Tomorrow (22 October), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene for a briefing from the Peace Fund Secretariat.

Mohamed Gad, Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the AU and PSC Chairperson for October 2024, and Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, are expected to make statements. Dagmawit Moges, Director, Peace Fund Secretariat is expected to brief the Council on the state of operationalisation of the Peace Fund and activities undertaken since the February 2024 AU summit.

As part of the effort to address the perineal adequate, predictable and sustainable funding, the AU Assembly, during its 27^th Ordinary Session held in July 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, through Assembly Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.605 (XXVII)] resolved to revitalise the Peace Fund through contributions from member states. This decision led to the establishment of a $400 million endowment for the AU Peace Fund initially planned to be mobilised by 2020. The revitalised Fund is organised to provide support for three windows (intervention areas): preventive diplomacy and mediation activities; institutional capacity building; and peace support operations. Additionally, a Crisis Reserve Facility (CRF) is established to fund rapid responses to emergency crises.

The initial Assembly Decision 605 was that the Peace Fund would be financed through equal contributions from each AU region. The Assembly in its decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.734 (XXXII)] switched the basis for contribution to be used as the scale of assessment for the regular budget. While four regions of Africa supported the use of the scale of assessment, the North African region favoured the regional formula under Assembly Decision 605. The Executive Council in its October 2020 extraordinary session adopted by consensus, with reservation by the Northern region, the use of the scale of assessment for the regular budget for contribution to the Peace Fund (EX.CL Dec./1100(XXXVII)).

Over three years after the initial timeline of endowing the Fund with $400 million, the Peace Fund has a balance of $398 million as of June 2024. This amount is made up of member states contributions ($341 million), the balance from the Legacy Fund ($ 25 million) and the interest that is generated from the investment by the 2 Fund managers. Following various consultations with the countries of the Northern region who initially objected to the use of assessed contribution as a basis for contributing to the Peace Fund, it is reported that all countries of the region except two have paid 100 per cent. The remaining two countries, Egypt and Tunisia are on a three to five-year payment plan. Despite the substantial progress made and the extension of the timeline for endowing the Fund with the $400 million from 2020 to 2023, there remain outstanding contributions from some other member states assessed contributions towards the Peace Fund.

The other aspect that tomorrow’s session is expected to shed light on is the state of operationalisation of the various structures of the Peace Fund. The main structures of the Peace Fund are the Board of Trustees, the Executive Management Committee, the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG), the Fund Manager and a Peace Fund Secretariat. The Board of Trustees, made up of five high-level experts from the five regions of the continent and representatives of the UN and the EU, is fully operational. Similarly, the Executive Management Committee, chaired by the AU Commission Chairperson, is operational. Two Peace Fund managers have been appointed, although there are indications that these managers are not securing the level of returns from the investment in the Peace Fund. It is expected that further and better Fund Managers will be identified and appointed to enhance the returns from the investment in the Fund. The Peace Fund Secretariat became operational with the appointment of the Head of the Secretariat and has since recruited a few of its staff members. While the IEG is not operational, the process for instituting the IEG is currently underway. It would be made up of 2 representatives from the five regions of Africa and one representative each from the African Development Bank, the African Import-Export Bank and the World Bank. It is expected that the Head of the Secretariat will provide an update on the process of selection of the members of the IEG.

Tomorrow’s session is also expected to reflect on the state of utilisation of the Peace Fund. Utilisation of the Fund has thus far been limited to the CRF and as of 2024, for pilot projects of the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS). Accordingly, $6.5 million and $12 million were approved for the CRF for 2023 and 2024 respectively, with $5 million dedicated to the Pilot Projects for 2024. In 2023, the 6.5 million CRF budget for 2023 was allocated for four disbursements under CRF amounting to $6.5 million for the EAC regional force in eastern DRC ($2 million), ATMIS funding shortfall ($3.5 million) and the DDR process under the Pretoria Peace Agreement of Ethiopia ($1 million).

In the context of the disbursement made thus far, one of the major issues that may arise in tomorrow’s session is the institutional arrangements for the proper utilisation of the disbursed funds for the intended purposes. For example, while $2 million was disbursed to the EAC Regional Force to the DRC in 2023, this Force was discontinued following the request from the DRC. The question that arises in this context is how to account for the $2 million, given that the fund could no longer be used for the purpose for which it was disbursed.

On 1 October, the AU Peace Fund’s Executive Management Committee (EMC) conducted a comprehensive review of the utilisation of the funds. The discussions delved into deliberating on prospective channels to leverage partnerships with the private sector and multilateral financial institutions to secure additional funding for the Peace Fund. In addition, the Committee conducted a review of the utilisation of funds disbursed through the PAPS Department. According to the press release,  ‘Of the $7 million approved by the AU Executive Council, 92.8% of the funds were successfully deployed through the CRF.’ As of September 2024, the Peace Fund has disbursed a total of $19 million, reflecting its growing role in addressing conflicts across the continent. The Committee also provided strategic guidance for onboarding the IEG. The EMC proposed keeping the 2025 disbursement ceiling at $15 million.

The $7 million CRF funding for 2024 was disbursed towards supporting South Sudan’s transition process, aiding Sudan’s peace efforts through political dialogue and other activities, the SAMIDRC, enhancing stabilisation efforts in the Lake Chad Basin via the MNJTF and supporting Libya’s national reconciliation, dialogue and potential stabilisation initiatives. The funds will also aid Mozambique’s stabilisation efforts in Cabo Delgado, as well as the ongoing stabilisation efforts in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, and the Sahel region. It is clear that this small fund is thinly spread but it is unclear what meaningful impact it would have. This raises the key question of prioritisation in the use of the CRF funds for achieving the maximum impact from the use of the limited resources allocated thereunder.

The other issue expected to receive attention in tomorrow’s session is the question of the source of replenishment of the Peace Fund. It is on account of the lack of identification of the means of replenishment that the use of the Fund thus far is limited to the interest collected from the Fund only. Assembly Decision [EX.CL/Dec.1223(XLIII)] of the 43^rd Ordinary Session of the Executive Council held on 13 and 14 July 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, in which, among other things, requested the AU Commission, acting through the Peace Fund Secretariat, to explore modalities for seeking voluntary contributions from Member States as well as contributions from the private sector, and encouraged the AU Peace Fund Secretariat ‘to expand all efforts to mobilise additional resources through Member States voluntary contributions by engaging with the private sector, high net worth individuals and the citizens of our continent’. In pursuit of this, various initiatives have been undertaken by the Secretariat including outreach to the private sector and the convening of a high-level pledging event during the Mid-Year Coordination Meeting held in Accra, Ghana this last July.

Tomorrow’s session also serves to have an update on the Executive Council’s directive, during its 45^th Ordinary session, for the AU Commission to develop a feasibility study for consideration by the Ministerial Joint Sitting on the payment of part of the Member States’ assessed contributions in national currencies for the consideration of the Policy Organs by February 2025. In addition, there could be an update on the assignment tasked to the Commission to develop a comprehensive cash flow management plan aimed at channeling funds to assigned programs in a timely and effective manner, thereby enhancing the planning and execution of activities and programmes.

The form for the outcome document for the session remains unknown. However, it is expected that the meeting will highlight the evaluation of the impacts of the 2024 CRF and Peace Fund Pilot Projects, which will also aim to capitalise on the current momentum and address gaps identified including compliance with the financial rules and regulations. The Council may commend the Peace Fund secretariat for the progress made so far in engaging with the multi-sectoral stakeholders to mobilise resources for the Peace Fund. The Council may urge member states who have not yet fulfilled their financial commitments to the Peace Fund to fulfil their commitments.