Excellence Monsieur le Ministre des Affaires étrangères de la République fédérale démocratique d’Ethiopie,

Messieurs et Mesdames les Ministres, les Ambassadeurs et Représentants permanents des Organisations internationales

Distingués invités,

Honorable Assistance

Mesdames et Messieurs,

A l’entame de mon propos, je voudrais adresser les remerciements de l’UA à Chatham House, à Amani Africa, au PNUD et au gouvernement éthiopien pour avoir pris l’initiative d’organiser ce forum. Je tiens également à vous adresser les salutations du Président de la Commission de l’UA, S.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf en route pour le Brésil pour faire entendre la voix de l’Afrique.

C’est un privilège de m’adresser à vous aujourd’hui ici à Addis-Abeba, au cœur des institutions continentales africaines, pour discuter de l’influence croissante de notre continent et de sa capacité accrue à agir dans la gouvernance mondiale. L’Afrique n’est plus un observateur passif des affaires mondiales ; nous participons activement à façonner les résultats, définir les agendas et promouvoir des solutions qui servent non seulement nos peuples, mais aussi l’humanité tout entière.

À travers le continent, l’Afrique fait preuve d’un leadership concret. Les initiatives régionales renforcent les cadres de sécurité collective, font progresser les efforts de consolidation de la paix et favorisent la résilience économique. Aujourd’hui, les opérations de maintien de la paix dirigées par l’Afrique mobilisent plus de 75 000 personnes déployées sur plusieurs missions, démontrant notre capacité à maintenir la stabilité et à gérer les conflits. Sur le plan économique, le commerce intra-africain dans le cadre de la ZLECAF a atteint plus de 100 milliards de dollars au cours de ses deux premières années, signe d’une intégration régionale croissante. Dans le domaine de l’énergie, l’Afrique est en bonne voie pour doubler sa capacité de production d’énergie renouvelable à plus de 300 gigawatts d’ici 2030, tandis que les initiatives d’industrialisation verte devraient créer des millions d’emplois durables à travers le continent.

L’influence croissante de l’Afrique repose sur la confiance, le respect mutuel et un engagement partagé envers l’humanité. Au sein de nos institutions, la collaboration s’approfondit, le pouvoir de négociation augmente et l’action collective devient plus efficace. En alignant les politiques, en échangeant des expertises et en promouvant l’intégration régionale, l’Afrique transforme son potentiel en résultats tangibles et mesurables qui profitent à nos peuples et contribuent à un ordre mondial plus équitable. Par exemple, des efforts de santé publique coordonnés ont permis de réduire l’incidence du paludisme de plus de 20 % dans plusieurs régions, illustrant la puissance de la solidarité continentale en action.

À l’échelle mondiale, l’Afrique retrouve la place qui lui revient. D’abord au G20 dont le prochain Sommet se tient pour la première fois en terre africaine dans deux semaines. L’Afrique oeuvre pour avoir sa place au sein du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies, mais aussi dans les institutions financières internationales.  L’Afrique s’engage de manière stratégique avec ses partenaires, en influençant les discussions sur le commerce, l’investissement, le climat et le transfert de technologie, tout en affirmant sa voix dans la définition des normes en matière de paix, de sécurité et de développement durable. L’innovation africaine, l’influence culturelle et l’énergie entrepreneuriale créent un soft power qui amplifie les priorités et les perspectives du continent dans le monde entier. L’économie numérique à elle seule devrait atteindre 150 milliards de dollars d’ici 2030, avec plus de 450 millions d’utilisateurs mobiles d’internet, offrant une plateforme pour l’innovation, l’entrepreneuriat des jeunes et la connectivité panafricaine.

Mais l’influence seule ne suffit pas. L’Afrique recherche des résultats tangibles, fondés sur l’équité, la solidarité et le respect de la dignité humaine. Plus précisément, nous appelons à :

• Un accès fiable et prévisible aux financements climatiques et au développement, visant au moins 100 milliards de dollars par an pour soutenir les transitions énergétiques, l’industrialisation et des infrastructures résilientes.
• Un soutien aux initiatives africaines dans le domaine de la paix, de la sécurité et de la stabilité régionale, garantissant un financement soutenu de l’Architecture africaine de paix et de sécurité, qui sous-tend plus de 75 000 personnels déployés.
• En 2007, l’Afrique a réussi à remettre la Somalie sur la carte.
• Des partenariats renforçant la souveraineté économique, favorisant l’intégration régionale et libérant le plein potentiel de la ZLECAF, dont la croissance commerciale devrait passer de 100 milliards de dollars aujourd’hui à 450 milliards de dollars d’ici 2030.
• La reconnaissance du leadership africain dans les solutions durables, depuis l’expansion de la production solaire et éolienne jusqu’au développement des pôles industriels verts, qui pourraient générer plus de 15 millions d’emplois d’ici 2030 et contribuer de manière significative aux objectifs mondiaux de réduction du carbone.

This is the moment for Africa to move from aspiration to achievement, from potential to performance. By leveraging our resources, creativity, and collective resolve and by building partnerships grounded in trust, mutual respect, and humanity, we can advance a vision of global governance that is inclusive, just, and effective.

Let us therefore commit, here in Addis Ababa, to tangible action, bold partnerships, and outcomes that transform influence into impact. Africa is ready to lead, to innovate, and to deliver. The world is watching and Africa will rise.

I Thank you.

Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to Addis Ababa, the diplomatic capital of Africa and the home of our continental union. This city has been the site for some of the most consequential moments in modern Africa’s political history. Therefore, it is a fitting venue for a collective reflection on how our continent can shape the global order during this time of profound change.

Only a few days ago, a convoy of trucks as well as cargo planes left Ethiopia carrying the first shipment of goods traded under the African Continental Free Trade Area. They were bound for Kenya, Somalia, and South Africa, filled with coffee, fruits, and processed foods. It was a modest start, yet deeply symbolic.

Those trucks and planes carried more than merchandise — they carried the promise of a continent trading with itself, investing in itself, and believing in its own capacity.

Such seemingly simple acts capture the essence of what this gathering seeks to advance: African agency, solidarity and cooperation as the foundations of our rising collective influence.

We are meeting at a moment when global power is dispersing and the old assumptions of international politics are being redefined. As the world transits toward multipolarity, Africa must not be a bystander or a prize in someone else’s contest for influence.

In a continent that is obsessed with football, I hope you will forgive me if I use a soccer metaphor to illustrate the reality of multipolarity.

If we were to use a football analogy to provide a simple depiction of the Cold War era, the best parallel would be with the Spanish La Liga. As most of those who follow the European football leagues understand, in the Spanish La Liga, the main contenders for the championship are Barcelona and Real Madrid. The real competition is between these two clubs.

Of course, there are other clubs in the league, but it is these two clubs are more often than not, the most likely to finish at the top of the league. During the Cold War, just like the Spanish La Liga, there were two contenders for global supremacy. There were two superpowers, and everybody else was playing second fiddle.

Then, the Cold War came to an end. The world witnessed a unique unipolar moment that is very similar to the French Ligue 1, where PSG is the sole dominant force. Year after year, one entity takes the top position without much difficulty or serious challenge.

But this era of unipolarity seems to be coming to an end. Right now, international relations are more akin to the English Premier League, where several clubs compete fiercely to finish in the top five. In this League, competition is intense and outcomes cannot be predicted with confidence.

Today, we find ourselves in such a context. We live in a world where competition is becoming more salient than cooperation. The entities engaged in this competition are not just the big powers. There are also middle powers in intense competition with one another as they each try to carve out a sphere of influence for themselves.

The scope of competition includes the economic, technological, and military spheres. It is rife with transient alliances, pragmatic transactions, and a complex web of considerations that are difficult to pin down.

Normative frameworks, established national doctrines, multilateral institutions and procedures seem to be having a diminished effectiveness.

The question we need to consider is how the African continent should approach this situation.

What are the opportunities and risks this multipolar world present to Africa?

In this context, is there room for collective continental action?

Will Africa be subject to another scramble or would it emerge as a rising power in its own right?

How can we expand and consolidate our influence?

This and many other related questions require serious deliberation. We need to reflect deeply and critically on these questions.

If Africa is to be a co-author of the evolving global order, we need to be conscious of the new reality and wide awake to its implications.

The African Union’s accession to the G20 is a recognition that the world’s challenges — from equitable growth to climate resilience — cannot be solved without African participation and leadership.

Yet participation alone is not enough. Our task now is to turn presence into influence, and influence into tangible outcomes for our people.

For Ethiopia, the key lies in synergetic unity of purpose, institutional strength, and shared prosperity. Our continental frameworks already provide the tools we need — the African Union, the Regional Economic Communities, and the AfCFTA.

What we must do now is make them work in harmony and effectively. The existence of the institutions should not be an end in itself.

Regional organizations such as IGAD, ECOWAS, and SADC should serve as operational engines of continental integration. When these regional blocks are better aligned with the AU Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, Africa can act with one voice — in trade negotiations, in peace initiatives, and in shaping global norms.

Ethiopia’s own experience shows that regional cooperation is not a choice but a necessity. In the Horn of Africa, we are working with our neighbours to expand cross-border infrastructure, trade corridors, and power interconnections.

This imperative of interdependence is a principle that should guide our thinking and action.

The reform of global governance structures is another pillar of our collective aspiration. Institutions created eight decades ago no longer reflect today’s realities. The United Nations Security Council, for instance, should include full permanent African representation.

This is not a demand for privilege but for fairness — a recognition that Africa contributes the most to peacekeeping, bears the greatest cost of global instability, and deserves to have a meaningful voice in global decision making.

Similarly, the international financial architecture must also be reformed to reflect our economic realities. Ethiopia supports the establishment of a regional credit rating agency that captures the real dynamism of African economies, free from outdated perceptions.

We also advocate for reforms that expand access to development finance, climate adaptation resources, and debt restructuring mechanisms that enable countries to invest in their future.

Peace and prosperity are inseparable. Our continent’s security challenges cannot be outsourced; they must be met through African-led solutions that prioritize prevention, dialogue, and regional solidarity. Ethiopia continues to support the African Peace and Security Architecture and efforts to secure predictable financing for peace operations.

Africa’s influence, however, will not be defined only by political and economic factors. It will also be shaped by its culture, its creativity, and its people.

From music to innovation, from fashion to technology, our youth are reshaping global perceptions of Africa continent. This soft power — the power of ideas and identity — must become an integral part of our foreign policy.

It is through telling our own stories, in our own voices, that we will secure a rightful place in global discourse.

Excellencies,

the world is watching Africa with renewed attention. The question is no longer whether Africa matters — but how Africa will choose to lead.

From the AfCFTA trucks crossing our borders to the African Union’s seat at the G20 table, from our peace missions to our green energy ambitions, every initiative signals a continent asserting its voice and shaping its own destiny.

Nevertheless, we need to bear in mind the fact that progress is not linear and that we still face many challenges. Our rise should not be a short-term phenomenon. Africa’s rise should not be seen as a transient illusion built on fashionable platitudes.

In this vein, we should remind ourselves, we are still very far from the Africa we want. We are still not close to an African century.

Excellencies,

We need to look at the longue duree and imagine a future where we have not just influence but decisive impact. We need to lay the foundations for an African century.

If demographic trends are anything to go by, the 22^nd century is bound to be the African century. For that to be a reality, the choices we make, the commitments we enter into and the priorities we adopt today make all the difference.

Preserving our sovereignty over our resources, channelling the energy and dynamism of the youth in more constructive and productive directions are among the paramount duties of our generation.

Ethiopia stands ready to work with all African nations and our international partners to ensure that this moment of possibility becomes a sustained era of progress.

The future we seek — one of dignity, solidarity, and prosperity — depends on how we deploy our collective capacity as a continent with bold strategic foresight.

Thank you.

Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for September 2025, Ambassador Professor Miguel Bembe,

Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye,

Excellencies, distinguished members of the Peace and Security Council, dear friends,

A very good morning to you all.

It is an honour for me to address you today, representing Amani Africa Media and Research Services (Amani Africa), an organisation that is dedicated to the advancement of peace and security through research and analysis, supporting the noble mandate of this august house, our Union’s standing peace and security decision-making body.

Chairperson, Commissioner Adeoye, Excellencies, members of the PSC, dear friends

Today’s meeting is convened ahead of four major global policy meetings: the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (UNGA), COP30, the AU-EU Summit and the G20 Summit, with the last two being held on African soil. We therefore note with appreciation the strategic significance of the timing of this meeting for crafting the position of Africa that will be communicated in these meetings and wish to commend the Chairperson and this house for the timely session.

In view of the foregoing, my intervention will focus on three points on the climate, peace and security nexus.

The first relates to the imperative of anchoring the climate, peace and security agenda in and addressing it as part of the broader climate change policy process, focusing on justice and development rather than in isolation from and outside of it.

The second point that I will make relates to the need to give particular attention to mobility as a lever in the climate, peace and security nexus.

The last and third aspect of my briefing concerns how to take forward the climate, peace and security agenda in peace and security policy making in particular.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen

It is now beyond dispute that climate change is the most pressing present and existential threat facing humanity. Apart from the compelling scientific evidence the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has built and presented, this present and existential threat that climate poses has become incontrovertible by the frequency and ferocity of climate change-induced extreme weather events we are all witnessing.

Yet, as much as it poses a present and existential threat to all of humanity, climate change does not affect all equally. Due to weak socio-economic conditions and historical marginalisation, climate change carries much more devastating consequences in Africa, as in other similarly positioned parts of the world.

This is evident from the droughts in Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa, cyclones in South Eastern Africa, floods in central, west and north east Africa, depletion of water sources in the Lake Chad basin, sea level rise in coastal West Africa, which are wreaking havoc.

Lives are cut short. Entire villages are washed away. Livelihoods on which communities depend for their existence are lost. Infrastructure is destroyed. The resultant loss and damage is taking away a significant portion of the GDPs of relatively weak economies, with estimates reaching as much as 11 per cent for some countries.

The weak level of socio-economic development and the resultant existence of conditions of vulnerability not only manifest a context in which the capacity to cope and recover is very weak. But they also make the impacts of climate change highlighted above more devastating.

The unjustness of the situation is borne out by the fact that Africa is the least responsible for the global greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, despite bearing the brunt of some of the most severe impacts of climate change.

It is these fundamental conditions that render climate change to be first and foremost and essentially a development and justice issue. Thus, as important and necessary as it is, the focus on climate, peace and security is supplementary to and not a substitute for the core climate change policy process with its focus on justice and development.

The AU and this Council are accordingly right in anchoring the climate, peace and security agenda in the broader climate change policy process. Simultaneously, the merit of the climate, peace and security agenda is not only to ensure that peace and security policy making takes full account of the impact of climate change on conflicts, but also to ensure that the peace and security impact of climate change is given systematic due consideration in climate change policy processes writ large.

It is therefore clear that the peace and security implications of climate change cannot and should not be dealt with on its own and in isolation from the essential and wider justice and development focus of climate change policy processes. Within this context, the policy issues deserving of the most serious consideration are the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, climate financing for adaptation and loss and damage responsive to the needs of the most affected and vulnerable, the trade impacts of individual climate response measures and just energy transition and sharing of know-how and technology.

On financing, while pressing for scaling up of the funds for both adaptation and loss and damage in particular, the AU and this Council need to put particular emphasis on the necessity of those most responsible honouring existing financing commitments.

Fragile states receive only USD 2.1 per person annually, while non-fragile states receive USD 161.7. These numbers reflect a global financial system that rewards stability and punishes vulnerability. The African Union’s (AU) March 2024 report rightly called for prioritising fragile and conflict-affected states in funding access. But financial mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) remain out of reach for many.

On trade and development implications of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the Joint Namibia-Amani Africa High-level Panel of Experts Report noted by way of example that ‘the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)…is projected to cost the continent at least US$25 billion annually.’ As others set similar measures, this would have serious consequences on the export trade of African countries.

In view of the foregoing and as part of AU’s position in the upcoming COP31 being held in Brazil and the G20 summit to be held in South Africa, as well as the EU-AU summit expected to be held in Angola, the following are the key actions this Council may adopt:

a) To underscore the imperative for upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) as a cornerstone of collective action for addressing the impacts of climate change, including its peace and security implications.

b) To call for timely, climate-focused and faithful implementation of both the commitment to mobilise climate finance to the scale of $ 300 billion per year by 2035 adopted at COP29 and the earlier goal of mobilising USD 100 billion per year through 2025 to address the financing needs of developing countries.

c) From the perspective of responsiveness to the needs of Africa, attention should be given to the nature and source of climate finance. For climate finance to meet the pressing needs of addressing the challenges that climate change pose along with the development needs of Africa, the PSC may thus emphasise that the AU call on COP30 and G20 summit to ensure that the source of financing is grant based and concessional rather than one that accentuates the debt burden distress that is cripling the economies of many countries in Africa.

d) Related to the issue of financing is the loss and damage fund that was adopted at COP27. As a continent where the increasing frequency and ferocity of climate is resulting in increasing loss and damage, this Council also needs to call for measures to be adopted at COP30 and G20 summit for both the capitalisation at expanded scale and operationalization of the loss and damage fund as well as the inclusion of debt pause clauses in agreements on financing for development when countries experience climate disasters.

e) To advance ease of access for the countries most in need, including particularly fragile and conflict-affected countries. Simplified access procedures, as emphasised during the most recent Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (Ffd4) held in Sevilla, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July 2025 – Compromiso de Sevilla, and de-risking access of African countries to climate finance are critical to unlocking investments in early warning systems, climate-smart agriculture, flood defences and renewable energy.

f) On the trade impacts of unilateral ‘climate response’ measures such as CBAMs, the PSC may underscore the importance of respect for the implementation of Article 3(5) of the UNFCCC and the call in COP28 related to the avoidance of unilateral trade measures based on climate or environment.

Adaptation initiatives should also focus on fostering support for building resilience for the most vulnerable regions of the continent in key social and economic sectors such as agriculture and rural economy, and promoting regional cooperation to build the capacity of vulnerable populations, as well as embedding climate considerations into peacebuilding and development strategies.

Excellencies, dear friends

Coming to the second point of mobility, apart from those consequences noted earlier, mobility has increasingly become a major issue in climate, peace and security. As the high-level side event on climate, mobility and peace and security held on 9 September during the 2^nd Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) highlighted, the movement of people, including when it is a product of climate change and conflict, is an opportunity to be harnessed for coping with the impacts of climate and building resilience.

As the chief of staff of the IOM pointed out at that high-level event and the research work, Amani Africa is carrying out with IOM, reveals, traditions of seasonal mobility in Africa by various communities and emerging contemporary experience on the continent to govern mobility including those induced by climate change show that, if managed well and facilitated as part of anticipatory action, mobility becomes instrumental for climate action. IGAD’s Transhumance Protocol has facilitated safe cross-border pastoral movements, mitigating disputes over resources. Kenya’s forecast-based financing enabled communities to take anticipatory action before floods, protecting lives and assets. Senegal successfully relocated communities from high-risk coastal zones through inclusive and dignified planned relocation initiatives. Ethiopia has integrated mobility mapping and early warning into national climate and peace strategies. These cases demonstrate that anticipatory governance, resource planning, and early relocation measures undertaken with participation of affected communities can reduce risks and foster cooperation.

This necessitates a change in policy imagination of shifting away from treating mobility as a threat and towards the consideration of mobility as an opportunity in the climate, peace and security agenda. Properly managed, mobility is not only a coping mechanism and contributes to peacebuilding but also serves as an adaptation strategy that can strengthen communities’ capacity to withstand climate shocks. In view of the foregoing, the PSC may consider the following:

• The convening of a session dedicated to mobility, climate and peace and security for ensuring that climate-induced and related mobility is turned into an opportunity for managing the impacts of climate rather than becoming an accelerator of conflict risks.
• The Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) should integrate mobility indicators to anticipate displacement, in order to prevent conflict and facilitate planned mobility.
• Ratification and operationalisation of key agreements, such as the AU Free Movement Protocol and IGAD’s Transhumance Protocol, are essential to harness mobility as an instrument for addressing challenges relating to the climate, peace and security nexus.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen

Finally, on taking the climate peace and security agenda specifically forward in peace and security policy making specifically, we note that while the relationship between climate and peace and security is at very best correlational rather than causational, our work established that there is a two-way correlation between climate and peace and security. On the one hand, climate change operates as a threat multiplier but only in specific contexts of governance and security fragility or in countries in conflict or crisis. On the other hand, conflict, by destroying existing coping mechanisms and hugely constraining investment in and mobilisation of effective responses to climate disasters, can undermine climate action and thereby turn climate disasters into catastrophes, as the case of Derna in Libya illustrates.

In this context, the first of the issues that deserves the attention of today’s session is strengthening early warning systems as a strategic climate, peace and security measure for anticipating how climate variability interacts with fragility and conflict drivers. Here, there is a need for ensuring that climate indicators such as rainfall anomalies, drought cycles, sea level rise, shrinking of water, pasture and other resources on which communities depend for their livelihoods and migration flows are systematically incorporated. Without this, early warning remains reactive rather than predictive. Relatedly, there is a need for enhancing and leveraging early warning capacity through investment in climate data collection, satellite monitoring and localised reporting networks that can capture the lived realities of vulnerable communities as well as close coordination and coherence between climate early warning systems and conflict early warning systems.

Advancing this agenda also requires, in addition to enhancing collection and quality of data and anticipatory action, the creation of platforms for knowledge and experience sharing.

The other and last aspect of this final point is the need to follow up on this Council’s decision from its 1114^th session that called for the inclusion of discussions on climate and security in the agenda of the meetings of the AU Assembly Committee of African Heads of States and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC). This is a prerequisite for ensuring that the security dimension of climate change is fully factored in policy initiatives across the mitigation, adaptation, financing, loss and damage and transition streams of the COP processes.

• As such, the action that takes forward PSC 1114^th session decision will be for this Council to task the AU Commission to take steps for ensuring the full integration of the climate, peace and security nexus in CAHOSCC as a necessary condition for addressing the peace and security implications of climate across all the work streams of the COP processes.

With the foregoing and while looking forward to having further exchanges during the interactive segment, I now wish to thank you all for your kind attention and yield the floor back to the Chairperson!

Your Excellencies, Members of the High-Level Panel,

Your Excellency Amb. Adeoye, Bankole, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security,

Your Excellencies, Ambassadors,

Distinguished Experts.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

1. On behalf of His Excellency President William Ruto, the Government, and the people of the Republic of Kenya, I welcome you all to Nairobi. Karibuni sana. I thank all of you for graciously turning up to participate in this High-Level Meeting on the Review of the African Union’s Governance, Peace and Security Frameworks.
2. At the outset, allow me to convey President William Ruto’s goodwill and best wishes for the successful outcomes of this High-Level Meeting. As the AU Champion for Institutional Reforms, President Ruto fully supports this process and looks forward to receiving the report and recommendations arising from the Review of the African Union’s Governance, Peace, and Security frameworks. Allow me also to commend the Chair of the AU Commission, H.E Youssef Mohammed for the choice of such distinguished members of the Panel whose collective experience will undoubtedly lend immense value to the strengthening of the AU peace mechanisms. Equally, I salute AU Peace and Security Commissioner, H.E. Adeoye Bankole, for providing the needed technical support to this process.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

3. The fundamental objective of this meeting is to review the existing continental peace and security framework and assess whether it is fit for purpose.
4. African leaders have long recognized that accelerating the continent’s political and socio-economic integration must go hand in hand with the promotion of peace, security, and stability. It is for this reason that we established the Peace and Security Council (PSC), the Continental Early Warning System, the Standby Force and the Panel of the Wise to constitute an African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) to address persistent challenges of armed conflicts in Africa. Indeed, the scourge of conflicts, primarily intra-state and, at times, inter-state, remains the leading cause of Africa’s socio-economic stagnation and the greatest source of suffering for its people.
5. The AU Peace Architecture is thus entrusted with core responsibilities including, anticipating and preventing disputes, undertaking peacemaking and peacebuilding, authorizing peace support operations, and harmonizing efforts at both regional and continental levels to effectively combat terrorism. The AU Peace frameworks were never designed to be standalone stallions for peace but were intended to act in cooperative fashion while also taking advantage of the capacities of regional economic blocks and non-state actors to secure peace. It was envisioned that the interactions between these decisional nodes happening at different levels and scales would yield a polycentric peace profile that would respond effectively, alone and as a collective, to the multiplicity and complexity of conflicts.
6. Unfortunately, the frameworks we established have failed to evolve fully to deliver their full potential. As a result, we are struggling to keep pace with the growing multiplicity and complexity of today’s conflict and security challenges. Our efforts, regrettably, remain fragmented, uncoordinated, competitive and underfunded. It is for this reason that the review of the African Peace and Security Architecture has been placed at the front and centre of the reform agenda.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

7. The security scenario is made murkier by a global arena that is marked by intense geopolitical tensions and major power competition. Multilateralism is under unprecedented strain aggravated by intensified geo-strategic competition, deepening inequality, state fragility and an increasingly complex set of threats and challenges.
8. Within this context, Africa is navigating a series of complex and interlinked challenges. Several states are facing a crisis of legitimacy amid a difficult post-pandemic recovery, the debt crisis, fiscal pressures, climate change, increasing inequality.
9. We are witnessing increasing political instrumentalization and manipulation of Africa’s youth, the majority of whom face unemployment. Many of these youths, with access to digital technologies, are increasingly being mobilized in ways that undermine existing democratic systems. Moreover, the rapid spread of populist ‘sovereignty’ narratives, as evident in the Sahel, coupled with calls from some quarters for military takeovers, risks gaining wider traction across other parts of the continent.
10. West Africa has experienced both civilian and military challenges to constitutional order, compounded by deep-seated and rapidly expanding terrorism and insecurity. The region is also witnessing a fundamental rupture in regional cooperation and a strain on long-standing ECOWAS integration arrangements.
11. The Horn of Africa too has entered a challenging period with the war in The Sudan, protracted conflict in South Sudan, and a complex security transition in Somalia. Sharp geo-strategic competition, both around the Red Sea and within the wider global arena, is increasingly shaping dynamics in the region. In the Great Lakes, the complex war economy in eastern DRC remains at the heart of the long-standing crisis, compounded by rising inter-state tensions and intensifying geo-strategic rivalries.
12. To compound the situation of Africa’s security landscape, the continent has, in recent years, regrettably become the global epicentre of terrorism. Terrorist activity has expanded dramatically from the Sahel to the coastal states, while persisting in the DRC, Mozambique, the Lake Chad Basin, and Somalia. Weakening political systems and the emergence of governance vacuums have created fertile ground for terrorists and criminal networks to expand their influence, often including exploiting longstanding grievances.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

13. This is a defining moment for our continent. It is evident that the existing frameworks in their current configuration are not adequate and effective to address today’s complex dynamics and challenges. This underscores the urgent need to reform and strengthen Africa’s peace and security architecture.
14. The AU’s presence in regional hotspots remains weak, less coordinated and under-resourced. The AU’s network of Special Envoys and High Representatives is under-utilized and is probably in need of a reset in certain cases. Strengthening the performance and effectiveness of AU peace support operations is a strategic imperative, given the complex and interconnected nature of threats to collective peace and security. The fight against terrorism on our continent remains fragmented, reactive, not effectively coordinated and inadequately resourced. Developing a comprehensive Plan of Action for countering terrorism in Africa as envisioned in the 2022 Malabo Declaration, cannot wait any longer.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

15. Despite the foregoing challenges, the last two decades have provided veritable lessons which we must harness in the search for a more robust peace and security arrangement. I am confident that this meeting and this esteemed panel has what it takes to reimagine a more effective framework.
16. In the past, we have witnessed assessments and reviews of previous AU reform initiatives that revealed a rich catalogue of recommendations and proposals. Yet, many of these have remained unimplemented due to limited stakeholder buy-in, weak monitoring and evaluation, and, most critically, the lack of a structured implementation process within the Union. I believe that the review of the AU’s Governance, Peace and Security Frameworks that we are undertaking now will not be allowed to fall victim of these shortcomings.

Excellencies, Distinguished Experts, Ladies and Gentlemen,

17. Once again let me welcome you to Kenya and wish you fruitful deliberations. It is now my honour and pleasure to declare the High-Level Meeting on the Review of the African Union’s Governance, Peace and Security Frameworks officially open.

Thank you.

Solomon Ayele Dersso, PhD
Founding Director, Amani Africa

Your excellency Ambassador Churchil Monono, Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council for the Month of September 2023

Your excellencies, members of the Peace and Security Council

We at Amani Africa Media and Research Services have the pleasure of addressing this premier peace and security decision-making body of our Union on this timely and pressing theme.

The Malabo Extraordinary Summit is a key milestone in Africa’s long journey towards putting in place mechanisms for effectively responding to and addressing humanitarian crises on the continent since the OAU’s 1969 Convention Governing Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problems in Africa.

With the establishment of the African Humanitarian Agency, the Summit enabled the AU to be equipped with the institutional arrangement that helps facilitate in the implementation of the Union’s normative and policy instruments from the 1969 Refugee Convention to the Kampala Convention on the Protection of IDPs.

Excellencies,

One of the unique attributes of the AU is the fact that it is founded on the principle of non-indifference. As an expression of the African world view ‘I am because you are’, Ubuntu, this principle Commits the African Union to come to the protection of people who are caught up in humanitarian crises and not to stand by and watch as they endure massacre, forced displacement and starvation.

The outcomes of the Malabo Summit including the African Humanitarian Agency are critical to giving expression in practical terms to this AU’s founding principle of non-indifference. The implication of this is that the AU, including through the leadership of the PSC, will and should be the first to engage in mobilizing responses to the needs of people caught up in humanitarian crises.

While part of the provision of response to humanitarian needs involves contributing to the raising of the funds and mobilizing humanitarian assistance required to meet such needs on the continent, AU’s role including through the African Humanitarian Agency will not primarily be to become the main funder and provider of humanitarian assistance on the continent.

Considering the well-developed capacities and instruments at the disposal of various humanitarian actors including UN humanitarian agencies like the UNHCR or ICRC, AU’s comparative advantage, on account of its unique attributes, lies mobilizing solidarity, political action, coordination and diplomacy. AU’s role thus first relates to coordination of humanitarian action for which the AU, through the African Humanitarian Agency, needs to engage in the tracking of the humanitarian situation and the collection of data on trends in and dynamics of the humanitarian situation on the continent. This additionally entails the identification of the needs of and mobilization of support to countries and communities in their effort to mitigate and respond to humanitarian crises.

The Second concerns the creation of space and the provision of support for mobilization of public opinion and action on humanitarian needs and for the organization and effective functioning of local humanitarian actors. As part of giving recognition to the enormous burden that host communities and countries bear as first responders, this should not only tap into the role of African non-state actors but also support the development and organization of indigenous entities engaged in supporting humanitarian action.

Third and perhaps the most significant role and contribution that is particularly befitting to the attributes of the AU involves humanitarian diplomacy. Considering its diplomatic and political profile, the AU is best placed to use the African Humanitarian Agency as the vehicle for mobilizing and engaging in humanitarian diplomacy. With the Agency, the AU has come to have a much-needed tool, as part of its peace and security and humanitarian action toolbox, critical to effectively developing AU’s capacity in humanitarian diplomacy.

It is therefore Amani Africa’s submission that particular attention is given in the building AU’s role in humanitarian action to humanitarian diplomacy. AU’s humanitarian diplomacy is best mobilized and organized around, among others,

1. advocating for the mobilization of support for people in humanitarian crisis and the recognition and support of national and local humanitarian actors in their effort to support those affected by humanitarian crises;
2. the deployment of diplomatic missions for facilitating unhindered humanitarian access;
3. securing guarantee from conflict parties for safe, free and voluntary passage for civilians in conflict settings to areas where they can access assistance; and
4. promoting respect for and full cooperation by conflict parties with humanitarian actors;
5. monitor and advocate for compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law standards as well as humanitarian principles;

Excellencies and distinguished participants,

When Africa faced major humanitarian crises as a result of conflicts and insecurity in the 1990s, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) pointed out in the Declaration Establishing the OAU mechanism on Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution that ‘conflicts have forced millions of our people, including women and children, into a drifting life as refugees and internally displaced persons, deprived of their means of livelihood, human dignity and hope’. These same powerful words are restated in the preamble to the PSC protocol.

In recent years, we have unfortunately experienced continuing deterioration in the humanitarian situation on the continent. The refugee and displacement crisis on our continent is currently at record high. As a result, today there are more people on our continent today than in the 1990s ‘who are forced into a drifting life as refugees and IDPs, deprived of their dignity and hope’.

The number of people forcibly displaced, mostly as a result of war and conflicts, have reached more than 40 million. This, your excellencies, is more than double the number of forcibly displaced people in 2016.

That such a staggering number of people on our continent are ‘forced to live a drifting life as refuges and IDPs deprived of their dignity and hope’ far more than in the 1990s is an indictment for all of us and particularly the AU and this august body.

In the light of the continually deteriorating humanitarian situation on the continent and in order to avail the PSC a mechanism for a more effective engagement in humanitarian action, it is therefore our submission that the PSC establishes an African platform on humanitarian action along the lines of the African Platform on Children Affected by Conflict – this platform on humanitarian action like the one on Children can be co-chaired by PSC member(s) that champion(s) this theme, interested members of the PSC, PAPS department and technical entities like UNHCR and research organizations like Amani Africa that provide the technical backstopping.

The urgency for humanitarian action in Sudan

Currently, the most heart wrenching manifestation of the gravity of the forced displacement crisis on the continent is the raging war in Sudan. The humanitarian situation has become so concerning so much so that the UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffith, who did not mince his words in stating that the war in Sudan is fuelling a humanitarian emergency of epic proportions, sounded the alarm with the extraordinary warning that ‘war and hunger could destroy Sudan.’

Excellencies,

On the 15^th day of this month, the war in Sudan marked its fifth months. During this period, nearly six million people have been forcibly displaced, with one million of them crossing into neighbouring countries as refugees and asylum seekers and the remaining displaced internally.

This means that this war forcibly displaced over a million people every month.

One of the world’s fast-growing displacement crises is also unfortunately accompanied by other no less severe humanitarian crisis including but not limited to

• severe challenges to humanitarian access (humanitarian actors are able to reach only 19 percent of the 18 million people in need of humanitarian assistance) and
• other forms of humanitarian emergencies including complete breakdown of the health system in Sudan, with nearly 80 percent of health services not functioning as a result of the indiscriminate attacks that warring parties perpetrated on civilian infrastructure in the country and with more than 6 million including hundreds of thousands of children facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity.

Excellencies,

As I conclude, I would like to state that the principle of non-indifference, which is the golden standard for the effective functioning of AU’s role in peace and security and humanitarian action, requires this august body not to be a bystander as Sudan faces the risk of not only humanitarian disaster but also collapse.

As Amani Africa we therefore submit that the PSC establishes a taskforce for monitoring, documenting and reporting on the humanitarian situation and protection of civilians in Sudan as well as for engaging in humanitarian diplomacy efforts focusing on

• the mobilization of support from within the continent in expression of solidarity with the people of Sudan;
• Ensuring that the conflict parties commit to and unconditionally stop indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure;
• securing guarantee from conflict parties to ensure for safe, free and voluntary passage for civilians in conflict settings to areas where they can access assistance; and
• promoting respect for and full cooperation by conflict parties with humanitarian actors
• Ensuring compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law standards.

Thank you for your attention!