Provisional Program of Work of the PSC for the Month of August 2024
Date | August 2024
Botswana, elected back to the PSC in February 2024 after eight years, will be chairing the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month of August 2024. The PSC’s Provisional Program of Work includes four substantive sessions. One will focus on country-specific situations while two of the sessions will address thematic issues. The remaining will be a consultative meeting. All of the planned sessions are expected to be held physically unless a virtual meeting is specifically called for.
On 6 August, the PSC will convene its first substantive session focusing on the theme Constitutionalism, Democracy and Governance. This meeting is to be convened in line with the 791st PSC meeting held on 22 August 2018 in which the PSC in a press statement it adopted, agreed to dedicate an annual session to review the status of implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG). However, there has been increasing PSC engagement in the course of the past few years on this subject mostly prompted by the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government on the continent. The various sessions of the PSC on this subject such as its 1061st and 1098th meetings highlighted that the concern with democracy and constitutional rule is not confined to the resurgence of military coups. It also relates to the democratic governance deficit, the tampering of constitutional term limits and the rising disenchantment of the public with elections that are flawed and unable to lead to democratic change. The session set for 6 August serves as a platform for the PSC to take stock of developments regarding the state of constitutionalism, democracy and governance during the past years since its last meeting on the theme, trends in terms of both encouraging developments and persisting challenges and what the AU is able to and should be doing. It is also to be recalled that the Report of the PSC presented at the thirty-seventh ordinary session of the Assembly urged member states that have ratified the ACDEG Charter to submit their reports for review by the African Governance Platform (AGP) for relevant gains to be derived in the consolidation of governance in the Continent. In this vein, Togo recently became the first to submit the initial State Parties Report under ACDEG, followed by Rwanda. Notably, since 2007, 38 member states have ratified the ACDEG.
On 15 August, the PSC will convene its second substantive session which will be committed to the situation in Sudan. It is to be recalled that during the 1218th PSC meeting held at the Heads of State and Government level on 21 June 2024, the PSC called for a ceasefire in the country, which would only be realised through direct negotiations between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) leaders. The PSC tasked the AU Commission Chairperson to urgently set up a PSC Ad–hoc Presidential Committee comprising one Head of State and Government from each region of the Continent led by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda and PSC Chairperson for June 2024 – to facilitate face–to–face engagements between the leaders of the SAF and RSF, at the shortest possible time. Building on this, from 10 to 15 July 2024, an AU/IGAD-facilitated preparatory meeting for Inter-Sudanese Political Dialogue was convened at the AU Commission. The meeting sought to engage on key issues related to the convening of an inclusive political dialogue process that would facilitate a comprehensive interaction to end the ongoing devastating conflict in Sudan and institute a consensual transitional constitutional order. It is worth noting that the meeting was boycotted by a significant portion of Sudanese civilian and political forces, hence prompting the AU High-Level Panel to make this meeting one in a series of preparatory meetings instead of the initial plan of making this the preparatory meeting. The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy also held indirect talks between the warring parties focusing on humanitarian issues in Geneva. Djibouti, in its capacity as Chairperson of IGAD, also hosted a meeting of the various special envoys of Sudan – in which the AU participated through the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission. The session envisaged for 15 August will serve not only to follow up on the actions taken to implement the various PSC decisions including those adopted at its 1218th session but also to get a briefing on these various diplomatic engagements and on the state of the conflict situation in Sudan.
On the same day, the sanctions sub-committee is expected to present its inaugural session report to the Council and also the PSC is expected to consider and adopt the draft program of work for September 2024, via emails.
On 19 August, there will be consultations between the PSC/AU Panel of the Wise and RECs/RMs Panel of Elders. The 1204th session of the Council held on 13 March 2024 stressed the importance of the Pan-African Network of the Wise (PanWise) as a foundational framework for collaborative engagements between the Panel of the Wise, RECs/RMs and other key stakeholders. The PSC Protocol states in Article 16 that the Regional Mechanisms are part of the overall security architecture of the Union, the Chairperson of the Commission is tasked with working closely with Regional Mechanisms to ensure effective partnership as well as harmonising and coordinating the activities of the Regional Mechanisms in line with the objectives and principles of the AU. Furthermore, the Modalities for the Functioning of the Panel of the Wise stipulate that the AU and RECs shall, where appropriate and within the framework of their conflict prevention strategies, establish structures similar to the Panel of the Wise, as provided for by Article 11 of the PSC Protocol. The proposed consultation for 19 August therefore contributes towards pursuing the objectives of (i) intensifying their efforts towards the prevention of conflicts through, among other things, fostering policies aimed at promoting democratic principles and practices, good governance, the rule of law and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for the sanctity of human life and international humanitarian law; and, (ii) the spirit of working together and drawing on each other’s expertise to contribute to the implementation of regional and continental instruments relevant to the promotion and maintenance of peace, security and stability in Africa.
On 21 August, the PSC is expected to convene an open session on inclusive education in conflict situations. The meeting is also being held in pursuit of the AU theme for 2024 which is ‘Educate an African fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality and relevant learning in Africa’ within the framework of the 20th anniversary of the PSC. The AU theme of the year was adopted during the thirty-sixth Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union [Assembly/AU/Dec.864(XXXVI)] held on 18 and 19 February 2023. PSC’s session on inclusive education in conflict situations is expected to draw on existing engagements of the PSC on the subject. Part of the recommendations on the concept note of the 1206th PSC meeting on prevention of the ideology of hate, genocide and hate crimes in Africa, held on 4 April 2024, provided that ‘the education systems should be inclusive in their policies and reflect the ethnic, racial and cultural diversity of each member state. The education policies by member states should aim at producing citizens free from ethnic, regional, national and religious prejudices and who are committed to protecting human rights. Furthermore, the education sector should contribute to national reconciliation by creating a culture of peace, emphasising positive values, and promoting the universal values of justice and tolerance, among others. The teaching of peace, reconciliation, tolerance, justice, and democratic values should be promoted.’ It is also to be recalled that the Banjul Conclusions adopted at the Ministerial and High-Level open session on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights and Welfare of Children in Situations of Conflict in Africa, held on 4 and 5 December 2023 in Banjul, The Gambia, highlighted the imperative of member states to ensure sensitisation on the rights of children in the communities and endorse, domesticate and implement the Safe Schools Declaration to ensure continuity of education in conflicts.
The last week of August will commence with the capacity building of the PSC Sub-committee on Sanctions, which is expected to take place from 26 to 28 August. In the same week, from 28 to 31 August, there will be the inaugural consultative meeting between the PSC and the SADC Organ and Members of the SADC to be held in Gaborone, Botswana. This is the second such consultative meeting to be held by the PSC since the consultative meeting it held in April 2024 with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mediation and Security Council.
In addition to the substantive sessions and activities of the PSC, the program of work encompasses the meetings of the PSC subsidiary bodies. The Military Staff Committee (MSC) is scheduled to convene on 8 August for a timely brainstorming session on the African Standby Force (ASF) Concept, in view of the contemporary/changing security dynamics on the continent. The Committee of Experts (CoE) on the other hand is scheduled to convene on 13 August for preparations for the 18th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting between the UNSC and AUPSC, and also preparation for the inaugural consultative meeting between the PSC and SADC Organ and members of SADC. Finally, as envisaged in the footnote of the program, the PSC will also consider the situation in Somalia and post-ATMIS on a date to be communicated.