Peace & Security Council Report

The September 2020 Peace & Security Council Report examines the African Union's (AU) operational challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the precarious state of peace agreements in Sudan and Libya, the root causes of coups in Africa with a focus on Mali, and the potential for national dialogue in Ethiopia.

• The COVID-19 pandemic forced the African Union to move meetings and summits online, which facilitated faster and cheaper convening for the AU Commission and member states. However, this digital shift hindered multilateral diplomacy and lobbying for the AU Commission elections, as these processes typically rely on "behind-the-scenes interactions".
• The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) faced delays due to outstanding issues, resulting in the start of trading being postponed from 1 July 2020 to 1 January 2021. The AfCFTA Secretariat headquarters was officially inaugurated in Accra on 17 August 2020.
• Sudan's transitional government planned to sign a comprehensive peace agreement with the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) on 3 October 2020. While the agreement addresses power-sharing and resource redistribution, it remains precarious because the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-North) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) refused to sign, arguing that "fundamental conflict drivers" were not addressed.
• The Bouznika talks in Morocco (6–10 September 2020) aimed to reunify Libya by establishing a transitional period where the Tobruk administration and the Tripoli Government of National Accord (GNA) would collaborate. However, the process is complicated by the "internationalisation of the civil war" and competing interests over the control of oil resources, which led to a blockade of installations in the east by Khalifa Haftar.
• The report argues that the AU and ECOWAS's focus on "unconstitutional change of government" as a red line—exemplified by the condemnation of Mali's 18 August 2020 coup—is a simplistic approach. It suggests that by prioritizing the legality of sitting heads of state over the legitimacy of their governance, these organizations ignore root causes such as corruption, inequality, and "deficiencies in governance".
• Ethiopia is encouraged to pursue national dialogue to address state-building deficits and political unrest. Lessons from Kenya (2008), Sudan (2014–16), and South Sudan (2017–2020) indicate that success depends on wide consultation, inclusive participation of armed groups and civil society, and the use of credible, independent conveners to avoid accusations of partiality.
• Morocco has implemented a multifaceted counter-terrorism strategy following the 2003 Casablanca attacks, combining legal updates, the National Initiative for Human Development to fight poverty, and religious reforms. This includes the Mohammed VI Institute, which has trained over 2,000 African imams from countries including Mali, Guinea, and Nigeria.

APA

Diatta, M., Louw-Vaudran, L., Attah-Asamoah, A., Woldemichael, S., Handy, P.-S., Akum, F., Djilo, F., Dessu, M. K., & Yohannes, D. (2020). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-128.pdf

Chicago

Diatta, Mohamed, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Andrews Attah-Asamoah, Shewit Woldemichael, Paul-Simon Handy, Fonteh Akum, Félicité Djilo, Meressa K Dessu, and Dawit Yohannes. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2020. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-128.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{diatta2020peace, author = {Diatta, Mohamed and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Attah-Asamoah, Andrews and Woldemichael, Shewit and Handy, Paul-Simon and Akum, Fonteh and Djilo, Félicité and Dessu, Meressa K and Yohannes, Dawit}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-128.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }