Peace & Security Council Report

This July 2021 issue of the Peace & Security Council Report by the Institute for Security Studies examines critical security and political challenges across Africa. It focuses on the African Union's (AU) struggle to implement maritime security strategies, the rise of cybercrime and the legislative responses in South Africa, the ten-year legacy of the Arab Spring in North Africa, and the impact of the June 2021 elections on Ethiopia's structural divisions.

• African maritime security is hindered by structural obstacles, including insufficient budget allocations and a lack of institutional anchorage for the 2050 Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy). Furthermore, the Revised African Maritime Transport Charter and the Lomé Charter have not yet attained the ratifications necessary to enter into force.
• Maritime security issues are inadequately integrated into the AU's primary security frameworks, such as the African Standby Force, the Continental Early Warning System, and the African Peace and Security Architecture. The report notes that the AU's foundational security policies often leave the impression of a continent without a coastline.
• Cybercrime poses a significant economic threat to Africa, with South Africa losing approximately 2.2 billion rand (US$154 million) in annual revenue. To combat this, South Africa enacted the Cybercrimes Act and the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, which became fully operational on 1 July 2021.
• The AU Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Protocol) aims to harmonise legislation against cybercrime and money laundering, but its effectiveness is limited by slow ratification. As of July 2021, only Angola, Guinea, Ghana, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, and Senegal have ratified the treaty.
• Ten years after the Arab Spring, many North African countries have seen political and economic regression. In Tunisia, the economy reached negative growth of -7% in 2020, and university-educated youth unemployment peaked at 30%. In Egypt, the 2012 victory of Mohamed Morsi was followed by a military ousting in July 2013 and a return to authoritarian rule under Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
• Ethiopia's national and regional elections on 21 June 2021 resulted in a landslide victory for Abiy Ahmed and the Prosperity Party. However, the process lacked full representivity due to the boycott by the Oromo Liberation Front and the Oromo Federalist Congress, and the withdrawal of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) from the party merger.

APA

Walker, T., Allen, K., Abderrahmane, A., & Yared, T. (2021). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-137.pdf

Chicago

Walker, Tim, Karen Allen, Abdelkader Abderrahmane, and Tegbaru Yared. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-137.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Walker |first1=Tim |last2=Allen |first2=Karen |last3=Abderrahmane |first3=Abdelkader |last4=Yared |first4=Tegbaru |title=Peace & Security Council Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=July 2021 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-137.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{walker2021peace, author = {Walker, Tim and Allen, Karen and Abderrahmane, Abdelkader and Yared, Tegbaru}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, month = jul, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-137.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }