In April, the Republic of Uganda will serve as the stand-in Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC). The Provisional Programme of Work (PPoW) for the month includes six substantive sessions, all scheduled at the ambassadorial level. Among the six sessions, only one is country-specific, focusing on developments in Somalia and the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission (AUSSOM). The remaining five sessions will address thematic issues. In addition to the sessions, the PSC will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the 4^th Annual Joint Retreat with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The first session of the month, scheduled for 1 April,[1] is dedicated to the ‘International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action’ commemorated annually on 4 April, in accordance with the United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution [A/RES/60/97], adopted on 08 December 2005. This year’s theme is Safe Futures Start Here. On its part, the PSC has held sessions on this subject since 2019, with the last one held at its 1146^th session. During this year’s session, the PSC is expected to follow up on its 1146th, which highlighted the enduring threats posed by landmines, explosive remnants of war (ERW), and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The PSC also reiterated its call for the establishment of a continental coordination mechanism to strengthen and harmonise mine action efforts across Member States. This session is being held on the last year of the deadline set by the 1997 Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Convention) and the 2014 Declaration of State Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines (Maputo Declaration) for a mine-free world.

On 2 April, the PSC will convene an open session under the theme ‘Hate Crimes and the Fight Against Genocidal Ideology in Africa’. The session being held as part of the 31st Anniversary Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda follows the decision of the PSC’s 678^th meeting on 11 April 2017, which established the month of April for addressing the prevention of genocidal ideologies and the fight against hate crimes on the African continent. The annual commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda is expected to be held at the AU Commission on 7 April under the theme “Remember–Unite–Renew”. This would be the first time that the PSC will be holding this session since the appointment by the AU Commission of a Special Envoy on the Prevention of Genocide and other Atrocities. Against the widespread atrocities and escalating violence in several conflict-affected regions, such as eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, it remains to be seen whether this year’s commemoration would concern itself with the question of how the subject of the session is being addressed in specific conflict situations going beyond the general discussion of previous years. This is where the role of the Special Envoy and his intervention on how to take this subject forward would become critical. It is also of interest for this session to reflect on how the theme of the session is being addressed systematically in the AU’s normative frameworks and its peace and security architecture, including early warning systems, preventive diplomacy, and the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.

In the second week of April, the PSC will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the 4^th Annual Joint Retreat with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), scheduled to take place from 7 – 9 April 2025. During its 1191st session, which reviewed the outcomes of the 3^rd retreat, the PSC decided that the 4^th retreat would assess collaboration between the PSC and APRM in early warning and conflict prevention, as well as the synergy between the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA). It is accordingly anticipated that this year’s retreat would focus, among others, on these issues. In addition to adopting the conclusions, in its communique adopted at its 1191^st session, the PSC requested the AU Commission and the APRM Continental Secretariat to develop a matrix tracking the implementation of past conclusions for review and adoption.

Following the retreat, on 10 April, the PSC is scheduled to consider and adopt a draft of the Monthly Provisional Programme of Work for May.

On 15 April, the PSC will consider (through silence procedure) the conclusions of the 4th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting with the APRM.

The next session, set for 17 April, will be a briefing on the situation in Somalia, with a particular focus on the AUSSOM. This meeting marks the Council’s first dedicated engagement on Somalia and AUSSOM since the official transition of the AU mission from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to AUSSOM on 1 January 2025. The last session on Somalia was held during the Council’s 1253^rd meeting on 19 December 2024. During the session, the PSC reiterated its request for the AU Commission to engage extensively with the UN, EU, and other strategic partners to secure predictable and sustainable funding for AUSSOM. To address the 25% funding gap identified in UN Resolution 2719, the Commission was urged by the Council to develop a resource mobilisation roadmap in collaboration with the UN, including the possibility of a pledging conference. Additionally, the PSC requested the Commission to present the AUSSOM budget for consideration, ensuring it follows due process through the AU financial committees. The Council also supported the utilization accrued interest from the AU Peace Fund and the Crisis Reserve Facility (CRF) to help finance AUSSOM, which is in line with previous PSC decisions. Additionally, the PSC requested the AU Commission to finalize consultations with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) on the mission’s composition.  In implementing the request made by the PSC, the AUC, the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), and representatives from AUSSOM Troop and Police Contributing Countries recently held a four-day technical working session to finalise the capabilities, force composition, and deployment plans of the AUSSOM. A key outcome of the workshop was the finalisation of the Statement of Unit Requirements (SUR), detailing the necessary troop and police capabilities for AUSSOM’s mission. Coming against the background of the recent resurgence of Al Shabaab leading to losses by the FGS, in addition to the update the PSC will receive on these issues on the operationalisation of AUSSOM, this session is also expected to review recent trends in the security situation and the fight against Al Shabaab in Somalia.

On 23 April, the fourth session of the PSC will focus on ‘The Imperative of a Combined Maritime Task Force in Addressing Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).’ Over the past decade, on the security aspect, the GoG region has made significant strides in regional cooperation and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), leveraging digital technologies to address security threats. According to the 2024 IBM Piracy Report, indicates that piracy incidents in the region have dropped from 84 in 2020 to just 18 in 2024, demonstrating the effectiveness of these collaborative efforts. Yet, many of the technological solutions that support maritime security efforts in the region are developed, controlled, and financed by external actors, making Africa vulnerable to geopolitical uncertainties. Additionally, the region still lacks sufficient physical infrastructure to verify digital maritime intelligence. Against this backdrop, the establishment of a Combined Maritime Task Force (CMTF) has emerged as a strategic approach to strengthening Africa’s maritime security. During the 38^th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, President Bola Tinubu called on the PSC to establish the CMTF to bolster security in the GoG and expressed Nigeria’s readiness to host its headquarters in Lagos. This aligns with earlier commitments, such as the Port Harcourt Declaration of May 2022, where African naval and coast guard leaders endorsed the creation of a CMTF. Subsequently, at its 1174^th session, the PSC directed the AU Commission to work with the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) and the CMTF to ensure operational coordination. It also called for the accelerated operationalisation of the Committee of the Heads of African Navies and Coastguards (CHANS). Given these developments, the upcoming PSC session is expected to assess the role of the CMTF in combating piracy and explore ways to enhance synergy among existing maritime security initiatives.

The final session of the PSC, set for 25 April, is dedicated to ‘Reflection on the political landscape in the Sahel Region with a focus on the regional implications of the recent withdrawal of the Republics of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from ECOWAS.’ Following the announcement by Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali on their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following the sanctions imposed on Niger after the July 2023 coup, it is to be recalled that the 37^th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly in February 2024 expressed ‘grave concern of (sic) the joint communiqué of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrawing from ECOWAS’. At the same time, on January 29, 2025, despite a six-month extension offer from ECOWAS, the withdrawal of the three Sahelian countries (who formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) took effect, marking the most significant crisis in West Africa’s regional integration since the founding of ECOWAS in 1975. Apart from its impact on regional and continental integration, the PSC session on 25 April will serve to reflect on the implications of this fragmentation of the West African regional order to the African Peace and Security Architecture.

[1] Additionally, 1 April also marks the Flag Day for the newly elected PSC members, during which the flags of the newly constituted PSC will be installed at the PSC Chamber. This will be accompanied by a briefing from the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) as envisaged in the PPoW.