Provisional Programme of Work of the PSC for the Month of September 2026

Provisional Programme of Work of the PSC for the Month of September 2026

Date | September 2026

In September, the Republic of Benin will assume the role of Chair of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the month. The month’s Provisional Programme of Work (PPoW) envisages five substantive sessions alongside other activities including a High-Level Seminar on Women, Peace and Security, Commemoration of Africa Amnesty Month and the International Day of Peace, as well as the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Of the five substantive sessions, only one will focus on a country-specific situation, while the remaining will address thematic issues. Four of the sessions will be held at the ambassadorial level, while one will take place at the summit level. It is also worth noting that the High-level Seminar on Women, Peace and Security will take place at the Ministerial level. In addition to the substantive sessions, the PSC subsidiary body – the Committee of Experts (CoE) – is also expected to meet during the month.

The first session of the month is scheduled for 1 September and will focus on ‘Review of the Situation in the Central African Republic.’ This will be the second time the PSC will convene to consider the situation in the country since the country held its presidential, parliamentary and local elections in December 2025, which saw the re-election of President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. The last time the Council met to discuss the situation in the CAR was in April 2026, at its 1338th meeting. Building on that session, the central point of discussion at this upcoming session is likely to be a follow-up on the Council’s decision directing the AU Commission to ‘undertake a comprehensive study on the impact of the drawdown and possible withdrawal of MINUSCA and to propose concrete recommendations on the way forward.’ This further saw the AU Commission being tasked to ‘develop a strategy on strengthening the role of the Guarantors of the PAPR-CAR, towards an AU-led stabilisation support for CAR and to report to the PSC within two months’ of the communiqué’s adoption. Although not held within that exact timeframe, an update in this regard is imperative. The session also comes ahead of the UN Secretary-General’s report on MINUSCA, due by 15 September. The report is expected to inform the UN Security Council’s consideration of the potential drawdown and reconfiguration of the mission in the context of the upcoming mandate renewal in November. The session therefore provides the PSC with an opportunity to pronounce itself on the matter and thereby inform the common position of the three African members of the Security Council during the discussions and mandate-renewal negotiations.

On the following day, 2 September, the PSC will convene a session on the theme ‘Protection of Child Soldiers in Africa (UNSCR 1612 (2005)).’ It is worth recalling that UN Security Council Resolution 1612, adopted in 2005, established the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on children and armed conflict, creating a systematic framework for documenting six grave violations against children in conflict zones, which include killing and maiming, recruitment and use as child soldiers, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, abduction, and denial of humanitarian access. The 1262nd PSC meeting held in February 2025 tasked the ACERWC to expedite finalisation of the comprehensive study on child soldiers in Africa. This upcoming PSC meeting will be an opportunity to receive an update in that regard, especially given that ACERWC, earlier this year, initiated and commissioned the terms of reference for the study. In its 1314th meeting held in November 2025 on ‘Children Affected by Armed Conflicts,’ the Council tasked the Chairperson of the AU Commission to ‘commission a comprehensive study on the nexus between armed conflicts and violations against children…’ In addition, recently on 1 August 2026 at its 1357th meeting, the PSC tasked the AU Commission, in coordination with the ACERWC ‘to organise an advocacy meeting with Member States that have not yet signed or ratified relevant international and continental instruments [including the ACERWC] and the Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, with a view to securing their endorsement, full commitment, and implementation, and to report back to the PSC.’ The session will therefore offer an opportunity to take stock of trends and challenges affecting the protection of child soldiers, while allowing the PSC to follow up on the implementation of its previous decisions.

On 9 and 10 September, the PSC will be in Cotonou, Benin for the ‘High-Level Ministerial Seminar on Women, Peace and Security.’ It is worth recalling that it was during the inaugural meeting in March 2024 that they agreed to institutionalise the High-Level Ministerial Seminar to be formally called the ‘Swakopmund Process,’ to be held biennially on a rotational basis as a platform for the PSC to engage with local, national, regional and continental actors on women, peace and security matters. This year’s commemoration comes against the backdrop of significant momentum in the Women, Peace and Security agenda, most notably the Windhoek+25 Declaration, adopted in Namibia in October 2025 ahead of UN WPS Week marking the 25th anniversary of UNSCR 1325. This year’s session, therefore, offers a natural moment to carry forward the momentum generated by the Windhoek+25 Declaration and the wider 1325 anniversary commemorations into concrete, accountable follow-through.

Following this, on 14 and 15 September, the PSC will commemorate the Africa Amnesty Month in Algiers, Algeria. It is worth recalling that Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.645 (XXIX)] adopted at the 29th Ordinary Session of the Assembly in July 2017 declared the month of September of each year, until 2020, as ‘Africa Amnesty Month’ for the surrender and collection of illicit small arms and light weapons. A subsequent decision was adopted by the Assembly of the Union, at its 14th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union on Silencing the Guns held on 6 December 2020, in which it extended the annual commemoration of Africa Amnesty Month until 2030. This engagement will therefore build on the 2025 AAM’s commemoration held in Uganda, under the theme of ‘Safer Communities Through Voluntary Disarmament.’

In the same week, on 17 September, an Ambassadorial-level meeting will be convened to prepare for the Heads of State Summit in New York, which will take place the following week during UN General Assembly week.

The following day, on 18 September, the only open session of the month will be convened, focusing on the ‘Nexus Between Climate Change, Peace and Security in Africa.’ The climate, peace and security agenda has been a standing agenda item on the PSC’s programme since its 585th session in March 2016, when the Council committed to annual deliberations on the nexus between climate change and security. This engagement has since intensified, with the PSC now holding at least two sessions annually on the theme. This will be the second session this year, following its 1344th meeting held in May 2026, which focused on the ‘Impact of climate change on crises in the Sahel and Lake Chad.’ From the session, the AUC Chairperson was tasked to undertake a comprehensive mapping of the impact of climate change in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel region. In addition, it directed the AU Commission, in close collaboration with ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission, to develop a comprehensive matrix of practical recommendations to address the multifaceted impact of climate change in the Lake Chad Basin and Sahel region. This upcoming meeting will also give an opportunity to get an update on the implementation of some of the decisions from the 1331st meeting held in February 2026. These included tasking the AU Commission to ‘expedite the operationalisation of the African Humanitarian Agency and the Continental Civil Capacity Mechanism for preparations towards and response to disasters, in particular climate disasters.’ In addition, the PSC called for the finalisation of the study on the assessment of climate-related security risks and the implementation of the PSC Matrix of threats to peace and security on the continent, adopted in August 2025.

On 21 September, the PSC will commemorate the International Day of Peace. The International Day of Peace is observed annually on 21 September, a date established by the UN General Assembly in 1981 and later fixed permanently in 2001 through resolution 55/282. Dedicated to strengthening the ideals of peace both between nations and among peoples, the day is marked by a 24-hour period of global ceasefire and non-violence. This year’s theme will be ‘Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.’

Following that, on 23 September, the PSC will convene a summit-level meeting. The meeting will be convened in New York, on the margins of the 81st UN General Assembly, under the theme ‘Good Neighbourliness and Regional Responses to Security and Terrorism Challenges in Africa.’ The upcoming PSC session will bring together Heads of State and Government leaders and high-level representatives, including President Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi in his capacity as Chairperson of the AU Assembly, to evaluate the AU’s approach to managing inter-state relations and regional security cooperation, reflecting on how good neighbourliness principles can be strengthened to address the escalating terrorism and violent extremism challenges facing the continent, particularly across the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region. The session is expected to address key issues, including strategies for de-escalating inter-state tensions, such as those between the DRC and Rwanda, and ways to enhance synergies between the AU, RECs/RMs, and international partners in confronting the expanding operational reach of terrorist groups. It is also expected that discussions will focus on addressing the root causes that allow terrorism and regional insecurity to fester, including weak governance, unconstitutional changes of government, and the illicit economies (arms, mining, trafficking) that sustain armed groups.

In addition to the substantive sessions, the Committee of Experts (CoE) will meet two times during the month. On 3 September, they will meet to prepare for the Joint PSC–UNSC and PSC–EU PSC Meetings. On the following day, 4 September, they will also meet for ‘Information on the Commemoration of Africa Amnesty Month in Algiers, Algeria, and the High-Level Ministerial Seminar on Women, Peace and Security (Swakopmund Process), in Cotonou, Benin.’

The PPoW footnote also provides for monthly exchanges between the PSC and UNSC Chairs.