In September, the Republic of Angola will assume the role of Chair of the Peace and Security Council for the month. The month’s Provisional Programme of Work (PPoW) includes six substantive PSC sessions. Two of the six substantive sessions will focus on regional/country-specific situations, while the remaining will address thematic issues and a briefing on the activities of the Council conducted from June to August 2025. Four of the sessions will be held at the ambassadorial level, while the remaining two will take place at the ministerial level and at the level of Heads of State and Government. In addition, Council is expected to commemorate the International Day for Peace as well as take part in several bilateral and multilateral engagements for the month, most notably the 80^th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where there will be a High-level General Debate from 23 – 26 September.

The first session of the month is scheduled for 3 September, where the Council is expected to brief the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) on its activities conducted in June, July and August. This briefing is expected to be done by the permanent representatives of Tanzania, Uganda and Algeria, in their capacity as chairs of the respective months.

On the same week, on 4 September, the second session of the PSC will be convened in an open format to commemorate the African Amnesty Month. It is worth recalling that the foundation of the commemoration of the Africa Amnesty Month is to encourage AU Member States to promote the voluntary surrender of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in line with national laws and international agreements. This initiative aims to raise awareness and foster adherence among communities, urging civilians to surrender illegally owned weapons to designated authorities without fear of arrest or prosecution. This session will build up from the previous year’s commemoration, held in the Central African Republic, under the framework of ‘Advancing the Goal of Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2030.’

On 17 September, the PSC will host an open ambassadorial-level session on the ‘Nexus between Climate Change, Peace, and Security in Africa.’ This session comes a few days after the Africa Climate Summit 2 (ACS2), held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, under the theme ‘Accelerating Global Climate Solutions: Financing for Africa’s resilient and Green Development,’ as a platform for Africa to articulate its priorities and commitments – championing home-grown solutions that are driving adaptation and systems-level shifts on the road to COP30. The upcoming session will also build up on its previous substantive session on the theme, the 1263^rd meeting of March 2025, in which, from the communiqué,  Council was bold on the need to mobilize adequate and sustainable financing to close the adaptation financing gap, finance loss and damage, to ensure a just transition, reach the most vulnerable contexts, strengthen African financing facilities, and upscale climate-security actions in the continent. It is expected that there will be an update on the finalisation of the Common African Position on Climate Change, Peace and Security – following due process and taking into consideration the contributions from all AU Member States, the African Group of Negotiators and RECs/RMs, or subsequent incorporation in the national and regional policies and frameworks.

The next session thereafter will be a session on the ‘Update on the situation in the Central African Republic’, which will be held on 19 September. The country is slated for local and presidential elections in December 2025. This election follows a 2023 constitutional referendum that extended presidential terms to seven years and removed term limits, potentially allowing President Faustin-Archange Touadéra to run again. The election is seen as a critical channel for CAR’s recovery from conflict, though concerns about transparency persist. UNOCHA reported that the humanitarian needs in the country remain high, despite the recent improvement in the security situation. About 38 per cent of the country’s population is extremely vulnerable to the point that humanitarian assistance alone will not be enough for their well-being. Clashes between parties to the conflict and attacks on civilians and infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, persist. The war in Sudan and tensions in southern Chad have led to the arrival of refugees, asylum seekers and returnees to an already fragile area that has very limited humanitarian assistance. Child soldier menace is another issue of concern. One of Amani Africa’s analyses highlighted that the exploitation of children in armed conflicts remains alarmingly widespread across Africa, with CAR emerging as one of the epicentres of recruitment.

On 21 September, the PSC will commemorate the International Day of Peace. It is worth recalling that the Pan-African Biennale, a joint initiative of the AU, UNESCO and the Government of Angola, was first convened in September 2019 in Luanda, with an agreement to hold the forum biennially. Its inaugural edition underscored the importance of strategic partnerships in scaling up initiatives for sustainable peace in Africa, the value of sharing best practices in conflict prevention and resolution and the need to celebrate Africa’s cultural diversity while highlighting the resilience of its people in the face of conflict. Under the Chairship of Angola, this year’s commemoration will be held under the theme ‘Act Now for a Peaceful World.’

Following that, on 24 September, the PSC will convene a summit-level meeting. Angola, being both the Chairperson of the AU and also the Chairperson of the PSC for September 2025, Council will convene a session in New York, on the margins of the 80^th UN General Assembly under the theme ‘Re-energising Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa.’ The upcoming PSC session will bring together Heads of State and Government leaders and high-level representatives to evaluate the AU’s conflict prevention and resolution initiatives, reflecting on vital lessons and best practices to strengthen the PSC’s mandate. The session is expected to address key issues, including how to ensure the efficiency and legitimacy of African Solutions to African Problems and how to foster effective synergies between the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and African Governance Architecture (AGA) to enhance the PSC’s conflict resolution capabilities, particularly in its relationships with the RECs/RMs, the UNSC, the EU Political and Security Committee, and the League of Arab States PSC. It is also expected that discussions will focus on the role of neighbouring countries in supporting Member States caught in cycles of violent conflict, strategies to ensure the full implementation of AU-facilitated peace agreements, the successful completion of political transitions within set timelines and measures to promote Member States’ compliance with decisions made by the PSC and the AU Assembly.

The last substantial meeting of the PSC will be held on 30 September, at the ministerial level, focusing on the situation in the Sahel region. The Sahel region is grappling with a worsening crisis as of August 2025, marked by escalating violence, political turmoil, humanitarian distress and environmental challenges. Insurgent groups such as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province have intensified attacks. The upcoming session will provide an opportunity to receive the latest updates on the security, political and humanitarian developments in the region.

In addition to the substantive sessions and activities of the PSC, the programme of work for the month also encompasses the meetings of the PSC subsidiary bodies. The Committee of Experts (CoE) is expected to meet on 10 September for consideration of the PSC communiqué for the PSC Heads of State and Government level meeting which is scheduled for 24 September. In addition, the CoE will have a preparatory meeting of the 19^th Annual Joint Consultation between the PSC and UNSC on 15 September, while the Military Staff Committee (MSC) will also convene on 29 September for an engagement on the ‘proliferation of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons: Surge in Terrorism.’