Peace & Security Council Report

This report by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the agenda for the 29th African Union (AU) Summit, the operational challenges of the African Standby Force (ASF), and the Peace and Security Council's (PSC) decision-making trends. It specifically examines the political crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, as well as counter-terrorism efforts in the Sahel and Somalia.

• The Peace and Security Council (PSC) showed a trend toward cautious decision-making in 2016, adopting fewer decisions than in 2015 and failing to hold any meetings on potential or emerging crises. The report notes that the word 'decides' was used in only 13 statements in 2016, compared to 20 in 2015.
• There is significant skepticism regarding the African Standby Force (ASF) due to outdated deployment scenarios and a lack of political will. While declared operational in 2015, the AU has frequently relied on ad hoc arrangements rather than the ASF, and experts argue the ASF doctrine needs review to reflect current regional alliances and operational realities.
• The political crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains unresolved after the Kabila government unilaterally appointed a prime minister, which undermined the December 31 accord. Angola is identified as a pivotal actor in this crisis, having previously nudged President Joseph Kabila back to negotiations.
• In the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, the AU is increasingly relying on regional coalitions to address terrorism. This includes the G5 Sahel joint force (comprising Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger), which received 50 million euros from the EU for troop payments.
• The AU is negotiating a protocol on the free movement of persons in Africa, proposed as a three-phase process: the right of entry, the right of residence, and the right of establishment. However, the protocol allows member states to invoke internal regulations to deny entry or residence, which may lead to selective application.
• The AU's new financing model, involving a 0.2% levy on non-African imports, faces implementation delays. Its success is linked to the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) to address potential conflicts with World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2017). Peace & Security Council Report. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc92.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Peace & Security Council Report. 2017. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc92.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Peace & Security Council Report |date=June 2017 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc92.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2017peace, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc92.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }