Peace and Security Council Report No 176

The Peace and Security Council Report No 176 analyzes the outcomes of the 38th AU Summit in February 2025, focusing on leadership transitions, the chairship of Angola, and the ongoing challenges of the 'Silencing the Guns' agenda. It highlights the election of Mahamoud Ali Youssouf as AUC chair and the debate over rotational versus permanent membership in the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC).

• The 38th AU Summit in February 2025 saw a slight decline in overall high-level attendance, dropping from 39 representatives in 2024 to 37 in 2025, although the number of heads of state increased from 26 to 30.
• Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti was elected as the new AUC chair after seven rounds of voting, defeating candidates Raila Odinga and Richard Randriamandrato. Selma Malika Haddadi of Algeria was elected as deputy chairperson.
• Angola assumed the AU Assembly chairship, with President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço prioritizing transport connectivity, energy and natural resource management, and peace mediation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Angola aims to leverage its status as Africa's second-largest crude petroleum exporter and its US$2 billion Lobito Corridor Project to inform its leadership.
• The AU Assembly adopted the 2025 theme 'Justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations', building on the 2023 Accra declaration. Ghana has been appointed as the continental champion on reparations, though the report notes the need for a dedicated high representative and a global reparations fund.
• A debate has emerged regarding the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) membership model, specifically whether to maintain rotational membership or allow 'regional anchor states' with long tenures. Nigeria has been a member since 2004, and Cameroon's membership was recently extended for 2025-2028, leading to concerns about de-facto permanent membership and the potential for national interests to bias decision-making.
• The 'Silencing the Guns' agenda faces significant obstacles as the 2030 deadline approaches, with unresolved conflicts in Sudan, eastern DRC, and the Cabo Delgado insurgency in Mozambique. In Sudan, the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has reached 'catastrophic proportions', with the report stating there is 'no military solution'.
• The AU Assembly established the African Credit Rating Agency to rate African economies based on local realities and counter narratives from Moody’s, Fitch, and S&P Global that portray the continent as risky.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Peace and Security Council Report No 176. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1742306390996-PSC-Report-176 .pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Peace and Security Council Report No 176. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1742306390996-PSC-Report-176 .pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Peace and Security Council Report No 176 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1742306390996-PSC-Report-176 .pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndpeace, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Peace and Security Council Report No 176}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1742306390996-PSC-Report-176 .pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }