Peace & Security Council Report

The report examines the 2018 African Union Peace and Security Council elections, noting a shift toward regional consensus and a decline in the average governance and democracy scores of member states. It details institutional reform struggles led by President Paul Kagame, specifically the contested transformation of Nepad into a development agency. Additionally, it analyzes the need for sanctions in South Sudan, the political deadlock in Togo, and the challenges of state absence in the Central African Republic.

• The January 2018 elections for the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) were characterized by regional consensus and a lack of contested seats, with member states utilizing alphabetical rotation or mutual agreement to select candidates.
• There is a measurable decline in the democratic and governance quality of PSC member states between 2016 and 2018, partly due to the exit of higher-scoring states like South Africa and Botswana.
• Institutional reforms proposed by Rwandan President Paul Kagame face significant opposition, particularly from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which has raised concerns regarding the legality of the process and the potential for the AU Commission to become a supranational organization with limited accountability.
• The proposal to transform Nepad into the AU Development Agency is a point of contention; while reformists seek to scrap its 'top-heavy' structure, founding members like Algeria argue that Nepad represents a unique methodological approach to African ownership and self-regulation.
• Despite agreement between the AU, IGAD, and the UN that sanctions are necessary for 'spoilers of peace' in South Sudan, implementation is hindered by internal divisions and the interests of neighboring states and UN Security Council permanent members like China and Russia.
• The political crisis in Togo, rooted in a 2002 constitutional reform, remains unresolved due to mistrust between the government and 14 opposition parties, with the latter seeking the departure of President Gnassingbé.
• In the Central African Republic, the UN Special Representative identifies the fundamental root cause of violence as the absence of state authority, which has led to the manipulation of religion by political and military actors for vested interests.

APA

Bedzigui, Y., Louw-Vaudran, L., Ani, N. C., Toupane, P. M., Abatan, J. E., & Alison, S. (2018). Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc99.pdf

Chicago

Bedzigui, Yann, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Ndubuisi Christian Ani, Paulin Maurice Toupane, Jeannine Ella Abatan, and Simon Alison. Peace & Security Council Report. Institute for Security Studies, 2018. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc99.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{bedzigui2018peace, author = {Bedzigui, Yann and Louw-Vaudran, Liesl and Ani, Ndubuisi Christian and Toupane, Paulin Maurice and Abatan, Jeannine Ella and Alison, Simon}, title = {{Peace \& Security Council Report}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/psc99.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }