In November, the Republic of Djibouti will assume the chairship of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month, under the leadership of H.E. Ambassador Abdi Mahmoud Eybe, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Djibouti to the AU. This month’s provisional program of work includes a total of seven sessions including on matters specified in the annual indicative program. Six of these sessions will be held at the ambassadorial level, and one at the ministerial level. The meeting at the ministerial level will be chaired by H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Djibouti. In addition to the seven sessions, the PSC will also hold its Retreat on Working Methods in Tunis, Tunisia.

01 November being commemorated annually as the Africa Youth Day, the first convening of the PSC will be held on 3 November. In light of the African Youth Charter adopted in November of 2006, the meeting will be dedicated to addressing youth in regard to peace and security. The last PSC session on Youth, Peace and Security was held on 03 November 2022, constituting PSC’s 1118^th session. This month’s convening is expected to discuss the implementation of the progress of the 10-year implementation plan of the Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and the outcome document ‘Bujumbura Declaration on Youth, Peace and Security in Africa’ submitted to the PSC for consideration post the convening of the Continental Dialogue on Youth, Peace and Security held earlier this year.

The next session of the PSC scheduled for 7 November will focus on Climate Change, Peace and Security. During the last PSC convening on Climate Change Peace and Security held at the Ministerial level in October 2022, the PSC reiterated the need to accelerate the work on two items, the report on the Nexus between Climate Change, Peace, and Security in the Continent and the implementation of the AU Climate Change and Resilience Development Strategy and Action Plan. The PSC is expected to receive a briefing on the African Continental Climate Security Risk Assessment Report on Climate Change, Peace and Security Nexus and the Report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on the Nexus between Climate Change, Peace and Security in Africa during this month’s session scheduled to take place on 7 November 2023.

In the second week in November, the PSC will convene four sessions in one week: two thematic, and two country-specific sessions. On 13 November, the first thematic session will be on the annual meeting with the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission. The AU PSC and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) had their last convening on 28 November 2022, which was held as an agenda item of PSC’s 1122^nd session. Last year’s meeting had a particular focus on the nexus between climate change and peacebuilding. As such, the outcome of that meeting emphasized, among others, how the Peacebuilding Fund can contribute towards the promotion of climate-sensitive programming in Africa.

On 14 November, the Council will convene a session on South Sudan. This session is expected to review progress made in the implementation of the various outstanding transitional tasks and South Sudan’s preparations and readiness for the upcoming elections scheduled to take place in December 2024.  In a report that was presented to the UN Security Council some months back, the Report of the UN Secretary-General noted with ‘concern the slow implementation of the Revitalized Agreement and the significant delays in meeting the benchmarks agreed under the roadmap adopted in August 2022’.

The next session scheduled for 15 November is set to involve update on the situation in Sudan. Convened by Djibouti in its capacity as Chairperson of IGAD as well, this will be held at a ministerial level. It is anticipated that the session will review the developments in the war that will mark on the day of the session eight months since its outbreak in April. Despite more than a dozen declarations or announcements for ceasefire of various kinds that we documented, none of them held. The war has continued to rage on with devastating consequences to civilians and the physical and institutional infrastructure of the Sudanese state. Similarly, no meaningful wider political or peace process has emerged despite various initiatives including the AU and IGAD Roadmaps, AU’s Extended Mechanism Core Group, the various convenings by Sudan’s neighbours (Cairo, Ndjamena and Asmara). This session is expected to also discuss recent developments with respect to ceasefire negotiations in Jeddah and civilian actors meeting held in Addis Ababa.

On 17 November, the PSC session will be on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Africa. This forms part of the annual meeting of the PSC within the framework of Resolution 1325 which is usually undertaken in October.

On the third week of the month, the PSC will hold its retreat on its Working Methods. The retreat is expected to take place between 21-28 November in Tunis, Tunisia, commencing at the level of the Committee of Experts the week prior, followed by a retreat at the Ambassadorial level. The discussions of the retreat are expected to cover, among others, the following: the improvement of coordination and decision-making between Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the PSC; enhancement of the capacity of the PSC Secretariat in regard to human resources for the implementation of the adopted structure; identification of the bearer of responsibility for the drafting of the PSC outcome documents and a timeframe for publication of the outcome documents; and the regularization of the presence of a legal advisor from the Office of the AU Legal counsel during PSC session. Other items that may be addressed during the session emanating from the previous PSC Retreat on Working Methods highlight the streamlining of the Annual Indicative Programme (AIP) of Work of the PSC for the purpose of harmonization as well as the inclusion of the African Peace Support Operations into the AIP.

The final session of the month is scheduled to take place on 30 November focusing on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD). The PSC is expected to receive a briefing on the various activities undertaken since the last convening. Based on the outcomes of the previous PSC session on PCRD, the session is expected to address the revitalization of the Council’s Sub Committee on PCRD via the establishment of the terms of reference for the committee. Other key considerations for the PSC during this session include the sustainable financing of the PCRD through increased financial and technical support from member states and the diversification of partnerships among international and nonconventional partners (private sector) for increased financial and technical capacity of the PCRD. In addition to the progress of PCRD, the Council will also consider the Conclusion of the 15^th PSC retreat during this session.

In addition to the foregoing, the programme of work encompasses the meeting of the Committee of Experts (CoE). The CoE is scheduled to convene on 9 November. As indicated in the footnotes of the programme of work for November, the PSC will also be considering the provisional programme of work for December 2023 via email.

Amani Africa wishes to express its gratitude to the Australian Embassy in Ethiopia for the support in the production of this Insight on the Monthly Programme of Work of the AU Peace and Security Council