Briefing by the A3 on its activities
Briefing by the A3 on its activities Date | 19 April 2026
Tomorrow (20 April), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1340th session to receive a briefing from the African Members of the United Nations Security Council (A3).
The session is expected to commence with opening remarks by Hirut Zemene, Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the AU and Chair of the PSC for April 2026, followed by a statement from the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), Bankole Adeoye. The representatives of the A3 members, Somalia as the coordinator of the group for the first quarter, are expected to brief the PSC on the activities of the A3.
Since January 2026, the three elected African members (A3) of the UN Security Council (UNSC) comprise the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, and Somalia for the 2026–2027 term. Somalia joined the Council in January 2025 after more than five decades, while 2026 marks the return of Liberia after a 65-year absence and the return of the DRC after 35 years. Notably, the DRC concurrently serves on the PSC, creating an opportunity to strengthen coordination and coherence between the two councils.
With Guyana concluding its term at the end of 2025, there is currently no Caribbean representation on the Council. Consequently, unlike during the 2020–2021 and 2024–2025 terms, there is no prospect of expanding the A3 into an ‘A3+1’ configuration.
Tomorrow’s briefing takes place within the framework of longstanding efforts to strengthen coordination between the AU and the UNSC. This engagement traces back to the first conclusion of the High-Level Seminar (HLS) on peace and security in Africa, held in Algiers in December 2013, which established the practice of the A3 providing quarterly briefings to the PSC on African issues on the UNSC agenda, although, in practice, these briefings have not been delivered consistently.
This commitment has since been consistently reinforced. It was reaffirmed during the 11th Oran Process in 2024 and further institutionalised through the adoption of the Manual on the Modalities for Enhancing Coordination between the PSC and the A3 at the PSC’s 1289th session on 24 July 2025, formalising requirements for regular reporting and structured engagement.
During the most recent A3+ briefing to the PSC in August 2025, the PSC not only decided to institutionalise consultative meetings between the PSC and the A3+ at ambassadorial level as a statutory activity within its annual indicative programme, but also reiterated its request for the A3+ to brief and consult the PSC on a quarterly basis and whenever necessary, on African issues under consideration by the UNSC.
In this context, the A3 are expected to brief the PSC on their activities within the UNSC since the beginning of 2026, highlighting their continued efforts to advance coordinated African positions and to ensure that the continent’s perspectives are effectively reflected in Council deliberations and outcomes. In this regard, the A3 have sustained an active and consistent engagement across a wide range of agenda items through the delivery of joint statements, covering both African country-specific situations and broader thematic and global issues. On African files, the A3 are likely to highlight their sustained engagement on situations such as the Central African Republic, DRC, Libya, Sudan, and South Sudan. Beyond African situations, the A3 have also demonstrated engagement on broader international peace and security issues, including developments in the Middle East. These interventions have generally underscored key principles, such as the primacy of political solutions, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the protection of civilians, and adherence to international law, while also reaffirming the central role of the AU and regional mechanisms in addressing conflicts on the continent. These positions underscore the A3’s efforts to situate Africa as an active stakeholder in global peace and security discussions, beyond continent-specific concerns.
In addition to statements, the A3 are also expected to reflect on their growing role in influencing Security Council outcome documents through engagement in negotiations on draft resolutions and other Council outcome documents. Recent examples include their involvement in ongoing negotiations on the resolution of situations relating to Libya and a resolution and a press statement on South Sudan. Another instance is A3’s initiative in shaping Council engagement on Sudan, by initiating, together with the United Kingdom as penholder, a Security Council meeting in March, following a strike on a hospital in East Darfur state. These efforts point to the increasing role of the A3 in engaging with penholders and other Council members to ensure that African perspectives are reflected in the formulation of Security Council decisions.
The session is also expected to feature discussions as a follow-up to previous decisions of the PSC aimed at strengthening communication and coordination with the A3. In this regard, PSC members may draw on past precedents, such as, the communiqué adopted at its 1221st Session in July 2024 on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), which reiterated the call for the total lifting of the arms embargo on the CAR and encouraged the A3 to promote a unified position on this matter within the UN Security Council. Building on such precedents, the session may also reflect on recommendations emerging from the 11th and 12th High-Level Seminars on Peace and Security in Africa (Oran Process), which underscored the need for more systematic information sharing and the synchronisation of meetings between the PSC and the UN Security Council on issues under their joint mandate.
The meeting is also expected to provide an opportunity to reflect on the outcomes of the 5th Annual A3 Retreat held on 4 February, which brought together incoming, current, and former A3+ members for strategic reflection and planning. The Retreat underscored the importance of strengthening coordination, unity, and synergy with the PSC, while enhancing Africa’s strategic positioning within the Security Council. In this context, discussions may reflect on the need to address the continued challenges faced by the A3 in influencing Council outcomes, particularly their role in pen-holding and drafting processes while navigating through the current complex geopolitical competition.
Building on these reflections, the PSC session may recall the discussion that took place during the 6th A3 High-Level Meeting held on 13 February on the margins of the 39th AU Assembly, which focused on advancing African agency and leadership in peace and security within a changing global order. Discussions at that meeting emphasised the need to strengthen the A3 as a strategic mechanism guided by African priorities, enhance its proactive role within the Security Council, and advance predictable and sustainable financing for AU-led peace support operations. In this regard, particular attention may be given to the importance of enhancing AU–UN cooperation frameworks, including through the effective implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2719. The adoption of the UNSC Resolution 2719 in December 2023 stands as a notable illustration of what coordinated A3 engagement can achieve in advancing a common African position. As such, the effective implementation and operationalisation of this resolution will be critical for further strengthening the AU–UN strategic partnership and ensuring sustained support for AU-led peace operations.
Tomorrow’s briefing outcome is expected to be a communiqué, and in this regard, the PSC is expected to welcome the briefing by the A3 and express appreciation for their continued efforts to articulate and advance coordinated African positions within the UNSC, while also commending the sustained cohesion, coordination, and unity demonstrated by the A3 since the beginning of their 2026–2027 term. Building on this, the PSC may acknowledge the growing role of the A3 in influencing UNSC outcomes, as well as their interaction with penholders and other Council members to ensure that African priorities and perspectives are adequately reflected, and in doing so, the Council may underscore the importance of strengthening coordination and coherence between the PSC and the UNSC. In the same vein, the PSC may further reiterate the need for the A3 to uphold, promote, and defend the decisions and positions of the PSC in their engagement within the UNSC, in line with relevant AU Assembly decisions and the conclusions of the High-Level Seminar on Peace and Security in Africa (Oran Process). In this regard, the PSC may also emphasise the importance of the effective implementation of the Manual on the Modalities for Enhancing Coordination between the PSC and the A3, particularly with regard to ensuring regular reporting, structured engagement, and timely exchange of information between the two bodies. In this context, it may call for enhanced regularity and predictability in the provision of briefings by the A3, in line with the agreed quarterly framework, and encourage more systematic consultations to facilitate timely guidance from the PSC on African issues under consideration by the UNSC, while at the same time encouraging further strengthening of practical cooperation between the PSC and the A3, including through the synchronisation of their respective programmes of work, enhanced interaction between the experts of the PSC and the UNSC, and the establishment of effective information-sharing mechanisms. Furthermore, the PSC may highlight the importance of enhancing the role of the A3 in pen-holding and drafting processes within the UNSC, while encouraging continued efforts to navigate geopolitical dynamics and safeguard African priorities. Finally, the PSC may stress the importance of strengthening AU–UN cooperation frameworks, including through the effective implementation and operationalisation of UNSC Resolution 2719 as a key instrument for ensuring predictable and sustainable financing of AU-led peace support operations.