Provisional Program of Work for the Month of October 2020

Automatic Heading TextDate | October 2020

For the month of October 2020, Egypt will assume the role of chairing the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC). Prepared under the leadership of Egypt’s Permanent Representative to the AU Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek, the provisional program of work of the PSC for the month envisages some eight substantive sessions including one country specific session.

The first session of the month, scheduled for 5 October, is an open session on the implementation and commemoration of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. The session will be commemorating the 20^th anniversary of the adoption of the Resolution. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC. This would be the first VCT session of the PSC that will be fully open since the PSC started operating virtually since April 2020.

On 6 October the PSC is expected to consider the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the situation in Sudan. The report is expected to provide an update on the overall political situation, the evolution of the transition including the peace process launched following the establishment of the transitional government and the economic situation as well as the progress towards removing Sudan from the US list of states sponsoring terrorism.

The annual consultative meeting with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) is scheduled to take place on 8 October. It is to be recalled that the first consultative meeting with the ACHPR was held in August 2019 in accordance with Article 19 of the PSC Protocol. The meeting is scheduled to take place through VTC.

On the same day, the PSC will tentatively hold a preparatory session on the upcoming AUPSC/EUPSC 5^th informal seminar and 13^th Annual Joint Consultative meeting. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC.

On 9 October the PSC will consider and adopt its program of work for the month of November. The draft provisional program of work will be circulated to all PSC member states through email for input and comments.

On 15 October the PSC is scheduled to consider and adopt the ‘Cairo Roadmap on Enhancing Peacekeeping Operations: from Mandate to Exit’. The Roadmap was adopted at the 12^th ordinary meeting of the Specialized Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security, in Cairo in December 2019. The session is expected to focus on strengthening the role of troop contributing countries in decision-making and in shaping the mandate of UN mandated peacekeeping missions. The report and statements to the meeting will be circulated to all PSC members through email and it is expected that the outcome will be finalized through the silence procedure.

The following day, October 16 the PSC will hold a discussion on the establishment of the Special Unit for Counter-Terrorism within the framework of the African Standby Force (ASF). The meeting is expected to take place through VTC. The issues expected to feature in this meeting include the form that such unit take, its requirements and how it is expected to operate.

On 19 October, the PSC will continue its preparatory meeting for the upcoming PSC and EUPSC informal seminar and joint consultative meeting, which are scheduled to take place on 26 October. The meeting will take place through VTC.

On 20 October, the PSC is expected to hold a discussion on the impact of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) on Peace and Security in Africa. The session is expected to explore mechanism on preventions and mitigating the spread of FTF and their operation in the continent. The session is envisaged to take place through VTC.

On 23 October, the PSC is expected to consider two agenda items. The first is the discussion on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) in Africa. This is an area on which Egypt has in the last few years has taken lead which culminated in it hosting the AU Centre for PCRD. The second is the annual joint consultative meeting with the UN Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC). The 633^rd PSC session held in October 2016 decided to institutionalize its partnership with UNPBC through annual interactive sessions and this year the annual session will be held for the fourth time. Both meetings are expected to take place through VTC.

The final agenda of the month is the 5^th informal joint seminar and the 12th annual joint consultative meeting between the AUPSC and EUPSC scheduled for 26 October. The consultative meeting is expected to address the situation in the Sahel and Sudan.