Commemoration of Africa Day of Peace and Reconciliation
Commemoration of Africa Day of Peace and ReconciliationDate | 29 January 2026
Tomorrow (30 January), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1328th session where it will discuss the fourth commemoration of the ‘Africa Day of Peace and Reconciliation and Lessons learnt for the countries in conflict: Experiences of South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Angola, South Sudan, and the Great Lakes region’ as an open session.
Following the opening statement of the Chairperson of the PSC for the month, Jean-Léon Ngandu Ilunga, Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the AU, Bankole Adeoye, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), will make a statement. The meeting might feature Domingos Miguel Bembe, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Angola to the AU, who may provide a briefing on Angola’s efforts for peace and reconciliation on the continent, as the AU Champion for Peace and Reconciliation. Other members expected to participate in the session include representatives from South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Angola, South Sudan, and the Great Lakes region. A representative from the UN may also be present at the meeting.
The 4th Commemoration of the Africa Day of Peace and Reconciliation is set to build on the previous commemorations, and this year’s observance will focus on the practical application of peacebuilding strategies. Given the consideration of ‘Lessons Learnt for Countries in Conflict,’ the open session will specifically analyse the transformative experiences of South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Angola, South Sudan, and the Great Lakes region. By examining these diverse national trajectories, the PSC will aim to identify proven blueprints for national healing. These experience-sharing is intended to serve as a blueprint for the AU to more effectively intervene in current crises, particularly the devastating war in Sudan and the volatile security situation in the Eastern DRC, reinforcing the continent’s commitment to Silencing the Guns and fostering enduring social cohesion.
Since its inaugural meeting in 2023, the session has been traditionally held on 31 January of each year, following the declaration of the 16th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly on terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government in Africa held in May 2022 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in which it decided to institutionalise the commemoration annually. During the last commemoration, the 3rd, held on 31 January 2025, the PSC called for the ‘domestication of the commemoration of the Africa Day of Peace and Reconciliation at Regional and national level…’ and highlighted the need for ‘the ‘Africa Day of Peace and Reconciliation’ to be aligned with efforts to advance the implementation of the AU Transitional Justice Policy, which provides a roadmap, ensuring that reconciliation is built on accountability, truth-telling, and social cohesion.’
Given this, with lessons learnt, South Africa’s experience, anchored by its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), offers a profound lesson in choosing restorative justice over retribution. By prioritising the public acknowledgement of truth in exchange for conditional amnesty, the model allowed a fractured nation to transition from apartheid to democracy without collapsing into a cycle of revenge. The Côte d’Ivoire experience, on the other hand, highlights the necessity of moving reconciliation beyond the capital city and into the heart of rural and urban neighbourhoods through local peace initiatives like the UPF-Côte d’Ivoire’s journey over the past two decades in conflict prevention, youth engagement, and community reconciliation. This provides a vital lesson for current conflict zones: for a peace agreement to hold, it must empower community leaders and local peace initiatives to act as mediators, effectively mending the social fabric by fostering face-to-face reconciliation between neighbours who were once divided by conflict.
Sierra Leone’s post-civil war recovery is anchored in the ‘Fambul Tok’ (Family Talk) model, which emphasises that reconciliation must happen at the village level, not just in high courts. Following its 11-year civil war (1991–2002), Sierra Leone adopted a multifaceted approach to recovery by combining judicial accountability with social healing. This strategy centred on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to address wartime atrocities. Simultaneously, grassroots programmes like Fambul Tok were established to mend the social fabric and promote forgiveness at the community level. In Angola, following the end of its 27-year civil war in 2002, the country has evolved into a prominent regional peacemaker under the leadership of President João Lourenço – the AU’s Champion for Peace and Reconciliation. The nation has prioritised diplomatic mediation, especially regarding the conflict in the DRC. In South Sudan, the peace and reconciliation landscape in 2026 is characterised by a fragile adherence to the R-ARCSS framework. The promise of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement is still alive, yet it is shadowed by relentless local violence. Significant legislative steps have been taken, but the cycle of deadly conflict remains a formidable barrier to lasting reconciliation.
Regional peace and stability in the Great Lakes region hinge on strong cooperation frameworks and inclusive, long-term strategies that address both immediate security threats and deeper structural challenges. Central to these efforts is the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework (PSCF) for the DRC and the region, alongside the work of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which brings together more than eleven member states to curb conflict and promote development. Yet durable peace cannot be achieved without tackling root causes such as disputes over natural resources, weak governance, and the lingering legacy of violence, particularly in the DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi. National reconciliation initiatives, including Rwanda’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission and Burundi’s power-sharing arrangements, have sought to rebuild social cohesion and political stability.
In addition, as previously mentioned in the previous commemoration on the importance of further strengthening the Continental Early Warning System and preventive diplomacy on the Continent, it will be imperative that the council addresses this, aligning its deliberations with the ongoing APSA review and reform process. By linking these reforms to the peace, security, and development nexus, the PSC must encourage Member States to look beyond immediate security interventions and instead redouble efforts to address the deep-seated structural root causes of violence. This involves a holistic commitment to fixing governance-related factors – such as political exclusion and socio-economic inequality – ensuring that the AU’s reformed peace architecture is equipped not just to silence guns, but to prevent them from being fired in the first place.
The meeting is expected to result in a communiqué. The PSC is expected to welcome the 4th Commemoration of Africa Day for Peace and Reconciliation and call for the need to continue promoting the culture of peace, tolerance, justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation as an important step for conflict prevention, especially in post-conflict communities. Council is also likely to acknowledge the role of President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, of Angola, as the AU Champion for Peace and Reconciliation, applauding his efforts to promote peace and reconciliation and his efforts to galvanise support for peace initiatives across the region. Council may also highlight the important role of national reconciliation towards achieving the AU’s noble goal of Silencing the Guns by 2030, considering the critical role that reconciliation plays in preventing conflict relapse and laying a strong foundation for sustainable peace in countries emerging from violent conflicts. It will also be important for the PSC to underscore the importance of inclusive and transparent political transitions, and emphasise the need for comprehensive peace, reconciliation, and development initiatives across the continent.