Peace & Security Council Report

This March 2019 issue of the Peace & Security Council Report examines the African Union's (AU) efforts to stabilize Libya, the integration of its rapid response capabilities, shortcomings in election observation in Nigeria and Senegal, and the challenges of restructuring Africa's strategic international partnerships. It also features an interview on the grassroots protests against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algeria.

• The African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) are collaborating to revive the peace process in Libya, aiming for an international reconciliation conference in July 2019 and elections in October 2019. However, the viability of the election deadline is doubted due to insecurity, deep-seated divisions, and a lack of consensus. Key obstacles include the proliferation of armed groups, contestation over resource wealth—exemplified by the December 2018 capture of the Al-Sharara oil field by Khalifa Haftar's army—and a lack of political will among those benefiting from the war economy.
• The AU is working to integrate the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises (ACIRC) into the African Standby Force (ASF) framework, with a target completion date of February 2020. This effort seeks to resolve resource competition and duplication of functions, as neither body has ever been deployed despite the ASF being declared operational in 2015. The report notes that member states often prefer their own coalitions, such as the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram, over AU-led forces.
• AU election observer missions (AUEOM) in Nigeria and Senegal showed significant shortcomings in timing and credibility. In Nigeria, the AUEOM was surprised by a last-minute election postponement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and produced a preliminary report containing contradictions regarding election-related violence. In Senegal, the AUEOM failed to address the 'sanitised' political environment that favoured incumbent Macky Sall, as the mission was deployed too late to observe pre-election legal amendments and the disqualification of opponents.
• The AU is attempting to coordinate Africa's strategic partnerships to ensure the continent 'speaks with one voice' and avoids being a passive recipient of initiatives from outside powers. While the AU-EU partnership is the only one where the AU Commission is integral to planning, other engagements like the Forum for China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) are more institutionalised. The AU proposes that future partnership meetings be represented by the AU Troika, REC chairpersons, and the NEPAD Agency chairperson.
• Widespread, grassroots protests in Algeria against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's mandate extension are described as unprecedented due to their geographic scale and duration. The protests are driven by a desire to dismantle the 'clan power structure' around the president and address grievances related to housing and employment. Experts suggest that foreign meddling would be counterproductive and that the drivers of these protests are similar to those driving a sharp increase in migration from Algeria observed throughout 2018.

APA

Diatta, M., Louw-Vaudran, L., Attah-Asamoah, A., Woldemichael, S., de Carvalho, G., & Leijenaar, A. (2019). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-111.pdf

Chicago

Diatta, Mohamed, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Andrews Attah-Asamoah, Shewit Woldemichael, Gustavo de Carvalho, and Annette Leijenaar. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2019. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-111.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Diatta |first1=Mohamed |last2=Louw-Vaudran |first2=Liesl |last3=Attah-Asamoah |first3=Andrews |last4=Woldemichael |first4=Shewit |last5=de Carvalho |first5=Gustavo |last6=Leijenaar |first6=Annette |title=Peace & Security Council Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=March 2019 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-111.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{diatta2019peace, author = {Diatta, Mohamed and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Attah-Asamoah, Andrews and Woldemichael, Shewit and de Carvalho, Gustavo and Leijenaar, Annette}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-111.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }