Provisional Program of Work for the Month of June 2020

Automatic Heading TextDate | June 2020

Algeria assumes the role of the monthly chairpersonship of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of June. The provisional program of work, involves some six substantive sessions including two on country specific situations.

On 2 June the PSC is scheduled to hold a virtual session on cessation of hostilities and humanitarian truce in Africa within the framework of COVID19 and Silencing the Guns. The session is also in line with the global call for ceasefire, which was further reiterated by the AU as well. On 9 June the PSC will consider the situation in Sudan. The last time the PSC considered Sudan was at its 906 session on 30 January 2020. The briefing will offer an opportunity to deliberate on the latest developments in the political transition also in relation to the impact of COVID19 and importantly the lifting of the sanctions on Sudan.

The consideration and adoption of the provisional program for the month of July will take place on 11 June. The draft provisional programme of work will be circulated to all PSC member states through email for inputs and comments.

On 16 June the second country specific briefing is scheduled and will focus on the situation in Guinea Bissau. After a disputed electoral process and outcome, President Umaro Cissoko Embalo was sworn in as the new president of Guinea Bissau. The PSC is expected to consider the post-election developments in the country since the last briefing it received on Guinea Bissau in January 2020. On 18 June the PSC will receive a briefing on the follow up of the implementation of the AU Border Strategy. The briefing will be circulated to PSC members through email and members will send their elements for the draft communiqué. The draft communiqué will be circulated and adopted through silence procedure.

On 23 June the PSC will receive a briefing on youth, peace and security. The meeting is expected to take place virtually and the AU Youth Envoy is expected to brief the Council. The last session of the month will be on the socioeconomic impact of COVID19 on peace and security in Africa and will take place on 30 June. The session is expected to be a virtual meeting. There is growing concern that the socio-economic fallouts of COVID19 will have much more devastating consequences on the continent than the public health impact of COVID19 itself. To avert or limit the negative impacts of these fallouts on peace and security, it is worthwhile for the PSC to engage early for activating preventative measures proactively.