Peace & Security Council Report

The February 2024 Peace & Security Council Report evaluates the outcomes of the 37th African Union (AU) summit, the performance of Comoros as AU chair, and the AU's response to crises in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also examines the decline of electoral norms across the continent and the necessity of protecting civilians in urban warfare.

• The 37th African Union summit in Addis Ababa established a formal structure for the AU's participation in the G20, designating the AU chairperson and the chair of the AU Commission to represent the union at leaders' summits. The AU identified six priority areas for G20 engagement: Agenda 2063 implementation, energy transition advocacy, international financial architecture reform and debt restructuring, AfCFTA support, food security through agricultural output, and improving Africa's credit rating for health and vaccine manufacturing.
• Comoros' tenure as AU chair is described as exceeding expectations despite the country's limited economic and diplomatic clout. Key achievements include lobbying for the AU's permanent membership in the G20, convening a ministerial meeting that produced the Moroni Declaration for Ocean and Climate Action in Africa, and facilitating the Joint Framework on Coordination and Harmonisation of Peace Initiatives (JFCHPI) for Eastern DRC. However, the chairship struggled with limited financial capacity, requiring a budget of US$11 million and leading to an over-reliance on external partners like France.
• The AU has appointed a high-level, ad-hoc panel consisting of Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe, and Francisco Madeira to address the conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict has resulted in over 12,000 deaths and displaced at least 10 million people. Critics argue the AU's previous efforts, including the Roadmap for the Resolution of the Conflict in Sudan, have been uncoordinated and focused on military belligerents rather than civilian representatives.
• There is a growing gap between AU democratic norms and the electoral practices of its member states, including those that have recently held the AU chairship. The report cites irregularities in Comoros, where President Azali Assoumani's victory had a 16.3% voter turnout, and the postponement of polls in Senegal by President Macky Sall. Additionally, Egypt is noted for amending its constitution to allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a third term, extending his power until 2030.
• The report emphasizes the need for better protection of civilians (POC) in urban warfare, where an estimated 50 million people are affected. It advocates for the use of the African Standby Force (ASF) to implement a common doctrine for civilian protection and suggests that the AU and UN prioritize community engagement and local ownership to prevent the rejection of peace support operations (PSOs), as seen in Mali and the DRC.

APA

Kinkoh, H., Soumahoro, M., Mahdi, M., Aikins, E. R., & Atta-Asamoah, A. (2024). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1710855257569-PSC-Report-165.pdf

Chicago

Kinkoh, Hubert, Moussa Soumahoro, Maram Mahdi, Enoch Randy Aikins, and Andrews Atta-Asamoah. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2024. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1710855257569-PSC-Report-165.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{kinkoh2024peace, author = {Kinkoh, Hubert and Soumahoro, Moussa and Mahdi, Maram and Aikins, Enoch Randy and Atta-Asamoah, Andrews}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1710855257569-PSC-Report-165.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }