INTRODUCTION

One of the policy briefs arising from the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s 2021 report ‘Our Common Agenda’ that is expected to be released in the near future is the New Agenda for Peace. The framing of the New Agenda for Peace echoes the 1992 report of the then Secretary-General of the UN Boutros Boutros Ghali titled An agenda for Peace, a report that sought to articulate the Secretary-General’s view of how the UN should pursue preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping in the post-Cold War world. Understandably, An Agenda for Peace was premised on the new context of the then emerging character the world order was taking in the aftermath of the demise of the Cold War.

INTRODUCTION

The 41^st Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and the 4^th AU Mid-year coordination meeting were held on 14-15 July and 17 July respectively in Lusaka, Zambia. The meetings were preceded by the 44^th Ordinary of the Permanent Representative Committee (PRC) held from 20 June to 8 July in Addis Ababa under the chairship of Senegal.

INTRODUCTION

On 28 May, the African Union (AU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government are scheduled to hold the 16^th extraordinary session in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. One of the two major agenda items for the extraordinary summit will be to deliberate on and adopt measures to address the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government (UCG) that the continent experienced during the past few years.

INTRODUCTION

On 27 May 2022, the African Union (AU) will hold an extraordinary humanitarian summit and pledging conference in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. This summit and its thematic focus on the humanitarian situation in Africa could not have been more timely. It is taking place at a time when the humanitarian situation has deteriorated beyond the levels witnessed in previous eras.

INTRODUCTION

The election for the 15 members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) was held on 3 February 2022 at the meeting of the 40th ordinary session of the Executive Council in line with its delegated power pursuant to Decision Assembly/ AU/Dec.106 (VI) of the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Assembly. The outcome of the election is expected to be approved by the Assembly during its 35th ordinary session, scheduled to take place on 5-6 February. While providing update on the conduct and outcome of the election, this policy brief also highlights some of the dynamics that transpired during the election as well as priorities for the new PSC.

INTRODUCTION

The tenure of all fifteen members of the PSC (see Table 1 below) serving for a two-year and three-year term is set to end at the end of March 2022. All PSC members are elected by the AU Executive Council and endorsed by the Assembly during its ordinary sessions. It is to be recalled that the Assembly delegated its envisaged power to elect members to the Executive Council during its sixth Ordinary Session (Assembly/AU/Dec. 106(VI)). One of the agenda items tabled for the fortieth Ordinary Session of the Executive Council slatted to take place on 2-3 February 2022 is, therefore, the election of the fifteen new or returning members of the Council.

INTRODUCTION

Silencing the Guns is one of the flagship projects of Africa’s development blue print of Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU). It provides the overarching objective guiding the efforts of the organization towards achieving a peaceful and secure Africa which is the foundation for the implementation the development and regional integration plans of the continent.

Following the ouster of President Ibrahim Keita on 18 August, both African and other international organizations condemned the acts of the army and called for restoration of constitutional order. The West African regional organization, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has taken the lead for achieving this end state. Yet, there remains uncertainty as to what form restoration of constitutional order would take in the context of Mali. In this policy brief, we seek to explain how the effort for restoring constitutional order may unfold and the form it could take.

INTRODUCTION

As the Horn of Africa gets dangerously entangled in the unfolding crisis between Saudi Arabia (and its allies) and Qatar, this policy brief examines why and how the African Union (AU) needs to pursue the implementation of its security architecture in the coast of greater Horn of Africa. It in particular looks at the case for AU to promote a collective security regime in this part of Africa.