Peace & Security Council Report

The May 2018 Peace & Security Council Report examines several African Union (AU) initiatives and regional challenges, including the FemWise-Africa network for women mediators, the proposed AU Humanitarian Agency, the protocol on free movement of people, and the political situation in Liberia and the Horn of Africa. It also features an interview regarding the transformation of the NEPAD Agency into the AU Development Agency.

• The African Union established FemWise-Africa on 4 July 2017 to increase the number of women in peace processes, as high-level AU mediation has historically been dominated by men. While about 60 professionals have been accredited, the initiative faces challenges because most special envoys are former heads of state, reflecting a perception that leaders prefer peer-to-peer mediation. Globally, between 1992 and 2011, women represented only 2% of chief mediators, 4% of witnesses and signatories, and 9% of negotiators.
• The Peace and Security Council (PSC) has called for the operationalisation of the AU Humanitarian Agency by January 2019 to address the lack of AU presence in humanitarian crises, which are currently dominated by international organisations. However, establishing the agency is expensive and raises concerns about independence; if housed within the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, its neutrality in conflict zones could be questioned.
• The AU's protocol on free movement of people, adopted in January 2018, faces significant implementation hurdles. As of early May 2018, 31 member states had signed, but none had ratified it. Major budget contributors including Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco have not signed, and the Northern Region has no signatories. Security concerns, such as porous borders in the Sahelian strip, Lake Chad basin, and Great Lakes region, complicate the policy as they could facilitate the movement of terrorists and criminal entities.
• President George Weah's inauguration on 22 January 2018 marked Liberia's first democratic transfer of power between living presidents since 1944. Weah's 'pro-poor' economic agenda focuses on five pillars: health, infrastructure, education, youth development, and the economy. However, his cabinet shows a decrease in female representation compared to the previous administration, including only two women ministers.
• Tensions have escalated between Somalia and Somaliland following a March 2018 tripartite deal between Somaliland, Ethiopia, and the UAE regarding Berbera Port. The deal grants 51% of the port to the UAE's DP World, 30% to Somaliland, and 19% to Ethiopia. Somalia contends that only the central government in Mogadishu can sign international agreements. This dispute is compounded by a 'scramble for strategic control' in the Horn, with various global powers establishing military bases in the region.
• The NEPAD Agency is proposed for transformation into the AU Development Agency as part of AU reforms led by President Paul Kagame to improve efficiency. The agency currently has active programme support in 52 of the 55 AU member states and is responsible for managing the monitoring and evaluation of the Agenda 2063 First-Ten-Year-Implementation-Plan.

APA

Bedzigui, Y., Ani, N. C., Louw-Vaudran, L., & Akum, F. (2018). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc102-2.pdf

Chicago

Bedzigui, Yann, Ndubuisi Christian Ani, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, and Fonteh Akum. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc102-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bedzigui |first1=Yann |last2=Ani |first2=Ndubuisi Christian |last3=Louw-Vaudran |first3=Liesl |last4=Akum |first4=Fonteh |title=Peace & Security Council Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=May 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc102-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bedzigui2018peace, author = {Bedzigui, Yann and Ani, Ndubuisi Christian and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Akum, Fonteh}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc102-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }