Peace & Security Council Report

The report examines the challenges in operationalizing the AU Peace Fund, specifically disagreements over contribution scales among member states. It warns against the increasing use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) like the Wagner Group in Africa, citing human rights risks. Additionally, it advocates for a revamp of the AU's PCRD approach to better address post-authoritarian transitions and the role of women in peacebuilding, using The Gambia as a model for small, expert-led deployments.

• The AU Peace Fund remains non-operational despite having over US$231 million from member states, primarily due to delays in establishing disbursement modalities and disagreements over contribution assessment scales.
• The PSC has established three funding windows for the Peace Fund: the first for mediation and preventive diplomacy, the second for institutional capacity building, and the third for AU-led peace support operations (PSOs).
• The use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) and mercenaries, such as the Russian Wagner Group in the Central African Republic and Mozambique, poses significant risks to human rights and the safety of civilians.
• The AU's Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) policy needs updating to address the shift toward post-authoritarian contexts and the impact of climate change, as traditional 'post-conflict' conditions are often absent due to recurring violence.
• The deployment of the AU Technical Support to The Gambia (AUTSTG) demonstrated that small, multidisciplinary teams of civilian and military experts embedded in government institutions can be more effective and cost-efficient than large missions.
• Women's roles in African peacebuilding are frequently limited to 'track 3' community mediation and are often overlooked or excluded from formal PCRD reporting and high-level peace negotiations.
• During Mozambique's October 2021 chairship of the PSC, priorities included disaster risk management, human security, and combating terrorism, with a call to establish the African Humanitarian Agency (AfHA).

APA

Louw-Vaudran, L., Diatta, M., Woldemichael, S., Yohannes, D., de Carvalho, G., Kumalo, L., & Mutangadura, C. (2021). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PSC-Report-141-2.pdf

Chicago

Louw-Vaudran, Liesl, Mohamed Diatta, Shewit Woldemichael, Dawit Yohannes, Gustavo de Carvalho, Liezelle Kumalo, and Chido Mutangadura. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PSC-Report-141-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{louwvaudran2021peace, author = {Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Diatta, Mohamed and Woldemichael, Shewit and Yohannes, Dawit and de Carvalho, Gustavo and Kumalo, Liezelle and Mutangadura, Chido}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PSC-Report-141-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }