Tomorrow (11 March), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1264^th session to receive a briefing from the Panel of the Wise and its subsidiary bodies – FemWise-Africa and WiseYouth – on their activities and contributions to continental peace and security. The Council is also scheduled to consider and adopt its program of work for April 2025.

Following opening remarks by Mohammed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the AU and Stand-in Chairperson of the PSC for March 2025, Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), is expected to make an introductory statement. Effie Owuor, Chairperson of the Panel of the Wise and Femwise-Africa, is expected to deliver the briefing.

The last session of the PSC with the Panel was during its 1204^th session on 13 March 2024. Apart from considering the report of the Panel on its activities, the session also deliberated on the institutional and operational arrangements of the Panel as well as its working methods. Apart from the key decision tasking the conduct of strategic reviews of the Panel’s activities to assess effectiveness, the PSC tasked the AU Commission to facilitate the provision of the Panel’s mission reports to the Council, ensure the Panel accesses early warning information and analyses for proactive preventive diplomacy efforts and support and facilitate for joint deployments of the Panel of the Wise with similar regional bodies in situations requiring urgent attention. Tomorrow’s session, therefore, can serve as an opportunity to follow up on these decisions.

In terms of the institutional interface of the Panel with other bodies, despite the PSC’s 665^th session decision to institutionalise quarterly briefings by the Panel of the Wise ‘in order to enhance the conflict prevention capacity, early warning and timely decision-making processes of the Council’, the engagements remain sporadic, with the last briefing occurring a year ago during the PSC’s 1204^th session. Prior to that, the Panel met with the PSC in May 2023 during the PSC’s 1152^nd session, which was convened to consider the Report of the Panel on its mission to the Republic of Chad. The gaps between these sessions show that the quarterly briefings by the Panel are yet to be fully institutionalised, as per the decision of the communiquéof the 665^th decision, which necessitates a more realistic timeline for the interaction between the PSC and the Panel. Such rationalisation of the Panel’s engagement with the PSC seems a necessity if the Panel is to focus on the delivery of its core mandate and enhance its engagement with similar bodies as specified in the communiquéof the 1204^th session of the PSC.

Arising from the 1204^th session of the PSC is also how realistic the PSC’s expectations for the Panel to play a role in countries in transition, support mediation processes and implementation of peace agreements. While these are areas relevant to the Panel’s work, as captured in an Ideas Indaba analysis, the PSC’s push for the Panel to deepen its engagements in these contexts raises concern of increasing the breadth of the Panel’s mandate, thereby spreading it thin and eventually limiting its effectiveness in its core mandate of preventive diplomacy. The Panel’s primary mandate, under Article 11 of the PSC Protocol, is to support the efforts of the Council and the AU Commission Chairperson in conflict prevention. The instruments for the Panel’s action provided for in the Modalities for the Functioning of the Panel range from establishing channels of communication, shuttle diplomacy, and fact-finding missions to assisting and advising mediation teams on how to resolve disputes. Particular attention is therefore needed for prioritising the core mandate of the Panel in preventive diplomacy rather than expanding the areas of engagement of the Panel before it has delivered effectively on this core mandate.

Tomorrow’s session follows the appointment of the members of the 6^th Panel of the Wise during the 38^th AU Summit in February 2025, with Domitien Ndayizeye (Central Africa), Effie Owuor (East Africa), and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (Southern Africa) being re-appointed. However, the appointment of representatives for North and West Africa remains pending, with the Assembly tasking the incoming AU Commission Chairperson to consult with West and North Africa regions to select one candidate each and delegating its authority to appoint representatives from West and North Africa regions to the 47^th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council.

In terms of the activities of the Panel, the PSC is expected to be updated on the work of the 5^th Panel of the Wise during the past year. Of particular interest to the PSC is the Panel’s engagement in South Sudan. The Panel’s High-Level Reflection Roundtable in July 2024 and subsequent shuttle diplomacy engagements played an important role in engaging key stakeholders to advance the peace process in South Sudan. The Panel’s field mission to Juba in November 2024 assessed the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and identified key challenges, including slow progress on constitutional reforms, inadequate resources for electoral preparations for the elections that had been scheduled for December 2024 but have since been postponed to 2026, and the need for greater inclusivity, particularly of women, youth and marginalised communities in governance processes. The Panel had also been complementing the work of the C5 and the Tumaini initiative to ensure a unified and coherent approach to peacebuilding in South Sudan. Yet, South Sudan is facing the most serious risk of relapse back to conflict.

The 27^th Statutory Meeting of the 5^th Panel of the Wise focused on strategies to support Member States in transitions. In line with the direction by the PSC for the Panel to continue engaging with countries in transition, the Panel held informal consultations with representatives of suspended member states in April 2024 to assess humanitarian concerns, security challenges and governance reforms. Despite them being informal, and a stretch of the Panel’s mandates, there is no indication that anything came out of these engagements.

Another area of the Panel’s work that tomorrow’s session is expected to be briefed on concerns the Panel’s participation in election observation and governance initiatives. The Panel is expected to brief the PSC on its engagement in member states in efforts to mitigate electoral tensions and engage key stakeholders to address concerns over potential irregularities, particularly in Comoros (January 2024), Senegal (February 2024) and Ghana (October and December 2024). A notable case of post-electoral violence in which the Panel was not effectively deployed is Mozambique. One key decision in this regard from the 1204^th session tomorrow’s session may wish to follow up on is the request for the AUC to facilitate a rapid deployment mechanism for the Panel’s swift intervention in the emerging crises.

Despite its critical mandate, the Panel continues to face constraints that hinder its operational effectiveness in conflict prevention. The PSC, in its 1204^th session, had reiterated calls for the AU Commission to provide adequate political, human, and financial resources to the Panel, enabling it to carry out its mandate with greater efficiency. The 38^th AU Assembly also reiterated this by requesting the Chairperson of the AUC to prioritise the allocation of sufficient resources to the Panel of the Wise in the annual budget.

In addition to resources, the revitalisation of the Pan-African Network of the Wise (PanWise) remains a strategic priority to enhance cooperation with Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) in conflict prevention. In this regard, the inaugural joint retreat between the Panel of the Wise and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Committee of Elders in November 2024 marked a significant milestone for coordination between continental and regional bodies to enhance mediation, dialogue and conflict prevention efforts in line with the PSC 1204^th decision to enhance the Panel’s role in revitalising cooperation with similar mechanisms at RECs/RMs. During the retreat, the two bodies agreed to establish a coherent framework to coordinate interventions and share experiences aimed at the resolution of border and territorial disputes, directing their respective secretariats to formulate a joint strategy for addressing conflicts in the region. This falls in line with the PSC 1212^th session request for the AU Commission to facilitate a joint deployment of the Panel of the Wise. Recognising the need for deeper collaboration, tomorrow’s session may encourage the Panel to reflect on the lessons from the engagement with its ECCAS counterpart on how to work with such counterparts in other regions for advancing conflict prevention and pursuing preventive diplomacy.

The fifth Panel had also seen increased coordination with its subsidiaries. A key development that may be of interest for tomorrow’s session is the full operationalisation of the WiseYouth Network, which was established as a subsidiary mechanism of the Panel of the Wise to engage youth in preventive diplomacy, mediation and dialogue across the continent. The first cohort of the WiseYouth Network with 20 members who will serve a three-year mandate, underwent training in preventive diplomacy and mediation and were co-deployed with the Panel in South Sudan and carried out some preventive diplomacy engagements, including dialogues with youth on pertinent peace and security issues. WiseYouth also participated in AU electoral missions.

The other subsidiary body of the Panel, FemWise, also pursued various efforts in member states aimed to strengthen mediation efforts, advocating for the need to strengthen the role of women mediators and their contributions to more inclusive peace processes. The network also commenced preparations for the induction of its second cohort of members in 2025, ensuring continuity in its efforts to mainstream gender perspectives in AU-led mediation processes. In collaboration with the Gender, Peace, and Security Program and the Office of the Special Envoy on WPS, FemWise welcomed the PSC’s directive to develop a policy framework ensuring gender equity and equality in all AU-led mediation and peace processes. Alongside these efforts, the Network continued to deploy women mediators and peacebuilders to AU Election Observation and Preventive Diplomacy missions and promoted peace dialogue platforms for women in conflict-affected countries, particularly through its support for the Sudanese Women Dialogue and its contributions to the South Sudan peace process. Apart from the four national chapters, FemWise also saw the launch of the Southern Africa Regional Women Mediators Network by SADC, complementing the regional networks of ECOWAS and ECCAS.

The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC may underscore the need for prioritising and placing particular focus on the work plan and activities of the Panel on the core mandate of the Panel in preventive diplomacy. The PSC is expected to commend the Panel’s engagement in South Sudan and, in this respect, request the Panel to maintain active preventive diplomacy engagement in South Sudan within the framework of paragraph 7 of the communiqué of the 1204^th session. The Council may also welcome the inaugural joint retreat between the Panel and the ECCAS Committee of Elders and encourage the institutionalisation of the coordination mechanism with all similar regional bodies. The PSC is also expected to welcome the progress made in the operationalisation of WiseYouth. The PSC may encourage member states and RECs/RMs to accelerate the establishment of national and regional chapters with adequate resources, ensuring a stronger role for women in conflict prevention.

Tomorrow (1 November) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1243^rd session focusing on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) in Africa as part of its annual thematic session on YPS, as an open session.

Following opening remarks from Jean Leon Ngandu Ilunga the Permanent Representative of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the AU and chairperson of the PSC for the month of November, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), Bankole Adeoye is expected to make a statement. The AU Commission Youth Envoy, Chido Mpemba, and the five African Union Youth Ambassadors for Peace (AYAPs) are expected to brief the PSC. The agenda of the session also anticipates statements from representatives from the United Nations Office to the AU (UNOAU) and the European Union Delegation to the AU.

This session falls on Africa Youth Day. The African Youth Charter adopted in 2006 proclaimed the 1^st of  November as Africa Youth Day. The session is being held parallel to the 2024 Pan African Youth Forum, under the theme ‘1 Million Next Level is Knocking: Educate an African Fit for the 21^st Century,’ taking place from 1 to 4 November 2024, in Oran, Algeria.

It is to be recalled that, the PSC during its 933^rd meeting adopted the Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and underscored ‘the necessity of implementation across the five overarching priorities areas – participation, prevention, protection, partnership and coordination.’ Following the finalisation and adoption of the 10-Year Implementation Plan for the CFYPS 2020-2029, the framework is currently in its 6^th year of implementation. The CFYPS advocates for the active participation of young people in all spectrums of peace and security areas at the national, regional and international levels. The framework envisions the mainstreaming of crosscutting issues, including gender, capacity development, communication, inclusivity and knowledge management and up-scaling of the contributions of youth to peace and security in Africa.

The last time PSC held a substantive session on the YPS agenda was on 3 November 2023 at its 1183^rd meeting. The PSC during that meeting, among others, emphasised the need for the AU Commission to conduct a comprehensive assessment of implementing the continental framework for youth peace and security, identifying challenges and providing recommendations for the way forward. Tomorrow’s session may present an opportunity for the Council to follow up on the progress made in undertaking the assessment of the framework.

Tomorrow’s meeting is expected to provide a recap of the developments on the agenda of the youth, peace and security, since its last convening. Following the commencement of the mandate of the 3^rd Cohort of the AYAPs after the endorsement of the new AYAPs by the AU summit in February 2024, the AU Commission held an induction for the AYAPs in May 2024. Not long after that, the Youth Ambassadors for Peace of each region embarked on holding regional consultations on youth peace and security and the New Agenda for Peace. Following the regional consultations, a continental consultation was held in Lusaka, Zambia. A major outcome of these consultations was the elaboration of a report articulating issues affecting youth in the various regions of the continent and their vision of how best to pursue the New Agenda for Peace through and in advancing the YPS agenda. The most recent interaction of the PSC with the AYAPs was on the sidelines of the annual consultative meeting with the UNSC, during which the AYAPS shared the report of the five regional consultations and the continental consultation they undertook on the New Agenda for Peace and Youth in Africa.

It is expected that AYAPs members will share their reflections on activities conducted in their regions so far. This will include efforts to promote the adoption of national action plans, insights from their involvement in the YPS agenda, and areas for enhancing the effective implementation of the YPS agenda, particularly regarding AYAP’s role. Additionally, they’ll highlight significant collective actions, such as their collaboration with Burundi in adopting the Bujumbura Declaration and their engagement in the lead-up to COP29 to be held from 11 November in Azerbaijan.

In addition, from the Communique adopted during the 1183^rd session, one of the actions underscored as critical components for advancing the YPS agenda on the continent was ‘the need for the AU Commission to institutionalise the inclusion of the youth, particularly the AYAPs and WiseYouth Network, in preventive diplomacy missions and AU Election Observer Missions.’ In this regard, the 3^rd Cohort of the AYAPs has undertaken at least 5 election observation missions in their regions, particularly in Tunisia, Mauritius, Rwanda, Mozambique and the late one in Botswana. The session is also expected to have discussions on the completion of the Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of NAPS for the AU Continental Framework on YPS, as mentioned in the 933^rd communique. The PSC ‘requested the Commission to develop a Guideline that would assist Member States to accelerate their efforts to develop the National Action Plans (NAPS).’ This call was further reiterated by the Council also still at its 1183^rd Meeting on the Open Session of YPS in November 2023, requesting for this process to be accelerated and the guideline finalised. In response, the Youth for Peace (Y4P) Africa Programme convened an expert review and validation meeting on the draft guidelines for the development and implementation of NAPS for the CFYPS. However, the report of the exercise is not yet public, although it is expected that the AU PSC Committee of Experts will convene for its consideration, prior to its submission to the permanent representatives, for adoption. Over the past year, there has been a notable surge in interest and progress among member states in supporting and initiating the development of the NAPs for YPS. Benin, Ethiopia, and Liberia have recently embarked on the process of developing their NAPs. Meanwhile, countries like Zimbabwe and The Gambia are set to launch their completed NAPs, underscoring a growing commitment across the continent to the YPS agenda.

Another development expected to receive attention is the operationalisation of the WiseYouth, established by the decision Assembly/AU/Dec.815(XXXV) of the 35^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2022. This subsidiary mechanism of the Panel of the Wise aims to foster focused and strategic youth engagement in conflict prevention and preventive diplomacy. From May to June 2024, an open call for applications was made for membership to the WiseYouth Network. By August 2024, in collaboration with RECs/RMs and the Network of Think Tanks for Peace (NeTT4Peace), twenty competent youth leaders (four per region, ensuring gender parity) were selected to form the 1^st Cohort of the Network for a three-year non-renewable mandate. This was followed by Orientation and Training on Mediation and Preventive Diplomacy at the AU Commission held at the AU Commission recently. The network’s key engagements focus on empowering youth for active roles in conflict prevention, mediation and peace processes by enhancing their capacities and facilitating intergenerational exchanges with seasoned mediation practitioners, including the Panel of the Wise and its related networks (PanWise and FemWise-Africa Networks). It aims to build strategic partnerships to bolster youth-led peace efforts at regional and national levels, while also creating and utilising opportunities for network members to lead and support mediation, dialogue and peace initiatives across the continent.

The expected outcome is a communique. The PSC is likely to commend the significant efforts by the AU, Member States and the RECs/RMs in putting in place institutional avenues for ensuring meaningful youth participation and inclusion in peace and security processes. It may commend the speed with which steps were taken to get 3^rd cohort of AYAPs initiate and engage in activities for advancing the YPS agenda. It may also welcome the operationalisation of the WiseYouth. The Council may encourage Member States and RECs/RMs to intensify their efforts to promote youth as partners in enhancing peace, security and stability across the continent, including through the development and implementation of NAPs on the YPS agenda. In this regard, the PSC may also welcome the report of the AYAPs from the consultations they held and encourage the AU Commission, RECs/RMs, Member States and other stakeholders, to support the outcome and recommendations of the ‘African Youth Perspectives on the New Agenda for Peace’ to ensure that the challenges faced by African youth and their contributions to peace and security remain part of the global dialogue. The PSC is also expected to encourage the acceleration of the adoption of the ‘Guideline for the Development of NAPs on YPS,’ and furthermore, to work together with its stakeholders to strengthen the popularisation of the Guideline at all levels and promote its utilisation by Member States and other stakeholders, toward the development and implementation of comprehensive youth-centred NAPs. Council may also applaud Member States which have already signed, ratified and domesticated the African Youth Charter; and those who have developed or begun development of their respective NAPs on YPS, and in this regard encourage those Member States, which are yet to do so, to do the same. The Council may also remind member states of the need to ensure the meaningful and inclusive representation of young people at different levels of government and decision-making processes as well as resourcing youth-led and youth-focused peace and security initiatives. The Council is also likely to highlight the imperative for the AU, RECs/RMs, Member States and multi-lateral institutions to provide more practical opportunities and training to youth to engage in these fields at national, regional and continental levels. This includes through advocating for their deployment and inclusion in formal African peace processes taking place at all levels in order to strengthen youth capacity and experience in mediation, dialogue and preventive diplomacy. The PSC may underscore the need for the AU to press further in its efforts to reach more youth, through continuous sensitisation of its work and programmes, in order to bridge the gap between the youth and the AU. Finally, the PSC may highlight the need for the AU PSC Open Session on YPS to be open for facilitating representation of the diversity of African youth, cognizant of the fact that Africa youth have diverse social, cultural, historical, political, educational and economic backgrounds.

Tomorrow (13 March) the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1204^th session to receive a briefing by the Panel of the Wise and its subsidiary bodies, FemWise and WiseYouth, on their activities in Africa.

Following opening remarks by Ambassador Emilia Mkusa, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for March 2024, Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) is expected to make a statement.  Prof. Babacar Kante, Chairperson of the Panel of the Wise is also expected to deliver a briefing to the PSC.

The meeting which was initially planned for 19 March 2024, is being convened in accordance with PSC’s decision during its 665^th meeting in March 2017, in which it requested for quarterly briefings from the Panel of the Wise. The last convening of the PSC on the Panel of Wise was in May 2023 at its 1152^nd session which focused on the Report of the Panel of the Wise on its mission to the Republic of Chad. Prior to that, PSC convened it’s 1142^nd session on 3 March 2023, but no outcome document was released.

Prior to the 1142^nd session, there was no session with the Panel for most of the years since 2017. Thus, despite the expectation for this engagement to be regular, the meetings have not been regular and are yet to be fully institutionalised. This has affected the harmonisation and collaboration between the two organs around the role of the Panel on conflict prevention, including preventive diplomacy. Tomorrow’s session accordingly presents the opportunity for discussing on how to maintain the momentum and institutionalize the regularity of engagement.

The session is also expected to discuss on the work of the Panel of the Wise and its subsidiary mechanisms (PanWise, FemWise-Africa and WiseYouth) from the period 1 March 2023 to 1 March 2024. An area that is expected to receive particular attention in the Panel’s briefing is its efforts to assist countries in political transitions. On the situation in Chad, the Panel undertook a fact-finding mission to the country in May 2023 to evaluate Chad’s political and security situation in accordance with a November 2022 decision of the PSC. The Panel also undertook a mission to the Central African Republic. The field mission, in which the outcome was discussed during PSC’s 1157^th session, sought to evaluate the political and security situation, assess the progress of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation (APPR-CAR) and suggested strategies to support the country in achieving peace, reconciliation and democracy. Regarding South Sudan, the Panel undertook a mission to the country in December 2023 to evaluate the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS). The mission also aimed to assess advancements and challenges in the political, security, humanitarian and financial aspects crucial for South Sudan’s peace and stability.

Considering that this year is a critical year in the transition process in Chad, it would be of interest for the PSC to reflect on how the Panel follows up on issues identified from its mission to Chad including on the issue of candidacy of the members of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) of Chad, for elections. It is worth recalling in this respect that AU rules and PSC’s decision itself made it clear that TMC members are barred from standing for elections. Yet, earlier this month the transitional President, despite his earlier assurances, announced that he would run for elections. No doubt coming against the background of the failure of the PSC to sanction Chad for military coup, this development constitutes a test for the PSC’s credibility.

In terms of South Sudan, which finds itself at the most delicate stage of its transitional process, it would also be of interest for the PSC to hear from the Panel on its assessment of the situation and importantly on how the Panel can have sustained role for addressing disagreements that may arise on how to manage this phase of the transition including the lack of progress in key transitional tasks necessary for holding elections.

Another area of the Panel’s work that tomorrow’s session is expected to focus on concerns the Panel’s role in dealing with election related crises including its participation in election observation and electoral preventive diplomacy missions. Through its involvement in crucial Election Observation and electoral Preventive Diplomacy missions, the Panel is expected to brief the PSC on its engagement in recent pre-, during and post-election processes in several member states in 2023. The Panel carried out election observation and preventive diplomacy missions in Nigeria (February 2023), Sierra Leone  (June 2023), Zimbabwe (August 2023), the Liberian presidential election (October 2023), the DRC (December 2023) as well as the 2024 Comoros Presidential elections.

In this context, an issue that may be of interest for PSC members is how these efforts by the Panel will and can contribute to the PSC’s ongoing engagement in these countries and the work of the various mechanisms of the AU dealing with these country situations.

Regarding the subsidiary organs of the Panel of the Wise, these are mechanism that contribute to its mission of conflict prevention, management and resolution. During the 25^th Statutory Meeting, held on 12 and 13 May 2023, the Panel members assessed the advancements made by the Subsidiary Mechanisms, the PanWise Network, FemWise-Africa and WiseYouth and underscored the importance of enhancing the efficiency of decision-making and governance structures within these mechanisms. Tomorrow’s meeting is expected to provide the PSC an update on these subsidiary bodies of the Panel, particularly regarding the revitalization of the PanWise Network, which was proposed in 2022, as well as the 8^th PanWise Network Retreat which was held from 7 – 8 December 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda, under the theme “Enhancing Electoral Preventive Diplomacy during Elections: Best Practices and Lessons Learnt.”

Furthermore, the PSC is likely to get an update on the operationalization of the FemWise-Africa Network and how members of FemWise are being deployed in various AU peace and security processes. In this context, it is expected that the briefing will highlight, among others, the involvement of the FemWise-Africa Network in AU-led election processes, including through deployments to Election Observation Missions (EOMs) and Preventive Diplomacy Missions (PDMs). In addition, the Panel is expected to brief the Council on the activities of the WiseYouth. As recalled, the establishment of the WiseYouth Network came into being through a decision made during the 35^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2022 (Assembly/AU/Dec.815(XXXV)). The network’s purpose is to strategically engage youth in preventive diplomacy, mediation and dialogue across the African continent. Following the Consultative Meeting with all Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the Regional Mechanisms (RMs), the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and the G5-Sahel, held on 31 August to 1 September 2023 in Bujumbura, Burundi, whereby the Operational Modalities and Terms of Reference for Members of the Network were finalized and validated, tomorrow’s meeting is expected to get an update on the process of launching an Open Call for Applications for the 1^st Cohort of the WiseYouth Network which is expected to happen in 2024.

Finally, the session is expected to have a discussion on the challenges the Panel faces and propose recommendations. These are expected to include the issues on quick deployment to situations in areas not yet on PSC’s agenda; coordination challenges with RECs and RMs; absence of post-mission follow-up mechanisms and the challenge of political will to systematically and consistently include women and youth as equal stakeholders in all high-level peace processes.

The expected outcome of the session is a communique. The PSC may commend the Panel of the Wise for the activities that the Panel undertook during the reporting period including the missions to countries in transition and the electoral preventive diplomacy missions. It may welcome the progress made with respect to FemWise and WiseYouth. The PSC may call for enhanced coordination, and joint deployments by the AU-RECs/RMs during elections. It may also take note of the 2^nd Joint Annual Retreat of the African Peer Review (APR) Panel of Eminent Persons and the AU Panel of the Wise, held on December 10-11 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa and welcome the adoption of the Framework of Cooperation. It may underline the importance of reinvigorating early warning and conflict prevention by working closely with the Panel. It may further underline the importance of enhancing coordination with the Panel in supporting complex transitions, sustaining peace in fragile contexts and ensuring early action to deescalate looming crises. To this end the PSC may reiterate its previous decision and call for the institutionalization of conflict prevention and preventive deployment briefing by the Panel of the Wise. The PSC may also request that the AU Commission continues its support for the Panel including, in working together with the Panel to address the challenges it faces.

Tomorrow (03 November), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1183^rd session focusing on Youth, Peace and Security in Africa.

The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Djibouti to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for the month, Abdi Mahamoud Eybe will preside over the session followed by statements from AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), Bankole Adeoye. The meeting is also expected to be graced by the attendance of, Chido Cleo Mpemba, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Youth as well as Jayathma Wickramanayake, United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. The African Union Youth Ambassadors for Peace (AYAP) representing the five regions of the AU will also present their statements.

This session is convened as part of the African Youth Month and the annual thematic session of the PSC on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS). It is to be recalled that the PSC convened its first session dedicated to YPS in November 2018, which, amongst others, requested for undertaking a study on the role of the youth in promoting peace and security, the appointment of the five AYAPs and decided to ‘institutionalize and regularize an annual open session dedicated to the theme of YPS’. Apart from the institutionalization of YPS as a standing thematic agenda and the establishment of various structures including the AYAP, the AU also designated Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye as the Champion of the YPS agenda.

Both the celebration of Africa Youth Day and Youth Month as well as the dedication of a session on YPS by the PSC, are reflective of the increasing recognition on the part of the AU and its policymakers on the need for creating policy space for and facilitating the engagement of youth as critical avenue for achieving AU’s various priorities including those relating to peace and security.

The last PSC session focusing on youth, peace and security in Africa was held on 3 November 2022 at its 1118^th session, under the Chairship of the Republic of Namibia, where a Press Statement was issued after the meeting. On the Press Statement, the Council reiterated its request to the AU Commission to regularly brief the Council on the status of progress in the implementation of the 10-Year Implementation Plan of the Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security and challenges faced, including through periodic reports and annual briefings. It is against this backdrop that the deliberation is expected to discuss the update on 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 YPS.

At the level of the AU Commission, a major step in the implementation of the Continental Framework on Youth Peace and Security and its 10-year implementation involved the operationalization of the Youth for Peace Africa (Y4P) Programme. The Y4P programme anchors the follow-up of both the Continental Framework on Youth Peace and Security and its 10-year implementation and plays a pivotal role in the promotion of the YPS agenda and enhancing the engagement of youth and other stakeholders through, among others, capacity-building programmes. Additionally, the programme implements activities led by the African Youth Ambassadors for Peace (AYAP) to enhance youth participation in governance, peace, security and sustainable development initiatives at the national and regional levels.

Apart from reviewing the implementation of the YPS agenda through the Y4P programme, tomorrow’s session will also hear from the members of the AYAP about their activities and experience. The 2^nd cohort of the AYAP, who assumed their role for a two-year mandate, from February 2022 to February 2024, will be finishing their mandate next February. Apart from the update they may provide on activities undertaken in 2023, it is expected that the AYAP members that will participate in tomorrow’s session will present their respective reflections on activities undertaken in their respective regions such as the promotion of the adoption of national action plans and lessons learned from their engagement in the YPS agenda including on areas of improvement for the effective implementation of the YPS agenda and vis-à-vis the role of AYAP. They will also highlight some of the highlights of their collective actions including the collaboration with Burundi for the adoption of the Bujumbura Declaration and their participation in processes leading to COP27.

This year, Africa Youth Month will be commemorated under the theme of ‘1 million Next Level is Knocking: Youth-led Movement that Transcends Borders’. In relation to this, the Council will be briefed by the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Youth, who may also provide further reflections on the state of youth in peace and security and close working arrangements between the Envoy and the AYAP. During its 1067^th session at its annual session on the theme, one of the issues the PSC pointed out was the ‘the imperative of close collaboration between the Special Envoy on Youth and the AYAPs, as well as Youth Focal Points in the RECs/RMs and various youth networks for peace’.  Apart from the AU Youth Envoy, this year’s session is also expected to feature the delivery of a statement by the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, signifying the importance of leveraging the roles of both the AU and the UN on the agenda of youth in general.

Another important aspect of tomorrow’s meeting will be the discussion on the progress of the operationalization of the WiseYouth Network. The Network was established as a subsidiary mechanism of the Panel of the Wise, through Assembly Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.815(XXXV)] of the 35^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2022, to promote a strategic engagement of youth in conflict prevention, mediation and peace processes across the Continent. The AU Commission organized a technical consultative meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 31 August to 01 September 2023 to review the draft operational modalities for the Network and the Terms of Reference. It was agreed that the WiseYouth Network would consist of 26 members, with equal representation of genders. 2 members would be nominated from each of the RECs/RMs, the LCBC and the G5-Sahel. These members would be selected from regional YPS networks involved with these institutions to ensure ownership and establish direct connections between WiseYouth members and regional and continental-led peace process efforts.

Furthermore, recently the AU Commission requested all RECs/RMs, the LCBC and the G5-Sahel to nominate individuals with specific experience and expertise in mediation, to join the 1^st Cohort of the WiseYouth Network. The selection process for the WiseYouth Network is expected to be done jointly with the process for selecting the new cohort of the AYAPs, within the month of November. This will allow for the presentation of both groups to the Council in December 2023. It is against this context that tomorrow’s meeting will lay out the progress so far on the ongoing process towards selecting the 3^rd Cohort of AYAPs and the 1^st Cohort of the WiseYouth, who will start the execution of their mandate in February 2024.

The expected outcome of this deliberation is a communiqué. The Council is expected to welcome the work accomplished by the AU Youth Envoy and the 2^nd cohort of the AYAP. Council may also emphasize the need to mainstream the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in Member States and across the AU peace and security processes. In light of the recent challenges facing the Continent including unconstitutional changes of government (UCG), the PSC may underscore the need for the AU Youth Envoy and the AYAP to work together to bring out the perspectives of the youth including from affected countries on the factors precipitating UCG, the apparent support of the public including youth for coups and on how to address these factors. Building on the follow-up to some of the 12 actions identified in the communiqué of the 1067^th session particularly the inclusion of AYAP in election observation missions, the PSC may also emphasize the importance of ensuring representation of AYAP and members of the AU WiseYouth network to be represented in AU and RECs/RMs peace initiatives and to this end closer engagement with special envoys, special representatives and other mediation and peacemaking bodies at the AU and RECs/RMs levels. It may also reiterate its call for the domestication of international, continental and regional youth, peace and security policies and legal frameworks. It may also remind states of the need to ensure the meaningful and inclusive representation of young people at different levels of government and decision-making processes as well as resourcing youth-led and youth-focused peace and security initiatives. The PSC may also highlight the need for Member States to increase investment in youth-led initiatives and the importance of providing financial and technical support to these initiatives to ensure their sustainability and impact on the Continent. It is also likely that the Council will emphasize the importance of partnerships and collaboration among governments, the RECs/RMs, regional bodies, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders in addressing youth-related peace and security issues including displacement, climate change and migration. The PSC may welcome the participation of the UN Youth Envoy in the session and encourage close coordination and development and implementation of joint programmes between the AU and the UN including through the youth envoys on issues affecting youth in general and on peace and security in particular.