Tomorrow (17 November), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC) are scheduled to hold their 8^th Annual Consultative Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The consultative meeting will be co-chaired by Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cameroon to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for November 2025, and Ricklef Beutin, Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UN and Chairperson of the UNPBC. Following the welcoming remark of the co-chairpersons, Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security and Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the AU and Head of the United Nations Office to the AU (UNOAU), are expected to make statements. It is the second time that the consultative meeting is being held since the decision of the PSC and the PBC during the 6^th Informal Annual Consultative Meeting held in November 2023, to elevate the annual informal consultation into a formal consultative meeting.

Convened during the AU Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) Awareness Raising Week, taking place from 17 to 21 November, tomorrow’s session is expected to build on the 7^th consultative session. It is to be recalled that, the Joint Statement adopted during the last joint consultations, the 7^th Annual Consultative Meeting, emphasised the role of the PBC in convening stakeholders and garnering international support, as well as the role of the AU in implementing and advancing PCRD policy, noting that ‘strengthened cooperation between the AUC-PCRD in Cairo and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office, in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (PBSO/DPPA), is essential for implementing the AU-UN MoU on Peacebuilding.’ The Pact for the Future, adopted at the Summit of the Future on 22 September 2024, inculcates renewed political momentum by reaffirming commitment to advancing peacebuilding efforts. The session also comes in the context of the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR), which offers a timely opportunity to both sharpen focus on operational effectiveness and measurable impact and to enhance close coordination between the AU and the UN in developing and implementing peacebuilding interventions in Africa.

Against the foregoing background, the first agenda item of the 8^th annual consultative meeting is the ‘Review of Collaborative Peacebuilding Efforts and Priorities.’ It is envisaged that the PSC and PSC Chair will take the lead in making a statement on this agenda item. This segment is expected to highlight the collaborative peacebuilding efforts of the AU and the PBC, as well as key achievements in peacebuilding and sustaining peace in Africa. It will pay particular attention to conflict prevention, sustainable financing and integration of peacebuilding with development priorities, particularly amid the ongoing 2025 PBAR. The PBAR is especially significant when viewed alongside the latest guiding multilateral frameworks, including the newly revised AUPCRD policy, the New Agenda for Peace and the Pact for the Future, which collectively call for more coherent and effective global governance approaches to conflict management. During the High-Level Dialogue on ‘Cultivating Consensus Towards a Common African Position on the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review,’ the AU engaged in developing a set of recommendations for consideration in the development of the Common African Position (CAP) on the 2025 PBAR, ensuring Africa’s ownership and leadership in advancing the peacebuilding agenda. This was informed by regional consultations, including the ACCORD-DIRCO-UNPBSO forum of October 2024, in which discussions centred on establishing stronger links between the UN PBSO and regional and national mechanisms to enhance peacebuilding efforts.

The CAP developed and adopted by the PSC in 2020, as Africa’s contribution to the first Review of the UNPBA, identified twelve core peacebuilding priorities that continue to hold relevance today. These include managing transitions which assumed particular significance during the past few years; strengthening inclusive, resilient and responsive governance institutions; advancing transitional justice; preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism; and ensuring sustainable financing for peacebuilding, among others. However, national peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction efforts are increasingly challenged by various, at times intersecting political transitions being pursued in a context mired by terrorism and violent extremism, rising debt distress and cost of living, institutional fragility, breakdown of state-society relations, contested legitimacy of governments,  pandemics, rising geopolitical fragmentation and tension and the escalating impacts of climate change. As a result, support to African countries emerging from conflict or navigating complex transitions must be planned and developed to address these interconnected pressures within and as part of a political settlement rather than just as a technical process. It is therefore essential that the current review of the UNPBA reflects and integrates these priority concerns into its deliberations.

The second agenda item focuses on Youth – linkages between development and Peacebuilding. Under this agenda item, it is envisaged that the PSC and the African Union Youth Ambassador for Peace (AYAP) will make the presentation. It is expected that the PBC will also give an update on youth engagement in the Peacebuilding Architecture. In the previous Annual Joint Consultations between the two bodies, both bodies underscored ‘the importance of the Youth Peace and Security Agenda and to leverage the AU’s Youth Decade Plan of Action and the PBC’s Strategic Action Plan on Youth and Peacebuilding to promote the inclusion of youth in peacebuilding efforts, including by building their capacities, skills and livelihoods to actively contribute to sustaining peace and development.’ This focus on youth comes at a time when Generation Z (GenZ) protests have become recurrent, highlighting the growing disenchantment of the majority youthful population on the continent with the state of governance and economic opportunities.  As highlighted in our analysis of the PSC’s 1310^th session on YPS and migration held early in the month, increasing youth migration and the entanglement of migration with various threats to peace and security is another manifestation of the discontent with the pervasive development and governance deficits in various parts of the continent. These clearly indicate the need for systematic peacebuilding interventions that address the twin challenges of development and governance deficits stunting opportunities for youth.

The PBC’s presentation is expected to highlight its involvement in initiatives such as the Africa Regional Consultation for the Second Independent Progress Study on YPS, mandated by Action 20 of the Pact for the Future. This forum provided a platform to highlight new narratives and contributions that young people are making in peace processes. Moreso, the Peacebuilding Support Office, together with partners, commissioned the 2025 Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) Thematic Review on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), which highlights best practices and lessons from 41 PBF-funded projects across 33 countries (2018 – 2022). The review outlines how these initiatives expanded opportunities for youth participation in decision-making by supporting youth councils, strengthening stakeholder dialogue and fostering youth networks and YPS linkages, which also contributed to the development of National Action Plans and other national strategies on YPS.

The third and last agenda item of the 8^th consultative meeting is a discussion on ‘Peacebuilding Initiatives in South Sudan, Sahel countries and the Lake Chad Basin.’ The fragile political and security situation in those areas has compelled the AU to intensify its efforts to respond effectively. Since early 2025, the PSC has intensified its engagement on the situation in South Sudan in response to escalating political and security instability. Since clashes erupted in March between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and armed groups linked to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO), a recent Amani Africa briefing to the UNSC on the situation in South Sudan highlighted that the fragile peace established under the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) is in grave peril and the country is on the cusp of relapsing back to full-scale war. For pursuing meaningful peacebuilding, the briefing emphasized that the downward spiral to full-scale conflict should be arrested through robust and prompt preventive diplomacy; measures that restore commitment of the parties to the 2018 peace agreement such as dialogue should be urgently implemented; and support to the work of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), particularly in enhancing protection of civilians and advancing sub-national peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts should be sustained.

The situation in the Sahel countries epitomises the challenges to peacebuilding efforts in political transition taking place in a context of violent extremism and conflict involving terrorist groups and a geopolitical context of absence of trust and broken regional and international relationships. As highlighted in the edition of Insight on the PSC for the informal consultation with countries in transition held on 13 November, pursuing the transition process for restoration of constitutional order (and by extension peacebuilding activities) cannot be separated from and need to be part of a wider stabilization and state authority expansion strategy backed by a security mechanism they develop and deploy together with the Sahel countries to address the existential threat facing these countries.

Finally, in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB), despite the sustained efforts being deployed by the LCB Commission and the MNJTF, Boko Haram remains an existential threat to peace and security in the area and the wider region. The gravity of this threat has not diminished, and the MNJTF has not been able to break this status quo. At the same time, the emergence of developments weakening the MNJTF and persisting vulnerabilities due to climate, security and governance fragilities are fast bringing the MNJTF to a turning point. Yet, given the important contribution of the stabilisation strategy for the region, the challenge is how to scale up peacebuilding interventions and expand the nature and focus of such interventions in the region.

The expected outcome is a joint statement. The two bodies are expected to encourage Member States to integrate peacebuilding and social cohesion into their National Development Strategies, emphasising strong national ownership and leadership, as well as the inclusive participation of all segments of society, particularly women and youth. The meeting is also likely to reiterate the urge for international partners, including in the UN System, as well as international and regional financial institutions, to align and coordinate their peacebuilding-related efforts in Africa, with nationally led peacebuilding, regionally and continentally supported efforts, with particular emphasis on addressing the twin challenges of development and governance deficits triggering youth protests and migration. The two bodies are also likely to stress the importance of effective partnership and cooperation, including with the regional and sub-regional organisations, to improve coordination and cooperation in peacebuilding, and increase synergies to ensure the coherence and complementarity of such efforts. The AUPSC and UNPBC are also expected to highlight the importance of political commitment on the part of national political actors and authorities and the need for pursuing peacebuilding as part of a political settlement that has solid support from various sectors of society and all political and social forces, including the youth and women.

Tomorrow (09 October), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (AU PSC) and the European Union (EU) Political and Security Committee (EUPSC) will convene their 16^th annual joint consultative meeting. This follows the 8^th annual joint retreat taking place today in Brussels, Belgium, where the consultative meeting is also being held.

Opening remarks at the 16th consultative meeting are expected from Tebelelo Boang, Permanent Representative of Botswana to the AU and the AU PSC Chairperson for October, and the Permanent Chair of the EUPSC, Delphine Pronk.

This year’s consultative meeting comes against the background of three consecutive years of the AUPSC and the EUPSC being unable to adopt a joint communique due to disagreement over the language to be included with specific reference to the war in Ukraine. It is anticipated that this trend will finally come to an end during this year’s consultative meeting.

The members of the PSC reviewed and provided inputs on the draft joint communiqué only yesterday 6 October after the draft was sent by the EU side to the AU belatedly on Friday 3 October. The agenda for this year’s consultative meeting reflects continuity with past discussions, focusing on developments in the Horn of Africa—particularly Somalia/AUSSOM and Sudan—, the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, and the Great Lakes Region. In addition, the two sides are expected to address broader global geopolitical developments under ‘Any Other Business’. Additionally, the final agenda included ‘Working lunch on Women, Peace and Security’ during which the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security is scheduled to make a presentation.

Horn of Africa

Under the Horn of Africa agenda item, two situations are envisaged to receive particular attention: the situation in Somalia, including the deployment of AUSSOM, and the ongoing crisis in Sudan.

With Ethiopia and Eswatini leading the intervention of the PSC on Somalia and AUSSOM, the dominant concern remains the mission’s funding. AUSSOM is faced with an existential crisis, arising from mounting debts and the lack of a predictable and sustainable financing arrangement to sustain operations until its planned exit at the end of 2029.

The AU had pinned its hope on UN Security Council Resolution 2719 on the financing of AU-led Peace Support Operations as a viable framework for predictable financing. However, efforts to operationalise the resolution stalled in May after the UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement, primarily due to U.S. opposition to applying the resolution as a test case for AUSSOM.

The AU has long explored alternative mechanisms, particularly the convening of a pledging conference. Following repeated delays—including earlier plans for Doha to host—progress was made on 25 September 2025 when the AU, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), the UN, and the United Kingdom co-convened a High-Level Financing Event for AUSSOM on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The AU has already committed an unprecedented amount of USD 20 million from its Peace Fund Crisis Reserve Facility for the mission’s 2025 operations, in addition to the provision of personnel and logistical enablers to strengthen operational effectiveness. The United Kingdom pledged GBP 16.5 million (USD 22 million), while Italy and Spain each appeared to commit USD 1 million. Additional, albeit modest, contributions are also anticipated from Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Given the nearly $200 million annual budget of AUSSOM, the pledges—though symbolically important—remain insufficient to bridge the gap. The co-chairs’ summary of the New York event underscored that ‘AUSSOM’s sustainability depends on closing the current financing gap, which remains substantial’. Yet, in the immediate term, there may be a possibility for significantly reducing the financing gap if the EU comes to the rescue of the mission through additional renewed support, considering the EU investment into this mission as the single largest contributor to AU missions in Somalia, providing close to €2.7 billion since 2007.

While the EU has not yet announced a specific funding package for AUSSOM, following the signal from the EU during the pledging conference in New York, expectations remain high that the EU may make an announcement in the near future. Tomorrow’s consultative meeting is expected to provide more clarity on the EU’s thinking in this respect.

Meanwhile, Somalia’s political landscape remains tense, with disagreements sparked by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s introduction of a ‘one person, one vote’ electoral model for the 2026 elections, replacing the long-standing clan-based indirect system. The move has generated friction with opposition figures and some of the federal member states, notably Jubaland and Puntland. These tensions risk diverting focus from the fight against al-Shabaab and, if left unresolved, could potentially escalate into violence.

It is also expected that, despite the fact that the attempt to apply Resolution 2719 to AUSSOM did not succeed, reference will be made in the outcome document to the continued relevance of Resolution 2719 and the imperative for its implementation.

With Tanzania and Algeria leading PSC’s intervention on Sudan, discussions are expected to focus on the security, political, humanitarian situations and the ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Fierce fighting has continued around El-Fasher and the Kordofan region between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

On the political front, a particular point of concern for both counterparts will be the establishment of parallel governing structures and their implications for Sudan’s territorial integrity. In May 2025, SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan appointed Kamil Idris as prime minister and announced a technocratic government based in Port Sudan. In response, the RSF-led Tasis coalition declared its own parallel government in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, in July 2025, naming Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi as Prime Minister, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo as head of a Presidential Council, and SPLM-N leader Abdel Aziz al-Hilu as his deputy.

The PSC, during its 1264^th, 1292^nd, and 1293^rd sessions, firmly rejected the RSF’s creation of a parallel government and urged AU member states and the wider international community not to recognise it. Similarly, the 24 September 2025 Co-Chairs’ statement issued by the AU, EU, France, Germany, and the UK following a ministerial meeting on Sudan ‘strongly’ rejected the establishment of parallel governing structures. In tomorrow’s meeting, the PSC and the EU PSC may reiterate the more neutral language of the co-chairs’ statement, rejecting the establishment of parallel governments in Sudan, while emphasising the need for a Sudanese-led and Sudanese-owned transition process.

Signs of a more concerted diplomatic process gained momentum in September, though it remains fragile and without any breakthrough. On 12 September, the foreign ministers of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (the Quad) issued a joint statement calling for an initial three-month humanitarian truce leading to a permanent ceasefire, followed by the launch and conclusion of an inclusive and transparent transition process within nine months. The conflict parties did not heed the call.

On 24 September, the Quad’s foreign ministers met again on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. That same day, the AU, EU, France, Germany, and the UK convened a ministerial meeting with relevant actors to discuss Sudan and coordinate efforts toward de-escalation and civilian protection. The Co-Chairs’ statement, while welcoming Quad’s joint statement, expressed support for the AU and IGAD’s efforts to coordinate international and bilateral initiatives to pressure all Sudanese parties towards a ceasefire, humanitarian action and political dialogue. While these peace initiatives are encouraging, the lack of coordination among various initiatives remains a major challenge to launching a credible single peace process for Sudan—a challenge that tomorrow’s meeting is likely to reflect upon further.

The two counterparts are also expected to discuss ways of increasing pressure on the warring parties to allow unhindered humanitarian access, urge foreign actors to refrain from fueling the conflict, and step up humanitarian assistance in response to what has become the world’s most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis—with over two-thirds of the population (30 million people) in need of assistance and more than 24 million facing acute food insecurity.

Great Lakes Region

With The Gambia and Equatorial Guinea leading PSC’s intervention, on the Great Lakes Region, as before, the focus remains on the situation in eastern DRC and the renewed diplomatic efforts to address it—particularly the involvement of the US and Qatar alongside the AU and relevant regional blocs (SADC and EAC). Diplomatic activity has intensified since M23’s significant territorial advances in eastern DRC beginning in January, including control of mineral-rich Goma in North Kivu Province.

A major breakthrough was the US-brokered peace agreement signed between the DRC and Rwanda on 27 June 2025. The two parties agreed, among others, to refrain from acts of aggression; to immediately and unconditionally end state support to non-state armed groups; and to implement the Harmonised Plan for the Neutralisation of the FDLR and Disengagement of Forces/Lifting of Defensive Measures by Rwanda—an outcome of the Luanda process. To support implementation, a Joint Oversight Committee—composed of the two parties, the US, Qatar, Togo (as AU facilitator), and the AU Commission—has been operationalised and has convened three meetings so far, the latest held earlier this month. In parallel, Qatar has been facilitating direct peace talks between the DRC and M23 since late March. This separate but coordinated track with the US produced a preliminary peace agreement in July, but missed the mid-August deadline for a final deal. Talks are expected to resume during the week of 6 October.

Meanwhile, in March, the joint EAC-SADC Summit appointed a Panel of Facilitators composed of five former Presidents to support the DRC peace process. On 1 August, the Co-Chairs of the Joint EAC-SADC Summit met the Panel in Nairobi and adopted a framework to merge the Nairobi and Luanda processes. They also decided on the immediate merger of EAC-SADC and AU structures into a single mechanism comprising the AU Mediator and the EAC-SADC Panel of Facilitators. The Summit further called on the AU Commission to ensure all other initiatives and stakeholders align with this African-led process.

Against this backdrop, tomorrow’s meeting will grapple with at least three issues. First, despite progress in implementing the US-brokered peace agreement, hostilities and hostile rhetoric persist, with the parties trading blame for obstructing peace efforts. Second, accountability in the region is critical in light of continued allegations of human rights violations against civilians, as evidenced in the 5 September report of the Fact-Finding Mission on North and South Kivu. Third, there is also the issue of how the three peace initiatives could be consolidated into one credible process.

Sahel and Lake Chad Basin

On the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, Algeria, Angola, and Nigeria will lead the intervention of the PSC during tomorrow’s meeting. The security and political situation in the Sahel has continued to deteriorate since the last consultative meetings of the two organs in November 2024. JNIM and ISGS have intensified their attacks in the Central Sahel and expanded their operations into coastal West Africa. This worsening insecurity is compounded by protracted political transitions, with the juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger consolidating power and extending military rule until 2030.

The approach of the AU and the regional body ECOWAS was primarily focused on the unconstitutional change of government, with no due regard to the priority issue of saving the countries from the existential threat facing them due to terrorism. In a departure from this flawed policy approach, at their second annual joint consultative meeting, they held in May, the PSC and ECOWAS agreed to develop a security cooperation framework with the three countries to more effectively respond to the crisis.

Tomorrow’s consultative meeting is expected to discuss recent AU efforts, including the AU Commission Chairperson’s meeting with representatives of the three countries in May, the visit of Angola’s Foreign Minister as special envoy on behalf of AU Chairperson João Lourenço, and the July appointments of President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi as Special Envoy for the Sahel and former Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara as Special Representative for Mali and the Sahel and Head of MISAHEL. The meeting is further expected to deliberate on ways to step up engagement with the three countries to address the security crisis as a critical avenue for facilitating a return to constitutional order.

On Lake Chad Basin, tomorrow’s discussion is expected to focus on the security and humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad Basin, the operations and support needs of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), and the status of implementing the Regional Strategy for Stabilisation, Recovery and Resilience (RS-SRR). The EU has pledged €30 million over 18 months from January 2025 to strengthen MNJTF operations, while the AU Commission has also been providing support through the Crisis Reserve Facility of the AU Peace Fund and equipment from the Continental Logistics Base. A key regional development of interest to the consultative meeting is Niger’s March announcement of its withdrawal from the MNJTF, raising fears that this could weaken the Force and create a security vacuum that can be exploited by terrorist groups active in the region.

This year, beyond African peace and security issues, the agenda also reserves space for Any Other Business (AOB) to discuss global geopolitical developments. As an agenda proposed by the EU side, it remains unclear what the focus of the discussion on this agenda would be. However, there is increasing recognition that the major global geopolitical changes, characterised by, among others, the emergence of a multipolar world, are not without serious implications for both the AU and the EU and for their relationship. In this context, the flagrant breaches of international law norms, including international humanitarian law and related challenges to multilateralism and global governance reform, may also feature in the discussions.

As noted earlier, for the past three years, the PSC and the EU PSC have been unable to adopt a joint communiqué, primarily due to disagreements over the language to be used on the war in Ukraine. As highlighted in our earlier insights on the PSC, the recent AU–EU ministerial meeting held in May 2025 and the ongoing negotiations toward the outcome document of the forthcoming AU–EU Summit, expected in November 2025, have created optimism that both sides may reach common ground to adopt a joint communiqué this time. Indications are that the draft communiqué of the consultative meeting reproduced the formulation used in the joint ministerial communiqué which expressed support for ‘a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in Ukraine, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Sahel and in other major wars and conflicts around the globe, including Syria.’ With this, the two sides are expected to adopt a joint communiqué, ending the past three years of deadlock in adopting such a communiqué.

Tomorrow (08 October), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the European Union (EU) Political and Security Committee (EUPSC) will convene their 8^th informal joint retreat, which will be followed by the 16^th annual joint consultative meeting to be convened on 09 October. This year’s joint retreat and consultative meeting is set to be hosted by EUPSC in Brussels, Belgium.

Ahead of the joint retreat, the AU PSC, particularly at the level of the Committee of Experts, met in Brussels on 6 October to finalise consultation on the agenda and the assignment of roles in leading interventions by members of the PSC. With the draft communique initiated by the EU side relayed to the AU belatedly on Friday 3 October, this will also be the first time that the AU PSC gets a chance to view and discuss on the draft joint communiqué.

Since 2015, the AUPSC and the EUPSC have institutionalised the practice of holding an informal joint retreat before their annual consultative meeting. Typically, the informal joint retreat focuses on current thematic issues. Tomorrow’s retreat is expected to focus on three key agenda items. The first one will be Peace Support Operations, with a focus on the implementation of United Nations (UN) Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2719 and complementarity between Africa-led operations and EU-Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations. The second agenda item will focus on maritime security, and the third will address hybrid threats to peace and security, with a particular emphasis on cybersecurity, AI, and disinformation.

Peace support operations constitute a major area of longstanding partnership between the AU and the EU. With the understanding that AU’s peace support operations are critical for advancing global public good and fill in critical gaps in the international peace and security architecture, the EU has been a leading partner of the AU, among others, in making significant financial contributions to AU peace operations. Following the end of the Africa Peace Facility and the inauguration of the European Peace Facility, there has been a shift in approach. Yet, tomorrow’s session is expected to build on the AU-EU ministerial joint communiqué commitment to ‘strengthen African security, defence capabilities and stabilisation, including the supply of military equipment through the European Peace Facility and the African Peace and Security Architecture.’

In terms of partnership on peace operations in Africa, the most notable recent development was the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2719 on the financing of AU-led peace operations. One concrete situation in respect of which there was strong convergence between the AU and the EU on the application of this resolution was the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). Thus, EU-AU Foreign Ministers in the Joint Communiqué they adopted after their meeting on 21 May 2025 ‘recognised the need for adequate, predictable and sustainable international support for AUSSOM and supported the hybrid implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2719 (2023) pertaining to the framework for financing the AU PSOs by the UN [and] considered this as more pressing given the multiplicity of challenges facing the Federal Government of Somalia and the need to continue supporting the government and strengthening state institutions.’ Despite the consensus between the AU and the EU on the application of UNSC Resolution 2719, the UNSC failed to adopt a decision on the use of this resolution for financing the AU mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). With no alternative source of funding available, the AUSSOM is faced with an existential financial crisis.

Despite the setback regarding the application of the Resolution for financing AUSSOM, the PSC is expected not only to affirm strong support for Resolution 2719 but also to call for strong commitment by all for the implementation of the resolution. The draft joint communiqué initiated by the EU side does not contain a dedicated language on Resolution 2719, which is viewed by members of the PSC as an omission that needs to be rectified. It is thus anticipated that the PSC will push for a formulation expressing strong support for and a joint call for advancing the implementation of the resolution in the joint communiqué to be adopted during the annual consultative meeting.

The second sub-item of the first agenda item focuses on complementarity between African missions and EU missions/operations. The EU runs various missions and operations as part of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and CSDP in various parts of the continent, including three military operations (Central African Republic (CAR), Mozambique and Somalia) and five civilian missions (CAR, Gulf of Guinea, Libya, Mauritania and Somalia). In the theatres where African and EU missions operate in parallel, there is an opportunity for closer coordination and advancing complementarity. It is expected that during tomorrow’s retreat, the PSC and the EUPSC will exchange on opportunities not only for experience and information sharing but also for technical and logistical cooperation between the Africa-led missions and the EU-CSDP missions and operations operating in the same country.

The other agenda item tabled for the AUPSC-EUPSC informal retreat is Maritime Security. From the Joint communiqué of the May 2025 AU-EU Summit, the ministers welcomed the ongoing cooperation between the two continents on enhancing maritime security in the ocean and sea bordering Africa and Europe. In this regard, they ‘renewed their commitment to maintaining a rules-based maritime order in accordance with the principles of international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and called for greater exchange of information, improvement of operational coordination and provision of enforcement capacity to protect sea lanes and combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking and piracy. The ministers also committed to work together to end Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, take action to conserve and sustainably use the ocean and sea, as well as promote science-based management of marine resources.’ The upcoming consultations are likely to discuss the evolving maritime security threats critical to Africa’s blue economy, global trade routes and EU-Africa partnerships.

The engagement on this may build on the 23 April 1275^th session of the PSC, which focused on the ‘Imperative of a Combined Maritime Task Force in Addressing Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.’ From the session’s communiqué, it is notable that beyond endorsing the Combined Maritime Task Force for the Gulf of Guinea as a standing, ready-to-deploy force capable of rapid and coordinated regional responses, the PSC underscored the importance of addressing the underlying drivers of maritime crime – poverty, weak governance and limited economic opportunities. This marked a welcome shift toward a holistic, preventive approach to maritime security, recognising that sustainable stability cannot be secured through military and law enforcement measures alone. By prioritising issues such as development deficits, corruption, youth unemployment and lack of sustainable livelihoods, the approach holds promise for building long-term resilience in coastal communities.

Finally, the last agenda item to be discussed at the AUPSC-EUPSC joint informal retreat is hybrid threats to peace and security, with particular focus on cybersecurity, AI and disinformation. Hybrid threats encompassing cybersecurity breaches, AI-driven manipulations and disinformation campaigns have escalated globally and across Africa as well, posing a threat to stability. According to INTERPOL’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report, a growing share of reported crimes in Africa is cyber-related. The report goes further and highlights that, despite the rising caseloads, most African states surveyed still lack essential IT infrastructure to combat cybercrime. Just 30 per cent of countries reported having an incident reporting system, 29 per cent a digital evidence repository and 19 per cent a cyberthreat intelligence database.

Regarding AI and disinformation, the AU Commission Chairperson noted in a speech earlier this year that ‘with AI’s ability to spread rapidly, …complex ethical and security concerns now exist.’ He cautioned that ‘[l]eft unchecked, AI will amplify these threats, exploiting disinformation, cyber-attacks, and even autonomous weapons,’ adding that disinformation and hate speech in the online space have become ‘most dangerous accelerators of conflicts.’ Accordingly, the AUC Chairperson counselled that ‘[o]ur response must be to pursue a balanced approach—one that maximises AI’s benefits while mitigating its risks.’ It is expected within this context that the two sides would exchange respective experiences, both in terms of the nature and trend of the threat posed by cybersecurity, AI and disinformation, and in terms of the tools being used and developed to respond to these threats.  Issues that may feature include closing AI governance gaps, harmonising early warning systems for AI-driven misinformation and expanding capacity-building for digital literacy and fact-checking. By integrating African perspectives into the development of global AI norms and governance, as well as advancing joint action for countering hybrid threats, the consultations can ensure the adaptation of the AU’s and EU’s governance and peace and security instruments to these emerging domains.

Tomorrow (29 August), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1299th 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 Mohamed Khaled, Permanent Representative of Algeria to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for August 2025, followed by a statement from the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), Bankole Adeoye. The representatives of the A3 members—Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Somalia—are then expected to brief the PSC on their activities.

This engagement is in line with the first conclusion of the High-Level Seminar (HLS) on peace and security in Africa, held in December 2013 in Algiers, where participants agreed that the A3 would brief the PSC quarterly on African issues on the agenda of the UN Security Council (UNSC). The Manual on the Modalities for Enhancing Coordination between the PSC and the A3, adopted during the PSC’s 1289th session on 24 July 2025, also stipulates that A3 coordinators shall provide regular briefings and quarterly reports to the PSC. This mechanism is designed to ensure accountability of the A3 to the AU and amplify Africa’s common voice within the UNSC. Although this commitment was made more than a decade ago, the quarterly briefings have not been carried out as regularly as envisaged. Tomorrow’s session is therefore expected to help revive this practice and give it greater institutional weight.

The A3 are expected to brief the PSC on activities undertaken within the UNSC over the past quarter. In particular, they will highlight efforts of the A3+ (Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Guyana) in coordinating joint statements, engaging in collective negotiations, and increasingly assuming roles as penholder or co-penholder on African files. These activities are aimed at ensuring that Africa’s perspectives are integrated into UNSC decision-making and outcomes. One example likely to be cited is the joint statement delivered by the A3+ on 22 August during the UNSC’s meeting on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In that statement, the A3+ called for impartial investigations into atrocities committed by armed groups, demanded accountability for perpetrators, underscored the leading role of the AU and sub-regional mechanisms under Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé, and urged the establishment of a credible verification mechanism to oversee the implementation of the peace agreement.

The A3 are also expected to reflect on their role in negotiating UNSC outcome documents. Recent examples include negotiations on a draft resolution and statement concerning the situation in the DRC, as well as renewal of the sanctions regime in July and August. Earlier this month, the A3+ worked alongside the United Kingdom—penholder on the Sudan file—to draft a press statement following the RSF-led Tasis alliance’s declaration of a parallel governing authority. These instances underscore the growing contribution of the A3+ in shaping UNSC outcomes on African files.

Another positive development likely to be highlighted is the adoption of the Manual on the Modalities for Enhancing Coordination between the PSC and the A3. Adopted on 24 July 2025, this milestone consolidated practices and commitments developed over years of PSC sessions and HLS conclusions. The request for a manual was first raised at the 8th HLS in December 2021, when participants urged the AU Commission to prepare guidelines for A3 engagement and PSC–A3 cooperation, drawing on previous experiences. The draft was subsequently refined through successive HLS discussions before its final adoption last month.

While the adoption of the manual is a step forward, the main challenge lies in ensuring its implementation. As highlighted in our special research report ‘Making Africa’s Voice Matter in the UN Security Council: Bridging the Gap between Ambition and Reality in the Role of the African Three Members of the UNSC’, A3–PSC coordination over the past decade has often been irregular and ad hoc. The manual provides an opportunity to shift from fragmented practice to more consistent engagement, but this will only be achieved if agreed commitments are translated into action.

For example, modalities such as inviting the A3 to participate in PSC meetings on agenda items also under discussion at the UNSC, holding quarterly video teleconferences (VTCs) between the PSC Troika (outgoing, current, and incoming chairpersons) and the A3, and aligning the PSC’s monthly programme of work with the UNSC on African files have not been implemented regularly. Moreover, the PSC’s annual report to the AU Assembly has not systematically reflected A3 activities, instead annexing HLS conclusions without substantive assessment. The manual seeks to address this by requiring the A3 Secretariat, the AU Permanent Observer Mission to the UN in New York, to submit an annual report to the PSC Secretariat by the end of October each year. This year presents an opportunity to begin incorporating A3 activities into the PSC’s annual report, a task that will be considerably easier if quarterly engagements between the PSC and the A3 are regularised.

The A3 briefing may also highlight efforts to institutionalise and strengthen strategic engagements between the African and Caribbean members of the UNSC, with the aim of amplifying the voice of both regions in advancing their interests at the Council. In this context, the briefing may spotlight the annual A3 Plus retreat, held in Georgetown, Guyana, in February 2025, which provided an important platform for strengthening modalities of internal coordination.

Another activity likely to be highlighted in the briefing is the Arria-formula meeting convened by Sierra Leone on ‘The Global Race for Critical Minerals: Addressing Resource-Driven Insecurity in Africa,’ with Guyana and the incoming UNSC non-permanent members (the DRC and Liberia) as co-sponsors in July. This was an important engagement, providing a forum to deliberate on the ongoing global race for critical minerals in Africa and its implications for the continent’s peace and security.

The A3 are further expected to update the PSC on preparations for two major upcoming engagements: the Oran Process, scheduled for later this year, and the annual PSC–UNSC joint consultative meeting, expected in October in Addis Ababa. The Oran Process will include, for the first time, participation of the DRC and Liberia, both of which were elected in June to serve as non-permanent members of the UNSC for two-year terms starting in January 2026. Early involvement of these incoming members will help build continuity and strengthen institutional memory within the A3.

No outcome document, in the form of a communiqué or press statement, is expected from tomorrow’s briefing. However, the PSC may commend the A3 for their efforts in enhancing internal cohesion and promoting Africa’s common voice within the UNSC. It may also welcome the adoption of the Manual on the Modalities for Enhancing Coordination between the PSC and the A3 at its 1289th session and emphasise the importance of translating agreed modalities and commitments into practice, including the regularisation of quarterly briefings to the PSC by the A3. As highlighted in the manual, the PSC may further request the A3 to submit its report by October so that it can be included in the PSC’s annual report to be presented at the upcoming AU Summit.

Tomorrow (16 May), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) is expected to convene its Second Annual Joint Consultative Meeting with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mediation and Security Council (MSC), at the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Following opening remarks by Harold Bundu Saffa, Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the AU and PSC Chairperson for May, the Chair of ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council is expected to make a statement. Mahmoud Youssouf, Chairperson of the AU Commission, may also address the session.

The PSC held its inaugural meeting with Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) policy organs on the promotion of peace and security, focusing on harmonisation and coordination of decision-making processes and division of labour in May 2019. The joint communiqué of that meeting agreed to hold ‘annual joint consultative meetings, between the PSC and the RECs/RMs policy organs on peace and security issues, alternately in Addis Ababa and in the headquarters of the RECs/RMs, in rotation’ and to be ‘convened ahead of the mid-year coordination summit between the AU and RECs/RMs’. It took some years before the PSC acted on the convening of a consultative meeting with individual REC/RM policy-making organs similar to the consultative meeting it holds annually with the United Nations (UN) Security Council and the European Union (EU) Peace and Security Committee. The first such consultative meeting was held with the ECOWAS MSC on 24 April 202, when, as part of its April 2024 Programme of Work, the PSC undertook a field mission to Abuja, Nigeria, for the High-level African Counter Terrorism Meeting.

The Inaugural Joint Consultative Meeting with ECOWAS MSC zeroed in on the dire situation in West Africa, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, where terrorist activities have wreaked havoc on communities and derailed development. The Joint Communiqué voiced deep alarm over the surging insecurity fueled by terrorism and extremism. The two Councils called for robust counter-terrorism strategies, backed by substantial funding and resource mobilisation to bolster regional and continental peace operations. They emphasised the need for revitalisation of existing security frameworks, such as the Nouakchott and Djibouti Processes, the ECOWAS Plans of Action Against Terrorism, the Accra Initiative, and the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Basin. Beyond military measures, the meeting highlighted the necessity of tackling the root causes of terrorism – poverty, unemployment, political instability and social inequality.

Since then, a meeting of the Nouakchott process was held in November 2024 in Dakar, Senegal. Convened with the support of the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) and the Government of the Republic of Senegal, the meeting sought to ‘enhance coordination, information and intelligence sharing, and joint operations in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel-Sahara region.’ The meeting (which saw the participation of ECOWAS, MNJTF, Executive Secretariat of the Accra Initiative and the Fusion and Liaison Unit (UFL) of the Sahel countries) brought together the heads of intelligence services of the Sahel-Sahara countries, particularly member states of the Nouakchott Process and the Accra Initiative, namely Algeria, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Libya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo. It is of interest to both the PSC and the ECOWAS MSC to receive an update on the outcome of this meeting and how to build on the outcome for developing and implementing concrete policy action to stem the tide of conflicts involving terrorist groups in the Sahel and West Africa.

The other issue that the inaugural meeting focused on was the instability military coups induce and the governance deficits fueling unconstitutional changes of government (UCG), which has affected most prominently the ECOWAS region. They welcomed the creation of the PSC Sub-Committee on Sanctions to oversee UCG-related decisions. Against the background of the growing pressure for speeding up the process towards lifting suspension of countries in transition including the recent return of Gabon to the AU fold in full, tomorrow’s consultative meeting is also expected to discuss how the AU and ECOWAS develop a joint strategy and engage more actively to negotiate and agree on the parameters of the process for the restoration of constitutional order in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger while having regard to the specificities of each situation.

While they stressed the importance of joint mediation without clarifying the modalities for translating that into action, this requires that they change their institutional culture and the conceptual parameters governing their role in peace and security. First, they need to recognise that many of the challenges facing the region cannot be addressed by any one institution and need the role of both the AU and ECOWAS, having regard to the terms of Article 16 of the PSC Protocol. Second, conceptually, instead of subsidiarity and the competition it induces, they should embrace complementarity. Instead of comparative advantage, they should work on the basis of cumulative advantage.

In terms of modalities, the meeting agreed on mechanisms to ensure coherence and complementarity, including annual joint consultative meetings, frequent interactions between chairpersons and swift communication of decisions. They also proposed joint field missions, retreats, staff exchanges and the establishment of focal point teams. There is no indication that they have started to operationalise these proposed areas of action for deepening their close working relationship.

Given that this second consultative meeting coincides with the 50^th anniversary of ECOWAS, it is expected that the 50-year journey of ECOWAS, particularly in the realm of peace and security, democratic governance and constitutional rule, as well as regional integration and the challenges facing them, are expected to feature during the session. Of immediate concern will be the withdrawal of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) from ECOWAS. Indeed, during the inaugural session, a particularly pressing issue was the announcement of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger for withdrawal from ECOWAS. The two Councils urged continued engagement with these states to preserve regional stability, referencing the ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit communiqué of 24 February 2024, and Article 91 of the 1993 ECOWAS Revised Treaty, which outlines withdrawal procedures. On 29 January 2025, the withdrawal of these countries from ECOWAS took effect. This notwithstanding and in a commendable step, ECOWAS expressed commitment to preserving crucial privileges for citizens of these countries, including recognition of ECOWAS-branded documents, trade benefits under ETLS, visa-free movement rights, and support for ECOWAS officials from these nations.

Building on the maintenance of the relations, apart from commending ECOWAS on avoiding complete severance of the relationship, the consultative meeting may consider how best to support AES states in their quest for containing terrorism and restoring stability. Relatedly, of interest for both the AU and ECOWAS is also how to reverse the instrumentalisation of tensions and instability for settling geopolitical scores by external powers attempting to reduce the region into a theatre of geopolitical rivalry.

As with the first consultative meeting, the expected outcome is a Joint Communiqué. The meeting is expected to welcome the institutionalisation of the consultative meeting by implementing the joint communique of the inaugural meeting that decided the convening of the meeting on an annual basis. The PSC and the MSC are also expected to reiterate their commitment to deepen closer working relationship by implementing the conclusions of the inaugural consultative meeting. They may also welcome the steps taken in implementing the joint communique, particularly the convening of the Nouakchott process with the participation of ECOWAS and its member states. They may ask AU and ECOWAS Commissions to develop workstreams and focal points for operationalising the parts of the joint communique that are yet to be implemented. The PSC and the MSC may also underscore that most of the challenges in the region demand joint action and the collective weight of the AU and ECOWAS. The two sides may underscore the importance of ECOWAS as a key pillar of regional integration in the ECOWAS region and the need for revitalising ECOWAS and safeguarding the progress it registered during its 50-year journey. PSC and the MSC may also commend the measures ECOWAS adopted for keeping its door open for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, including by sustaining the benefits of ECOWAS membership to the citizens of the three countries.