Please refer to the attached file.
Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1163rd meeting held at Ministerial level on 21 July 2023, on Community Responses to the Security Challenges in the Continent.
The Peace and Security Council,
Recalling Article 20 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council; the Conclusions of the PSC Retreat (Livingstone Formula) held in Livingstone, Zambia in 2008 and the Conclusions of the PSC Retreat held in Maseru, Lesotho in 2014;
Taking note of the opening statement by H.E. Ms. Aissata Tall Sall, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad of the Republic of Senegal and Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council of the AU for July 2023 and the introductory remarks by H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security; as well as the presentations by Dr. Vasu Gounden, Executive Director at the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and by Dr. Bakary Sambe of the Timbuktu Institute, African Centre for Peace Studies;
Determined to silence the guns in Africa by the year 2030 in order to create the conducive conditions for the realization of the AU Vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its people and representing a dynamic force in the global arena, as well as AU Agenda 2063; and
Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:
1. Underscores the importance of addressing the growing multi-dimensional threats to peace, security and development in Africa, including climate change, armed conflicts, as well as natural disasters which affect the living conditions and livelihoods of communities;
2. Strongly condemns terrorist attacks on communities, as well as defence and security forces; and stresses the need to ensure the security of lives, properties and livelihoods of the people and to strengthen their resilience to the negative effects of the several and multifaceted crises affecting Africa;
3. Emphasizes the need for concerted efforts in addressing the multi-dimensional threats to peace, security, stability and development in Africa, such as terrorism, radicalization and extremism, armed conflict, climate change-related human security threats, hate-speech motivated crimes, and ideologies of hatred and intolerance, which negatively affect the living conditions and livelihoods of the African people;
4. Underlines the importance of holistic approaches in addressing the structural root causes and drivers of conflict and all security threats by acknowledging the inextricable nexus between peace, security and socio-economic development;
5. Acknowledges the significant contribution of communities to the efforts towards the attainment of peace, stability and development in Africa, particularly with regard to the building and consolidation of social cohesion as a guarantee of lasting peace and the prevention and resolution of ongoing and/or latent conflicts;
6. Also acknowledges the critical role of traditional leaders and leaders of faith-based organizations, youth and women, especially women mediators, in peace processes, and the contribution of civil society stakeholders in the identification of the early signs of threats to peace and security in Africa;
7. Commends the efforts being deployed by the AU, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) and Member States towards promoting peace, security and stability in the Continent;
8. Encourages Member States to always incorporate the community dimension in early warning and early responses, as well as in conflict prevention, management, resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery, stabilization and developments; also encourages Member States to promote inclusive, transparent and development policies which facilitate the effective participation of communities in preventing, managing and resolving conflicts and crisis situations, with a view to guaranteeing lasting peace and security in communities and societies; and to fully embrace the Continental conflict prevention frameworks, which include the voluntary Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (CSVRA) and Country Structural Vulnerability Mitigation Strategies (CSVMS);
9. Requests the AU Commission to review the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), in order to adapt it to contemporary security challenges facing the Continent, and to develop an AU strategy for promoting community responses to conflicts on the Continent, including peace research institutions, to intensify multi-stakeholder dialogue and enhance the traditional and legitimate role of religious and customary leaders in African peace efforts;
10. Further acknowledges the critical role that Civil society organizations can play in this regard; commends the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) for its relentless efforts in encouraging the participation of civil society and grassroots organizations in the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa; and emphasizes the need for mobilizing adequate financial resources for ECOSOCC to enable it to more effectively discharge its mandate;
11. Underscores the importance of community participation in the AU and RECs/RM peace efforts, including in peace support operations and stresses the importance of strengthening civil-military relations, and community policing in promoting national and community ownership of peace and security programs in order to facilitate local buy-in;
12. Requests the Commission and Partners to implement the Declaration of the First AU Policy Conference on Promoting the Peace, Security and Development nexus in Africa- The Promise of Regional Integration, in line with paragraph 34 of Decision [Assembly/AU/Dec.842(XXXVI)] adopted by the 36th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, from 18 to 19 February 2023; and, in this regard, encourages the partners to redouble their support for the implementation of the projects relating to the nexus between peace, security and development;
13. Requests the AU Office of the Special Envoy on Women Peace and Security to integrate issues relating to Women in Development and Climate Change, in its future forums taking into consideration the outcomes of the meeting on “the overarching challenges of climate change and the women’s agenda” organized on 16 February 2023 on the margins of the 36th Summit of the African Union;
14. Decides to dedicate one open session each year to consider community responses to security challenges in Africa; and
15. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
Posted by Abraham Kebede