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The report evaluates the AU Peace and Security Council's efforts in conflict resolution and regional stability, highlighting failures in Sudan's mediation due to biased mediator selection and a lack of political focus. It examines the limitations of PSC field missions, the rising death toll of humanitarian workers in Africa, and the role of illegal natural resource exploitation in funding armed groups. Finally, it discusses the need for greater African agency and strategic coordination in infrastructure and security partnerships with China through FOCAC.

The Peace and Security Council Report No 176 analyzes the outcomes of the 38th AU Summit in February 2025, focusing on leadership transitions, the chairship of Angola, and the ongoing challenges of the 'Silencing the Guns' agenda. It highlights the election of Mahamoud Ali Youssouf as AUC chair and the debate over rotational versus permanent membership in the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC).

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed on 5 May 2006. It argues that the conflict in Darfur is not merely a result of tribalism or ecological degradation, but is rooted in the broader struggle for power in Khartoum and a history of national marginalization. The document details the failures of the DPA to achieve broad legitimacy among rebel factions, the challenges facing the African Union Mission (AMIS), and the intricate links between the Darfur crisis and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan.

This research paper outlines the systemic challenges of studying crime and criminal justice in Africa, emphasizing the impact of political repression, the legacy of colonialism, and the scarcity of reliable official data. It highlights how 'African solidarity' can lead to non-compliance with international legal protocols and suggests that regional cooperation through the African Union and SARPCCO offers a path toward greater transparency and institutionalized research.

This guide provides an overview of the International Criminal Court (ICC), detailing its legal foundations under the Rome Statute, its jurisdictional limits, its institutional structure, and its early investigations in Africa and elsewhere.

This report documents a seminar held on 1 October 2008 in Pretoria, featuring a presentation by General Martin Luther Agwai, the UNAMID Force Commander. General Agwai discusses the complexities of the conflict in Darfur, the transition from the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), and the significant operational and logistical challenges facing the mission.

This report, prepared by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for a special session in Tripoli, provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges to peace and security in Africa. It details the institutional framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the economic and human costs of conflict, and the status of various regional crises, including those in Somalia, Sudan, and the Great Lakes region. The document emphasizes the need for African ownership of peace efforts, the importance of structural conflict prevention, and the strengthening of partnerships with international bodies like the UN and EU.

This report details an Institute for Security Studies (ISS) seminar held on February 12, 2009, in Addis Ababa, which analyzed the outcomes of the 12th Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU). The seminar featured presentations on the low implementation rates of AU Assembly Decisions, legal challenges regarding the proposed transformation of the AU Commission into an Authority, and the AU's response to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) indictment of the President of Sudan.

This report chapter examines the institutional evolution of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), detailing its transition from a focus on decolonization and state sovereignty to the establishment of a formal mechanism for conflict prevention and management in the 1990s. It analyzes the socio-economic impacts of armed conflict on African development and the OAU's challenges in operationalizing early warning systems and monitoring small arms proliferation.

This document consists of Annex VI and three Protocols of an agreement between the European Community and ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) States. It defines the lists of least-developed, landlocked, and island ACP States, establishes rules for the operating expenditure and privileges of joint institutions, and outlines the qualified status of South Africa's participation in the agreement.

This trainer's guide provides a comprehensive curriculum for the EAPCCO United Nations Police Officers Course (UNPOC), designed to prepare police personnel for deployment in UN and African Union (AU) peace support operations. It covers the institutional frameworks of the UN and AU, the 'Capstone Doctrine' for peacekeeping, legal frameworks, human rights, and operational techniques such as negotiation, radio communication, and safety awareness. The guide includes theoretical modules, case studies on conduct and discipline, and a detailed field exercise called 'Furugo Kali' to simulate real-world mission scenarios.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the perceptions of South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia and Uganda regarding the conflict in their home country and the IGAD-led peace process. Based on interviews conducted in July 2018, the document highlights a significant gap in communication between peace negotiators and refugee populations, widespread frustration with political leadership, and deep divisions over the future administrative structure of South Sudan.

A letter dated 4 October 2013 from 130 African civil society and international organisations urging African foreign ministers to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Rome Statute during an African Union (AU) extraordinary summit on 11 and 12 October 2013.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies provides a scoping study on peace and security in East Africa, focusing on the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes regions. It analyzes conflict dynamics, state fragility, and the effectiveness of regional and national interventions, concluding that the region remains fragile despite some governance gains.

This report summarizes a 2004 workshop in Accra, Ghana, focused on identifying lessons from Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) experiences in Africa. It analyzes the evolution of UN-led DDR programmes, highlighting the shift from vague mandates to specific, targeted interventions. The document emphasizes that while disarmament and demobilization are often measured quantitatively, the qualitative aspect of reintegration remains the most challenging phase. It argues for a holistic approach that links DDR with national recovery, security sector reform, and human rights, while warning against the tendency of DDR to be exploited as a money-making venture by combatants and commanders.

This report, based on a 2004 workshop in Accra, Ghana, analyzes the evolution of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs in Africa. It examines the transition of DDR from vague mandates in the late 1990s to highly specific programs by 2004, highlighting the role of UN peacekeeping missions and the critical need for integrated planning, qualitative indicators for reintegration, and coordination with national recovery strategies.

This monograph captures the proceedings of a seminar held in Pretoria on 18-19 April 2000, titled "Security in Africa: French and South African Perspectives." The document explores the intersection of national identity, human security, governance, and economic development, with a specific focus on the evolving roles of France and South Africa in African security. It analyzes various conflict zones, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, and West Africa, while evaluating the effectiveness of regional and international intervention frameworks such as the UN, OAU, SADC, and ECOWAS.

This report analyzes the abduction and reintegration of child soldiers in Northern Uganda, specifically those forced into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). It details the extreme violence and sexual exploitation faced by children, the role of psychosocial centres in Gulu, and the use of traditional Acholi cleansing rituals to facilitate reconciliation. The authors argue that the focus on child soldiers often masks deeper political and economic marginalization of the Acholi people by the Ugandan government.

This policy brief, produced by the Institute for Security Studies as part of the African Futures Project, uses the International Futures (IFs) model to analyze the impact of improving water and sanitation access across Africa. It argues that an aggressive annual improvement rate of just under 2 percentage points could significantly reduce child malnutrition and infant mortality, increase GDP, and lower the probability of state failure by 2050.

This research paper by Lauren Hutton, published by the Institute for Security Studies in February 2015, interrogates the continued relevance of peacebuilding within external interventions in Africa. The author argues that current peacebuilding efforts are often limited because they fail to address the radical restructuring of political and economic power, instead reinforcing existing inequalities and enabling autocratic governance through the building of state institutions that can be used for predation and control.