The Republic of Uganda is set to chair the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) in July 2025. Last April, Uganda also served as the stand-in Chair.

The Provisional Programme of Work (PPoW) for the month envisages five substantive sessions. Three of these will be thematic, while the remaining two will focus on country situations. The sessions will be convened at all three levels of the Council: three at the Ambassadorial level, one at the Ministerial level, and another one tentatively scheduled to be held at the Heads of State and Government level. One of the thematic sessions—the humanitarian situation in Africa—is expected to be held as an open session. The remaining sessions will be conducted in a closed format.

In addition to the substantive sessions, meetings of the Military Staff Committee and the Committee of Experts are scheduled. The PSC is also expected to travel to Midrand, South Africa, for the annual consultative meeting with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP).

The first session of the month, scheduled for 1 July, will focus on the humanitarian situation in Africa. The session will be held in an open format, allowing for the involvement of all AU member states, UN entities, and civil society organisations engaged in humanitarian action. The last time the PSC dedicated a session to this theme was in October of last year, during its 1239^th meeting, when the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) briefed the Council on the humanitarian situation in Africa. Although no outcome document was publicly released from that session, the PSC made several key decisions, including undertaking a comprehensive study, identifying financial shortfalls, and proposing concrete and practical measures to address the funding gaps for meeting Africa’s humanitarian needs. Building on these earlier commitments, discussions are expected to delve into the consequences of shrinking humanitarian aid, its impact on humanitarian agencies and frontline workers, and the escalating crises in refugee and IDP camps. The session is also expected to explore mechanisms for securing sustainable and predictable financing to support humanitarian responses across the continent and follow up on the operationalisation of the African Humanitarian Agency.

On 3 July, the PSC will hold its second ministerial-level session to receive updates on the situation in Somalia and the operations of the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). The meeting follows a significant setback at the UN Security Council on 12 May, when the Council failed to authorise the activation of Resolution 2719 as a funding framework for AUSSOM. The AU had considered the resolution the most viable option for securing sustainable, predictable, and adequate funding for the mission. The session is also expected to follow up on the outcome of the Kampala summit of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs). The session is also expected to feature an update on recent progress regarding the operationalisation of the mission, particularly the conclusion of bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) between the AU Peace Support Operations Division and key Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries (T/PCCs). Negotiations, held from June 10 to 19, 2025, culminated in an agreement on the content of the draft MOUs, which outline the roles, responsibilities, and operational modalities for the contribution of troops and police personnel to the mission, according to the AU’s press release. The MOUs are expected to be signed by the AU and each of the participating T/PCCs after the final draft receives clearance from the Office of the Legal Counsel of the AU. In this context, the session is also expected to examine the evolving role of both the AU and T/PCCs within the broader landscape of mission financing and explore strategies to address the current funding challenges.

The PSC will convene its third substantive session on 4 July to consider the bi-annual Report of the AU Commission on Elections in Africa, covering the period from January to June 2025. The Chairperson’s mid-year report on elections is in line with the PSC’s decision at its 424th session in March 2014 to receive regular briefings on national elections on the continent. The most recent such briefing took place during the Council’s 1255th session on 24 January 2025, which reviewed elections held between July and December 2024. The upcoming session will provide an overview of elections conducted during the first half of 2025, along with a snapshot of those scheduled for the second half of the year.

On 22 July, the PSC will convene to discuss the theme ‘Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Children Formerly Associated with Armed Conflicts.’ The focus on this theme is within the framework of the assumption by Rebecca Amuge Otengo, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the AU and Chair of the PSC for July, of the role of Co-Chair of the Africa Platform on Children Affected by Armed Conflicts (AP-CAAC) in May. The issue of Children Affected by Armed Conflict (CAAC) has been a standing agenda item of the PSC since 2014 and regularly features in its deliberations. Most recently, in February 2025, during its 1262^nd session, the PSC addressed ‘The Fight against the Use of Child Soldiers in Africa.’ In that session, the Council called on the AP-CAAC and other stakeholders to maintain engagement with affected regions and communities to ensure the successful rehabilitation and reintegration of children formerly associated with armed groups. In this regard, the session is expected to include reflections from representatives of some member states on their experiences in the rehabilitation and reintegration of children in post-conflict situations. Their testimony will serve as a powerful reminder of both the vulnerabilities and potential of children affected by armed conflict. The session will also provide a platform to explore concrete steps for operationalising existing commitments, as well as to follow up on the implementation of previous decisions and initiatives. This includes the reiteration of the long-standing request for the Chairperson of the African Union Commission to appoint a Special Envoy for Children Affected by Armed Conflict (CAAC) in Africa.

The final substantive session of the month, scheduled for 24 July at the level of Heads of State and Government (HoSG), will focus on the situation in Libya. This marks the first time since the PSC’s 294^th session in September 2011 that Libya will be discussed at the level of Heads of State and Government. The recent uptick in both the frequency and level of the Council’s engagement with the Libya file marks a shift, with this being the second meeting in just two months. The session follows the 23 May convening prompted by clashes between rival militias in Tripoli on 12 May, providing an opportunity to receive updates since its last meeting. Another significant development expected to be discussed is the reconvening on 20 June of the Berlin Process International Follow-up Committee on Libya (IFC-L), after a four-year hiatus, with the AU among the participants. The UN Support Mission in Libya has also been working on a ‘time-bound and politically pragmatic roadmap’ to end the transitional process, which the PSC is likely to receive an update on. Libya remains divided between the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the rival Government of National Stability in Benghazi, amid a fragile 2020 ceasefire agreement and fluid security conditions, as evidenced by the 12 May clash. Initial progress towards a political solution to the Libyan crisis has stalled, and holding a national election remains elusive after its indefinite postponement in December 2021. Despite efforts, including the signing of the Libyan Reconciliation Charter in Addis Ababa on February 14, progress toward national reconciliation remains challenging.

Aside from the substantive sessions, PSC’s Military Staff Committee (MSC) is scheduled to convene virtually on 2 July to discuss the implementation of PSC Communiqué 1275 of 23 April 2025 on the Imperative of a Combined Maritime Task Force in Addressing Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (for details on the outcomes of PSC’s 1275th session, see our analysis here and here). On 21 July, the Committee of Experts (CoE) is also expected to meet to prepare for the PSC’s summit-level session on Libya. The CoE is likely to work on the draft communiqué to be considered during the summit. From 25 to 26 July, the CoE will further convene for a ‘Capacity building on the reactivation of the PCRD subcommittee,’ as well as for ‘Consideration of the PAPS Input Paper on the Reform of the AU Liaison Offices.’ Other activities include the 4th Policy Session of the AU Inter-Regional Knowledge Exchange (I-RECKE) on 12 July; the PSC–PAP Annual Consultative Meeting on 17-18 July in Midrand, South Africa; and the 13th High-Level Dialogue on Democracy, Governance, Human Rights, and Peace and Security, to be held from 29 to 30 July in Accra, Ghana.

Of particular significance, a possible ministerial meeting of the PSC Ad Hoc Presidential Committee on Sudan is envisaged to take place on the margins of the 7th Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, scheduled for 10–13 July. If held, it would be the first meeting of the Committee since PSC’s decision to form the Ad Hoc Committee in June 2024.