Provisional Program of Work for the Month of September 2020

Automatic Heading TextDate | September 2020

For the month of September 2020, Djibouti will assume the role of chairing the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC). Prepared under the Djibouti’s Permanente Representative to the AU and the PSC Chairperson of the month, Mohamed Idriss, the provisional program of work of the PSC for the month envisages some eight substantive sessions including three country specific sessions and one partially open session.

The first session of the month, which will be the first partially open session since the PSC adopted its new method of working remotely, is scheduled to take place on 3 September. The open session will commemorate the annual Africa Amnesty Month, which is expected to take place in line with the implementation of the AU theme of the year 2020 “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”. Although this session is slated to be open, it will not be open to all. It is expected to bring together various participants including representatives of Regional Economic Communities/Mechanisms and international organizations.

On 8 September the PSC is expected to hold a preparatory meeting for the 5th Informal Joint Seminar and the 14th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting between the PSC and UN Security Council scheduled to take place at the end of the month. South Africa is leading on this file on the side of the African 3 members of the UNSC. This preparatory meeting is expected to focus on discussing agenda setting for identifying the themes and country situations that will be the focus of the Seminar and the Consultative meeting respectively. The meeting is scheduled to take place through VTC.

The following day on 9 September the PSC is expected to consider the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the situation in South Sudan. The last time that PSC was briefed on South Sudan was in April 2020. This meeting is expected to review the state of implementation of the ceasefire and the transitional activities including the operationalization of the various institutions of the Transitional Government of National Unity. The meeting is scheduled to take place through VTC.

On 10 September the PSC is expected to consider its program of work for October. The provisional program will be circulated to all PSC members through email and the expected outcome will then be circulated through silence procedure.

On 15 September the PSC will have another preparatory meeting for the annual joint seminar and Consultative meeting with the UNSC. Apart from narrowing down the specific theme(s) and country situations that will form part of the agenda, the preparatory meetings also serve to discuss draft of the joint communique. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC.

The second country specific session of the month is scheduled to take place on 17 September. It is to be recalled that on 19 August the PSC suspended Mali’s participation in AU activities due to the unconstitutional change of government. As per the terms of the communique of the 941st session of the PSC, the PSC is scheduled to receive update from the AU Commission Chairperson on the evaluation of the situation in Mali. It is also anticipated that the PSC will hear from ECOWAS on its engagements with the Malian stakeholders for the restoration of constitutional order in Mali. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC.

On 22 September the PSC is scheduled to consider the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the Common African Position on the 2020 Review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture. The position paper, which benefited from inputs from various stakeholders including Amani Africa, is developed following the decision of the 899th PSC ministerial meeting held in Angola in December 2019. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC.

The third country specific session of the month is expected to take place on 24 September. On this day the PSC is expected to consider the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on the situation in Somalia. This session is expected to review the current security and political situation in the country and the preparations towards the holding of elections in Somalia. The meeting is expected to take place through VTC.

The 5th Informal Joint Seminar and the 14th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting between the PSC and UN Security Council are expected to take place on 29 and 30 September respectively. Both meetings are expected to take place through VTC.