Peace & Security Council Report

The report examines the AU's efforts to adapt counter-terrorism operations through the African Standby Force, the impact of COVID-19 on election observation, and the need for incumbents to step down during elections to ensure fairness. It also analyzes the tension between the principle of inviolable colonial borders and secessionist movements, such as in Ghana, and discusses the complexities of harmonizing a common African position in negotiations with the European Union.

• Terrorist attacks in Africa increased by 18% between January and August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, with 1,168 attacks recorded. The threat is expanding into previously unaffected areas, including the Great Lakes, Southern Africa, Mozambique, and coastal Western African states.
• The AU Peace and Security Council is considering a counter-terrorism unit under the African Standby Force (ASF) to reduce the reliance on ad hoc deployments. However, a significant doctrinal conflict exists with the UN Security Council, which maintains that UN-mandated peace support operations (PSOs) cannot engage in military responses to terrorism, whereas the AU advocates for a hybrid, multifaceted definition of PSOs.
• COVID-19 travel restrictions have hindered large-scale international election observation missions in Africa, leading to a shift toward smaller technical missions or remote observation via social media. There is ongoing debate regarding the efficacy of international observers, with some critics arguing they often 'rubber-stamp' flawed elections in favor of incumbents.
• The report argues that the abuse of incumbency—where leaders use state resources to gain electoral advantages—undermines democracy. It suggests that requiring presidents to vacate office before elections, a practice used in Cabo Verde and Madagascar, can reduce the exploitation of public office and strengthen public trust.
• While African states generally adhere to the 1964 Cairo Declaration principle that colonial borders are inviolable, the report notes that this often ignores the reality of poorly demarcated borders and suppressed self-determination demands. The 2011 independence of South Sudan is cited as a rare exception to this principle.
• Negotiations for a post-2020 AU-EU strategy are complicated by a lack of a unified African voice. This is attributed to the EU's fragmented approach to different partnerships (such as the ACP group and RECs) and the AU's own lack of a comprehensive framework for distributing labor and responsibilities between its various organs and member states.

APA

Diatta, M., Louw-Vaudran, L., Attah-Asamoah, A., Woldemichael, S., Handy, P.-S., & Sirengo, E. (2020). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-129.pdf

Chicago

Diatta, Mohamed, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Andrews Attah-Asamoah, Shewit Woldemichael, Paul-Simon Handy, and Elizabeth Sirengo. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2020. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-129.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Diatta |first1=Mohamed |last2=Louw-Vaudran |first2=Liesl |last3=Attah-Asamoah |first3=Andrews |last4=Woldemichael |first4=Shewit |last5=Handy |first5=Paul-Simon |last6=Sirengo |first6=Elizabeth |title=Peace & Security Council Report |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=October 2020 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-129.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{diatta2020peace, author = {Diatta, Mohamed and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Attah-Asamoah, Andrews and Woldemichael, Shewit and Handy, Paul-Simon and Sirengo, Elizabeth}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc-129.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }