Peace & Security Council Report

The February 2026 Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the declining influence of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the gap between AU normative frameworks and electoral realities, the limited impact of informal consultations on post-coup transitions, and the critical economic necessity of improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) infrastructure across Africa.

• The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) is experiencing a decline in influence, with decision-makers frequently treating African-led interventions as secondary and seeking external mediation despite invoking 'African solutions'. This is evidenced by a decrease in AU-led peace support operations (PSOs) since 2013, with the AU currently relying on Somalia as its only active PSO.
• There is a significant disconnect between the AU Commission's (AUC) technical reports on elections and the Peace and Security Council's (PSC) political responses. The PSC often uses uniform diplomatic language to congratulate member states regardless of democratic deficiencies, such as the disqualification of candidates in Côte d'Ivoire or internet shutdowns in Tanzania, thereby failing its preventive mandate.
• Informal consultations held by the PSC with coup-affected states (including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon, Guinea, Sudan, Madagascar, and Guinea-Bissau) have provided a platform for dialogue but have failed to produce behavioral change among transition leaders due to a lack of coordinated coercive measures and misalignment between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
• Israel's December 2025 recognition of Somaliland has challenged the AU's principle of the intangibility of colonial borders. While the PSC condemned the move, the report argues that the AU lacks the operational means to enforce its principles and should move toward dialogue with Somaliland to prevent further external instrumentalisation.
• Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) access costs Africa approximately 5% of its GDP annually, or about US$200 billion. In 2023, only 29.5% of the population had access to safely managed WaSH facilities. The report notes that 70% to 80% of jobs in low-income African countries depend on water.
• African governments are failing to meet WaSH investment targets, with no government reaching the 2001 Abuja Declaration target of 15% domestic general government health expenditure by 2023. To meet Sustainable Development Goals, per capita spending needs to increase to between US$249 and US$270, a threshold met by only 10 countries in 2023.

APA

Handy, P.-S., Ani, N. C., Soumahoro, M., Simakoloyi, Z., Demissie, S. T., Okwayo, N., & McLachlan, D. T. (2026). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1776422554017-psc-report-182.pdf

Chicago

Handy, Paul-Simon, Ndubuisi Christian Ani, Moussa Soumahoro, Zenge Simakoloyi, Selam Tadesse Demissie, Nurulhudah Okwayo, and Du Toit McLachlan. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1776422554017-psc-report-182.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{handy2026peace, author = {Handy, Paul-Simon and Ani, Ndubuisi Christian and Soumahoro, Moussa and Simakoloyi, Zenge and Demissie, Selam Tadesse and Okwayo, Nurulhudah and McLachlan, Du Toit}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pages/1776422554017-psc-report-182.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }