and eligibility criteria for the windows.
Another area that Kaberuka’s briefing would provide update on is the progress in the establishment and operationalization of the various institutional set up and governance structures of the Peace Fund as well as legal instruments including financial rules governing the fund. In terms of the legal instruments, the briefing is expected to inform the PSC that a Peace Fund Instrument codifying the enhanced governance and management arrangements was developed and reviewed by AU Legal Counsel in August 2017 and has since been adopted in the January 2018 AU summit decision Assembly/AU/ Dec.9(XXX).
As endorsed by the May 2017 PSC session and the July 2017 Summit of the AU Assembly, the institutional set up and governance structures of the PSC envisage both political level role players and the strategic and operational governance structures of the Peace Fund.
Political oversight lies with the PSC with the support of the AU Commission Chairperson. As these structures and their roles are already in operation including in terms of mandating and decision-making authority, much of the work in terms of institutional set up and governance structures relate to the establishment and operationalization of the structures that ensure transparent and efficient administration of the fund and the running of the day to day operations of the Peace Fund. The first of these structures is the Board of Trustees.
As proposed in Kaberuka’s report on the revitalization of the Peace Fund, the Board of Trustees consist of the Chair and Deputy Chair of the AUC, the Commissioner for Peace and Security and non-executive members of eminent persons on peace and security and up to two non-African partners contributing to the peace fund. The briefing for this session is expected to inform the PSC on the progress made both in the consultations of the AU Commission Chair with the deans of the five regions of Africa on the identification of African members of the Board of Trustees and generally in elaborating the terms of reference and constituting the membership of the Board. Other structures envisaged included the independent evaluation group in respect of which the status of nomination of the group would be of interest in this session.
While at strategic level, the AUC Chairperson assisted by an Executive Management Committee oversees the operations of the Fund, at the operational level, it is envisaged that the Peace Fund would have its own secretariat. The structural proposals for the establishment of the secretariat is envisaged to be considered as part of the ongoing AU reform process during the course of this year.
This is indeed one of the items on which this briefing is expected to shed some light in terms of where the process stands and when the secretariat is expected to be operational.
There are also other areas the briefing is anticipated to touch on. One such area is the human rights and code of conduct compliance framework for AU peace operations. Related to this and particularly important is the follow up to the PSC’s request to the AUC Chair and the Special Envoy to take forward the political engagement with United Nations and relevant partners. This in particular concerns the adoption by the UN of ‘a substantive Resolution that establishes the principle that AU mandated or authorized PSOs authorized by the UN Security Council should be financed through UN assessed contributions, with decisions on the financing of specific missions to be taken on a case by case basis towards securing a substantive UNSC resolution on these issues’.
The expected outcome of the briefing session is a communiqué. Apart from endorsing items as may be proposed in the briefing such as on the utilization of funds in the Peace Fund, it would build on the 30 May 2017 communiqué on areas for further follow up not only on the operationalization of the structures of the Peace Fund but also on the substantive resolution expected from the UN.
PSC Briefing on the AU Peace Fund
Amani Africa
Date | 02 May, 2018
Tomorrow (2 May) the PSC will hold a briefing session on the AU Peace Fund. The AU Special Envoy on the Financing of the African Union (AU) and the Peace Fund, Donald Kaberuka, will brief the PSC providing updates on the status of operationalization of the Peace Fund.
The AU Assembly at its 24th and 25th Ordinary Sessions adopted decisions expressing the agreement of AU member states to contribute 25% of the financing for AU peace and security efforts, including peace support operations. In its Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.605(XXVII) on the financing of the Union adopted at its 27th Ordinary Session held in July 2016 in Kigali, which decided to endow the AU Peace Fund with $400m by 2020.In this session the Special Envoy will update the PSC on the progress made in the contribution of member states to the Peace Fund.
Although implementation was meant to start as of 2017, the F10+ (the Committee of the 15 Finance Ministers) decided a transitional period with a target amount of $65 million for the Peace Fund for the year 2017. Of this amount, some $40 million has thus far been collected. Issues of interest for member states in this regard include when and how the amount collected would start to be used and the institutional and decision-making measures required to this end. Also of interest to PSC members is the strategy for realizing the collection of both the full initial targeted amount and the July 2016 decision to endow the Peace Fund with $400m by 2020. In this respect, the briefing session is expected to note the January 2018 summit decision that ‘member states annual contributions to the Peace Fund shall be made on the basis of the AU Scale of Assessment’. It is expected that the AU would have a new scale of assessment from 2019.
It is to be recalled that the PSC at its 30 May 2017 session decided the Peace Fund to have three (3) thematic windows, namely Mediation and Preventive Diplomacy; Institutional Capacity; and Peace Support Operations, as well as the Crisis Reserve facility provided for in Article 21 (4) of the PSC protocol and envisaged to fund rapid response to emergency crisis. As a follow up to that, this session is expected to highlight progress made in organizing the Peace Fund around these three windows in particular in terms of determining the scope and eligibility criteria for the windows.
Another area that Kaberuka’s briefing would provide update on is the progress in the establishment and operationalization of the various institutional set up and governance structures of the Peace Fund as well as legal instruments including financial rules governing the fund. In terms of the legal instruments, the briefing is expected to inform the PSC that a Peace Fund Instrument codifying the enhanced governance and management arrangements was developed and reviewed by AU Legal Counsel in August 2017 and has since been adopted in the January 2018 AU summit decision Assembly/AU/ Dec.9(XXX).
As endorsed by the May 2017 PSC session and the July 2017 Summit of the AU Assembly, the institutional set up and governance structures of the PSC envisage both political level role players and the strategic and operational governance structures of the Peace Fund.
Political oversight lies with the PSC with the support of the AU Commission Chairperson. As these structures and their roles are already in operation including in terms of mandating and decision-making authority, much of the work in terms of institutional set up and governance structures relate to the establishment and operationalization of the structures that ensure transparent and efficient administration of the fund and the running of the day to day operations of the Peace Fund. The first of these structures is the Board of Trustees.
As proposed in Kaberuka’s report on the revitalization of the Peace Fund, the Board of Trustees consist of the Chair and Deputy Chair of the AUC, the Commissioner for Peace and Security and non-executive members of eminent persons on peace and security and up to two non-African partners contributing to the peace fund. The briefing for this session is expected to inform the PSC on the progress made both in the consultations of the AU Commission Chair with the deans of the five regions of Africa on the identification of African members of the Board of Trustees and generally in elaborating the terms of reference and constituting the membership of the Board. Other structures envisaged included the independent evaluation group in respect of which the status of nomination of the group would be of interest in this session.
While at strategic level, the AUC Chairperson assisted by an Executive Management Committee oversees the operations of the Fund, at the operational level, it is envisaged that the Peace Fund would have its own secretariat. The structural proposals for the establishment of the secretariat is envisaged to be considered as part of the ongoing AU reform process during the course of this year.
This is indeed one of the items on which this briefing is expected to shed some light in terms of where the process stands and when the secretariat is expected to be operational.
There are also other areas the briefing is anticipated to touch on. One such area is the human rights and code of conduct compliance framework for AU peace operations. Related to this and particularly important is the follow up to the PSC’s request to the AUC Chair and the Special Envoy to take forward the political engagement with United Nations and relevant partners. This in particular concerns the adoption by the UN of ‘a substantive Resolution that establishes the principle that AU mandated or authorized PSOs authorized by the UN Security Council should be financed through UN assessed contributions, with decisions on the financing of specific missions to be taken on a case by case basis towards securing a substantive UNSC resolution on these issues’.
The expected outcome of the briefing session is a communiqué. Apart from endorsing items as may be proposed in the briefing such as on the utilization of funds in the Peace Fund, it would build on the 30 May 2017 communiqué on areas for further follow up not only on the operationalization of the structures of the Peace Fund but also on the substantive resolution expected from the UN.
Provisional Program of Work of the PSC for May 2018
Amani Africa
Date | May 2018
Rwanda assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of May when the monthly program of work of the PSC commences on 2nd of May. As
in April, the May program is relatively heavy with the PSC expected to hold nine sessions and a field
mission to Darfur, Sudan. A wide range of thematic peace and security issues dominate the program
of the month, with two open sessions. The monthly program also envisages ministerial level session,
which will consider two of the nine agenda items on the monthly program.
The program of the month starts with a briefing on the African Union (AU) Peace Fund. This is the first session on the Peace Fund since the adoption by the PSC of the proposed governance structures and the organization of the Peace Fund at its 30 May 2017 session. It is anticipated that the AU
Special Envoy on the Financing of the Union and the Peace Fund, Donald Kaberuka, will provide updates on the status of operationalization of the Peace Fund.
The first open session is scheduled to take place on the 8th of May on the ‘Principles of Protection of Civilians in Conflict Situations in Africa’. The Department of Peace and Security (PSD) and the UN Office to the AU are expected to brief the PSC on the principles highlighting their importance, status and use in the operationalization of the African Standby Force. It is also in this same session that the PSC is expected to consider and adopt the provisional program of work of the PSC for June. On the 10th of May, the PSC is scheduled to have a session on the situation of African migrants, an update and impediments for the continental free movement of peoples in Africa. It is a follow up to the 21 July 2017 session of the PSC on the same. The PSC is expected to receive briefings from the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) and the Departments of Political Affairs and Peace and Security. Others expected to make statements include representatives of Regional Economic Communities (RECs)/Regional Mechanisms (RMs).
On the 15th of May, the second open session of the month is expected to take place focusing on climate-induced conflicts. The PSD and the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture are expected to provide briefings on the theme.
From the 16th to 19th of May, the PSC is expected to undertake a field mission to Darfur Sudan. This is expected to provide the PSC the opportunity to review for itself the conditions in Drafur and the arrangements that ensure smooth transition in the context of the draw down of UNAU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). As a follow up to this field mission, the PSC will convene a session on UNAMID on the 22nd of May. During this session the PSC will consider the Special Report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Secretary General of the UN on the Strategic Review of UNAMID, its field mission report and renewal of the mandate of UNAMID. Apart from the PSD, Jeremiah Mamabolo, the Joint Special Representative of the UN and the AU are expected to provide briefings.
On the 21st of May the PSC will hold a briefing on the Continental Results Framework for Monitoring and Reporting on the Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in
Africa. In this session the PSC is expected to consider a report on the theme and Bineta Diop, the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the Commission, is set to provide briefing to the PSC.
The PSC is expected to have a briefing session on ‘illicit flow and financing of arms in Africa’ on the 24th of May,. The theme of this session forms part of the areas specifically singled out for action in the AU Agenda on Silencing the Guns. The Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA) and the PSD are expected to provide briefings to the PSC. All members of the UN Security Council are expected to participate in the closed session. In addition to examining the trends and dynamics in the illicit flow of weapons, this session is expected to take stock of the impact of the proliferation of the establishment of military bases on the continent by various non-African countries.
The last session scheduled for the 31st of May will take place at ministerial level focusing on two themes. The first is on the ‘role of Africa in the harmonization of initiatives and operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in the Sahel’. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the AU Commission is expected to brief the Council. The second expected to take place in the afternoon is on the ‘status of repatriation of migrants from Libya’. Mahamat is expected to present a report on conditions of migrants including updates on the AU and international responses to the plight of African migrants.
