Insights on the PSC Update on PSC’s April 2018 Program of Work

Automatic Heading TextDate | April 2018

The Amani insight on the monthly program of work of the Peace and Security Council was produced on 2 April 2018. Since then the arrangement for the sessions anticipated in the monthly
program has been changed. Most notably, as preparations for facilitating the visit had to be finalized, the PSC plan for a field visit to South Sudan from 9 to 13 April was shifted to the following week.

Since 15 April, the PSC has been in South Sudan for its field visit and this field visit is anticipated to run until 20 April. This presents members of the PSC to have first hand engagement on the ground and interaction with the various stakeholders in the South Sudan peace process. Apart from conveying the continental body’s message for ensuring that the national dialogue is inclusive and complements the High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), this visit galvanizes the push for committed participation of South Sudanese parties in the peace revitalization process of the HLRF expected to take place from 2 to 6 May 2018 in Addis Ababa.

Accordingly, some of the sessions of the PSC planned for the week of 16 April were brought forward to the week of 9 April. Accordingly, the PSC held its briefing on the effective take off of the AU Humanitarian Agency on 9 April. The following day, the PSC held its briefing on ‘Nuclear energy, non-proliferation and disarmament’.

The open session on corruption and conflict resolution, initially planned for 24 April, took place on 12 April. Our pre-session insight on this agenda is here. On 13 April, the PSC held the briefing on peace support operations in Africa focusing on the highlevel joint field visit by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security and the UN Under Secretary for Peacekeeping Operations. The major highlights of this session as covered in our pre-session insight is here. This was also the session where the PSC considered and adopted the provisional program of work for May 2018.

On its return to Addis Ababa next week, the PSC will continue with its program of work. A second open session that was initially scheduled to take place before the field mission to South Sudan is now planed to take place on Tuesday 24 April. The focus of this open session is ‘Africa’s peace and security landscape by 2023 (end of the first ten year plan of AU agenda 2063): A prospective analysis of peace and security challenges. Representatives of various organizations including the Institute for Security Studies and International IDEA are expected to present briefings at this session.

On 25 April, the PSC will have a briefing on the operationalization of the African Standby Force (ASF). While much of the agenda in the monthly program of work came from Nigeria as chair of the month and a few from the Peace and Security Department, this agenda came from a member of the PSC. AU Peace Support Operations Division and Regional Economic Communities and/or Regional Mechanisms are expected to brief the PSC.

The PSC is scheduled to hold a session on the situation in South Sudan, the only country situation on the agenda of the month, on 26 April. This is also the session where the PSC would consider the Report of its field mission to South Sudan. Briefings are also expected from the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, the UN Panel of Experts on South Sudan and IGAD.

On 30 April, the PSC may hold a briefing on sustainable financing of AU peace operations and the Peace Fund, although this could be shifted to the next month program of work under Rwandan
presidency of the PSC. Two footnotes in the monthly program envisage plan on the establishment of the PSC Sub-Committees on Counter-Terrorism and Sanctions and for informal consultative meeting with the AU Commission Chairperson.