Peace & Security Council Report

This June 2018 report from the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the African Union's (AU) institutional reforms, the AU's evolving role in the Sahel, the collapse of power-sharing talks in South Sudan, and the future of European Union funding for the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). It specifically examines whether the Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol remains adequate for contemporary security challenges.

• The African Union is undergoing institutional reforms led by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which include reducing the number of Assembly summits to streamline decision-making and establishing goal quotas for women (50%) and youth (35%) in AU staff by 2025. Other reforms include delegating budget adoption power to the Executive Council and creating a budgetary oversight role for a Committee of Ministers of Finance.
• The AU's role in the Sahel is characterized by a tension between the legal primacy of the AU and a political reality of 'increased subsidiarity,' where ad hoc forces like the G5 Sahel Joint Force and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) operate with limited AU coordination. While the PSC provides legal legitimacy and is mandatory for EU funding via the African Peace Facility, the AU lacks the financial and political leverage to effectively coordinate these regional initiatives.
• Peace talks in South Sudan held in May 2018 failed because warring parties rejected an IGAD proposal for power-sharing. The opposition argued the proposal disproportionately empowered the Juba administration, specifically contesting the allocation of 55% of cabinet positions and 65% of state governors to the SPLM-IG. The report suggests the power-sharing approach may be fostering fragmentation by prioritizing elite interests over the general population.
• The European Union's African Peace Facility (APF) has provided over €2.3 billion since 2004, but the EU is shifting its approach toward institutional development, capacity building, and conflict prevention rather than open-ended crisis support. This shift is driven by lessons from AMISOM, where the EU faced a long-term mission without a clear exit strategy, leading the EU to now favor targeted support packages.
• The AU is attempting to reduce its dependency on EU funding through a new 0.2% levy on eligible imports, aiming to generate 25% of peace operation funding locally. However, the EU has indicated it may use donor funds as leverage to ensure ACP countries comply with migration demands, such as preventing migrants from reaching Europe.
• There is an ongoing debate regarding whether the PSC Protocol, adopted over 15 years ago, is still fit for purpose. While some argue the protocol is progressive but poorly implemented due to lack of funding and political will, others suggest it is a 'child of the 90s' that fails to address contemporary low-intensity governance crises and the rise of violent extremism.

APA

Bedzigui, Y., Ani, N. C., & Louw-Vaudran, L. (2018). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pscreport-103.pdf

Chicago

Bedzigui, Yann, Ndubuisi Christian Ani, and Liesl Louw-Vaudran. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pscreport-103.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bedzigui |first1=Yann |last2=Ani |first2=Ndubuisi Christian |last3=Louw-Vaudran |first3=Liesl |title=Peace & Security Council Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=June 2018 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pscreport-103.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bedzigui2018peace, author = {Bedzigui, Yann and Ani, Ndubuisi Christian and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pscreport-103.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }