This year’s session is expected to be held under the theme ‘Migration, Youth and Security,’ linking the month’s Chair regular focus on humanitarian issues with the YPS agenda. Deprived of opportunities at home by the pervasive extractive national and international development and governance systems, many young Africans are compelled to migrate under perilous conditions that threaten their safety and dignity.

The focus on migration puts a spotlight on how the chronic development and governance challenges lead to increasing youth migration and the entanglement of migration with various threats to peace and security, including transnational organised crime, such as smuggling of persons and terrorism. Despite challenges to accurate migration data in Africa, as one study from 2019 pointed out, youth constitute the largest percentage of African migrations. According to this study, ‘over 60% of African migrants are estimated to be under 35 years old.’ Additionally, highlighting increasing pressure facing the youth, drawing on data from the Afrobarometer survey, the study observed that ‘almost 1/3^rd of young Africans have thought somewhat or a lot about moving to another country, almost twice as many as those older than 35.’

Of particular significance from the study referenced above is that almost 80.0% of migration in Africa is motivated by the search for better economic and social prospects. This echoes the observation by the African Centre for the Study and Research on Migration that  ‘most young African people (hard hit by poverty, unemployment, underemployment, severe social and economic hardships, and lack of quality education and training, among other challenges) see migration internally or internationally as a fundamental resilience or social mobility strategy as they are desperate to change their lives.’

However, during the past five years, the share of conflict and climate change as drivers of migration has increased significantly. This corresponds to the increase in the number and geographic spread of conflicts that the continent has witnessed during this period. Such increasing interface between youth migration and peace and security in Africa signifies the need for integrating migration as one major thematic pillar of the YPS agenda.

Addressing this migration crisis is not only a development priority but also a critical step towards tackling the human security dimension of Africa’s migration challenges, thereby contributing significantly to advancing the YPS agenda in Africa. The upcoming meeting also provides an opportunity to advance discussions on the imperative of a Common African Position (CAP) on Migration and Development, particularly in light of recurring incidents of mass expulsions across the continent.

While this is the first session dedicated fully to migration in the context of YPS, it is not the first time that the PSC referenced migration in relation to the YPS agenda. In the communiqué of its 807^th meeting, the PSC, among other things, reiterated the terms of the communiqué of the 771^st PSC meeting held on 11 May 2018, as well as paragraph 23 of the Assembly Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.695(XXXI)] adopted by the 31^st Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in 2018 relating to the establishment of the African Observatory for Migration, with a view to ‘create conditions conducive to orderly migration of the African youth.’ Following its launch in 2020, the African Migration Observatory (AMO) has become increasingly active, including, among others, on addressing harmonisation and standardisation of migration statistics across African states and Regional Economic Communities (RECs), as the data landscape is still highly fragmented.

This session also comes in the context of rising incidents of Generation Z (GenZ) protests on the continent during the course of the year, as reported in several countries, of which the one in Madagascar led to the unseating of the president. It is the same conditions of socio-economic and political governance deficits that push youth into the perilous journey of migration, precipitating the youth protests.

This session (which comes just a year before the African Youth Charter commemorates its 20^th year, in 2026, since coming into force) will build on its previous session on YPS, held in November 2024 at PSC’s 1243^rd meeting. Among others, the Council directed the AU Commission to present the draft Continental Guideline for the Development and Implementation of the National Action Plans (NAPs) on YPS to the PSC Committee of Experts for validation and, ultimately, to the Council for consideration and adoption within three months.

As captured in our analysis on the previous substantial session of youth, peace and security held in 2024, it emerged that there has been a notable surge in interest in adopting the NAPs for YPS, with at least four countries (Ethiopia, Liberia, The Gambia and Zimbabwe) reporting to be at different phases. As of November 2024, only two Member States – DRC and Nigeria – had officially launched their NAPs on YPS. Over to 2025, five additional countries – Burundi, Malawi, The Gambia, Liberia and Cameroon – have followed suit, bringing the continental total to seven. This marks the highest number of YPS NAPs in any region globally. Nonetheless, with only seven countries out of the AU’s target of 25% of Member States having adopted NAPs, much work still lies ahead to achieve the desired level of implementation. Against this backdrop of an increasing number of AU Member States expressing interest to develop NAP on YPS, the Guideline – upon adoption by the PSC – will create an opportunity for the AU, RECs/RMs and other stakeholders to have a common reference point to assist these countries in developing NAP. With tomorrow’s session focus on migration, the integration of youth migration and the issues facing youth on the move as an area of focus in NAPs on YPS would be of interest for PSC members.

The session is also expected to feature a briefing by the AYAP members, who are expected to share reflections on the activities undertaken across their respective regions to date, as well as efforts in enhancing regional capacity strengthening of the youth and youth-led initiatives. In this regard, their presentations are expected to feature efforts made to promote the adoption of NAPs; experiences from their engagement in advancing the YPS agenda; and discussions for enhancing its implementation, particularly through AYAP contribution.

At the continental level, the efforts in operationalisation of the Network of African Youth in Conflict Prevention and Mediation (WiseYouth Network) are also expected to receive attention. Following the beginning of the mandate of the new members of the first Cohort of the  WiseYouth Network, the WiseYouth Network convened the first African Youth Consultation on Mediation, Preventive Diplomacy and Peace Processes from 30 September to 2 October 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda. The platform brought together young peacebuilders from over 30 AU Member States to, among others, ‘map and assess the level of youth engagement in peace processes; identify emerging challenges and opportunities for youth participation; and develop a strategic roadmap on upscaling the role of African Youth in Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation.’

In terms of coordination with RECs/RMs, the Youth for Peace (Y4P) Africa programme, for instance, has worked closely with COMESA and other partners in convening key platforms such as the 4^th Ministerial High-Level Meeting on YPS in Madagascar (2024) and the 4^th Intergenerational Dialogue Forum focused on Island States (2025). Additionally, youth mainstreaming within AU Organs and RECs has gained traction through the implementation of the Youth Engagement Strategy (YES), which has inspired entities like the APRM to appoint youth officers and institutionalise youth engagement programmes.

The expected outcome is a communiqué. The PSC may express serious concern about the extractive national and international development and governance systems, depriving African youth of opportunities for a dignified life, further aggravated by insecurity and climate change, forcing them to venture into dangerous migration. It may also underscore the need for addressing the root causes of youth migration, most particularly the socio-economic and political governance deficits and may, in this respect, urge all AU Member States to adopt policy measures responsive to the needs of the youth, including unemployment. Council may call on the AU Commission to present the Guideline for the Development and Implementation of NAPs on YPS for adoption. The PSC is also expected to stress the urgent need to search for a lasting solution to the deplorable situation of African migrants, with whom most are youth, as a shared responsibility of all Member States. The PSC may call on the AU Commission to ensure the integration of migration as one major thematic pillar of the YPS agenda and as an area of focus in NAPs. Council is also expected to underscore the need for continued close collaboration and complementarity of efforts between the AYAPs, the WiseYouth Network, the Youth for Peace Africa programme, the AGA-APSA Secretariat, as well as Youth Focal Points in the RECs/RMs and youth networks, to ensure that efforts and programmes are context-specific and synergised for greater impact. In this context, the PSC is likely to highlight the imperative of the implementation of the outcomes of the 3^rd Continental Dialogue on YPS, which include leveraging coordination, partnerships and resource mobilisation for the implementation of the YPS agenda and the integration of peace education in school curricula.