Tomorrow (28 November), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene a ministerial session on ‘Discussion on experiences and lessons learned in the implementation of PSC mandate in line with the AU Constitutive Act and its Protocol.’

The session will commence with opening remarks from Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of State of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of the PSC for the month of November. This will be followed by a statement from Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS).

The thematic focus of tomorrow’s session seeks to draw attention to elements of the implementation of the mandate of the PSC not closely explored in the context of the stocktaking sessions that the PSC dedicated in the context of its 20^th anniversary that is being marked this year. These previously unexplored elements of the implementation of the mandate of the PSC are expected to be those to be drawn from the reference to the AU Constitutive Act. While the AU Constitutive Act covers various elements relating to the broader mandate of the AU, some of the objectives and the principles it outlines constitute the bedrock on which the edifice of the mandate of the PSC is built. In this context, the dimensions of the mandate of the PSC that have not been addressed in the various sessions that the PSC dedicated in the course of the year (including in the high-level colloquium held at heads of state and government level in May 2024) mostly concern those pertaining to inter-state relations.

Tomorrow’s session is the first time that the PSC will mainly focus on the issues around inter-state relations in Africa that concern the mandate of the PSC. These principally derive from some of the key objectives and principles enunciated in Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitutive Act of the AU. Of significance in the objectives set out under Article 3 are those that seek to ‘a) achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and the peoples of Africa b) defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States… e) promote peace, security, and stability on the continent.’ Of the 18 principles listed under Article 4 of the Constitutive Act, the ones that are of paramount significance to the mandate of the PSC include: sovereign equality of states; non-intervention in the internal affairs of states; peaceful resolution of conflicts among member states of the Union; prohibition of the use of force; uti positidetis or respect for the borders inherited at the time of independence; and peaceful co-existence of member states and the right to live in peace and security.

There are at least three factors that make the focus on these dimensions of the mandate of the PSC timely and of strategic significance for the effective functioning of the PSC. The first factor relates to the resurfacing of inter-state tensions on the continent in the context of weakening multilateralism globally and at continental and regional levels, rising mistrust and the rise of global power contestation over Africa. While inter-state conflicts did not completely disappear during the two decades of existence of the PSC, the conflict situations that dominated the agenda of the PSC during the past two decades are mostly intra-state. Amani Africa’s latest special research report presented that ‘[i]nternationalized internal armed conflicts have steadily increased, indicating a rise in conflicts involving multiple states or international actors. The data shows a general upward trend from 2013 (7 conflicts) to 19 conflicts in 2020.’ This trend has shown further increase during the past few years and is not confined to a few regions. Such tensions are visible not just in the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region where such tensions are not uncommon but in other regions including Southern Africa and North Africa. One most current illustration of this is the formal complaint that the Government of Sudan filed with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights against Chad.

The second factor, not completely separate from the first is, the fact that many of the intra-state conflicts tend to have an international or transnational dimension. Despite the fact that most conflicts in Africa tend to be intra-state, in many instances they attract the involvement of outside state or non-state actors. A recent study established that most so-called ‘civil wars’ are internationalised reflecting some form of involvement of actors from states from the region or outside the region and that ‘[w]hile conventional interstate war remains rare, interstate rivalry using military means is common.’ Tomorrow’s session focuses on the inter-state relations dimension of the mandate of the PSC helps in drawing attention to and factoring in the international or transnational dimension of intra-state conflicts in initiating peace processes.

The third factor that makes the focus of tomorrow’s session particularly significant for the mandate of the PSC is the fact that the implementation of the PSC’s mandate is premised on a deeper level of collaboration and trust between member states. Where mistrust and tension pervade inter-state relations, the inter-state cooperation necessary for collective action through the PSC weakness. As the Common African Defense and Security Policy put it, there is a need, among others, for ‘eliminating suspicions and rivalry among African States’ and promoting ‘mutual trust and confidence among African States.’ The main reason for the focus on these strategic aims, as the Policy puts it accurately, is because ‘suspicions and rivalry among African States’ is ‘a factor that has traditionally engendered conflicts on the continent and hindered inter-state cooperation and integration in Africa.’

During tomorrow’s session members of the PSC will also reflect on experiences and lessons learned from the two decades journey of the PSC. While much of the conflict situations that dominated the agenda of the PSC remain intra-state conflicts, there have been instances in which inter-state tensions or conflicts featured on the agenda of the PSC. Reference can be made in this respect to the 33^rd, 121^th, 125^th, 140^th, 496^th, 547^th, 588^th, 668^th, 873^rd, 984^th, 1192^nd, 1222^nd and 1238^th sessions of the PSC. One of the lessons that these cases make clear is that not the full universe of situations involving inter-state tensions that the PSC has been seized with.

The outcome of these sessions shows that, apart from being seized with such situations, the PSC has made use of a range of instruments. These include a) mediation/peacemaking as illustrated by the work of the AU High-level Panel on Sudan with respect to the 2012 confrontation between Sudan and South Sudan and the Luanda process currently mediating between DRC and Rwanda, b) fact-finding missions or reconnaissance missions as the PSC proposed for the conflict between Djibouti and Eritrea and Great Lakes Region, c) good offices of the AU Commission Chairperson and d) very rarely condemnation.

In the context of some of the concerning trends highlighting the resurfacing of inter-state tensions, the lesson encapsulated in the Common African Defense and Security Policy that suspicions and rivalry among African states engender conflicts remains relevant today. This underscores the need for the AU to enhance its diplomatic posture for mitigating the factors that fuel tension and facilitating dialogue for nurturing inter-state trust. Central to the enhancement of this diplomatic standing of the AU is securing and asserting its impartiality and credibility. The wisdom that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres articulated in his New Agenda for Peace Policy Brief is instructive in this respect. He  stated that ‘an effective collective security       system relies on an international civil     service that is strong, efficient and impartial.’ Beyond and above being a key marker of  an international civil service, impartiality,    as  Guterres  rightly  noted, ‘is  vital  in  helping  build trust among Member states.’

Considering the serious adverse impacts of inter-state tensions irrespective of the form that they take, they necessitate a more proactive diplomatic engagement in promoting the Common African Defense and Security Policy with a focus on the inter-state conflicts/threats to common security threats and hence posing a challenge to the principles of the AU Constitutive Act.

The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC is expected to underscore the need for safeguarding the core principles of the AU as enunciated in Article 4 of the AU Constitutive Act. It may express concern over trends highlighting increasing incidents of inter-state tensions It may also call for enhancement of the diplomatic posture and the instruments at the disposal of the AU as critical for advancing friendly relations and trust among AU member states in pursuit of the common objectives set out in the Constitutive Act and Agenda 2063. The PSC may call for member states of the AU to recommit themselves to upholding the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of conflicts. It may decide to dedicate a session as part of its annual calendar of events focusing on advancing the implementation of the Common African Defense and Security Policy as a critical avenue for promoting the core principles of the AU Constitutive Act that constitute part of the mandate of the PSC. To this end, the PSC may call for a summit-level meeting for a strategic review of the state of peace and security and the implementation of the mandate of the PSC including as it relates to the Constitutive Act of the AU and for charting ways of promoting friendly relations among African nations as a basis for the integration agenda of the AU.