Peace & Security Council Report

This February 2022 report from the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the composition and challenges of the newly elected African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), the outcomes of the February 2022 AU Summit regarding governance and conflict prevention, and the ongoing debate over equitable regional representation within the Council. It also examines the tensions between the African Union and the European Union regarding the green energy transition and critiques the application of the principle of subsidiarity in the relationship between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

• The African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) faces four primary obstacles to its effectiveness: it is largely reactive, hindered by bureaucratic review processes, lacks systematic synergies with regional economic communities (RECs), and suffers from unresolved sustainable funding issues.
• The February 2022 AU Summit introduced several mechanisms to address the root causes of conflict and unconstitutional changes of government. These include the revitalisation of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessments (CSVRAs), and the Country Structural Vulnerability Mitigation Strategies (CSVMS), as well as the creation of a governance support fund.
• There is significant contention regarding the equitable distribution of seats on the 15-member PSC. Northern African states argue that the current allocation—where North Africa has two seats while West Africa has four and other regions have three—is based on an outdated 2004 'temporary' arrangement.
• Northern African states have proposed restructuring the PSC by either increasing the total membership to 17 or 21 seats to ensure more equitable regional representation without requiring West Africa to relinquish its fourth seat.
• Tensions exist between the AU and the EU over the green transition, specifically regarding a €150 billion EU investment plan. African leaders express concern that the shift away from fossil fuels could create 'stranded assets' for energy-exporting nations and that the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism may negatively impact African exporters.
• The principle of subsidiarity in the AU's security architecture is described as ambiguous and often misapplied. The report argues that the AU is an intergovernmental organization for cooperation rather than a supranational body like the EU, making 'cooperation' a more appropriate framework than 'subsidiarity' for the next 20 years.

APA

Diatta, M., Woldemichael, S., Louw-Vaudran, L., Handy, P.-S., & Mbiyozo, A.-N. (2022). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-report-143-v2.pdf

Chicago

Diatta, Mohamed, Shewit Woldemichael, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Paul-Simon Handy, and Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2022. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-report-143-v2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Diatta |first1=Mohamed |last2=Woldemichael |first2=Shewit |last3=Louw-Vaudran |first3=Liesl |last4=Handy |first4=Paul-Simon |last5=Mbiyozo |first5=Aimée-Noël |title=Peace & Security Council Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=February 2022 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-report-143-v2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{diatta2022peace, author = {Diatta, Mohamed and Woldemichael, Shewit and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Handy, Paul-Simon and Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-report-143-v2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }