HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the organ of the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
in charge of enforcing union decisions. It is patterned somewhat after the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
. The PSC is also the main pillar of the
African Peace and Security Architecture The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) includes the three central instruments conflict prevention, conflict management and peace building of the African Union (AU), the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as well as the Regional Mechani ...
(APSA), and works with other pillars of the APSA in order to promote "peace, security and stability in Africa". The specific goal of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the "prevention, management and resolution of conflicts". To achieve these goals, it involves subsidiary organizations such as the Military Staff Committee and the Committee of Experts. Members are elected by the African Union Executive Council and endorsed by the Assembly of the African Union so as to reflect regional balance within
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, as well as a variety of other criteria, including capacity to contribute militarily and financially to the union, political will to do so, and effective diplomatic presence at
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
. The council is composed of fifteen countries, of which five are elected to three-year terms, and ten to two-year terms. Countries are immediately re-eligible upon the expiration of their terms.


History


Background

In the early 1990s, members of the
Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...
(OAU), the predecessor to the
African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...
(AU), decided to abstain from active peacekeeping operations and focus instead on "preventive diplomacy". However, they reevaluated their stances after conflicts in
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
and
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
. In 1995, members of the OAU started to support the use of peacekeeping operations after a summit in Addis Ababa. However, the OAU still prioritized preventive diplomacy and believed that the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
should shoulder most of the responsibility for organizing peacekeeping operations. Later conflicts in Africa were largely mediated by African institutions rather than the UN. For example, conflicts in
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
were addressed by the
Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political union, political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an ...
. Similarly, conflicts in
Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...
and the
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
were addressed by the
Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...
. These sub-regional organizations' large role in addressing regional conflicts led to a debate about the effectiveness of the OAU. Members specifically wished to reform the OAU's focus on consensus-based meetings rather than on-the-ground action, since some conflicts' actors were part of the meetings and could interfere with their judgement. Similarly, the large size of the OAU, its
consensus decision-making Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on es ...
and its lack of clear procedures both obstructed constructive debate. However, on-the-ground interventions were also limited by the OAU's non-interventionist principles, which only allowed domestic military intervention with the state's consent. Thus, in 2001, an OAU Assembly session moved to reform the OAU's mechanisms in a new institution: the African Union. The new African Union was designed to center around a central decision-making organ with concrete rules, a smaller membership of 15 states to facilitate decision-making, majority rather than consensus-based decision-making, and viable options to recommend military intervention to the African Union Assembly. After some debate, this decision-making organ was coined the Peace and Security Council, and its rules were outlined in th
Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council


Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council

Adopted in July 2002, the Protocol was later ratified by a majority of AU members in December 2003. Within the Protocol's text, the institutional design, subsidiary committees, powers and goals of the PSC were outlined. Specifically, its Objectives were stated in Article 3, and its Principles were stated in Article 4. When outlining its Principles, the Protocol cites three inspirations: "the U'sConstitutive Act, the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights". In Article 5, the Protocol details the PSC's membership structure and membership criteria. Article 8 outlines the PSC's procedural rules, including rules for voting, organizing meetings and creating subsidiary bodies. Specific subcommittees that support the PSC, such as the Panel of the Wise, the Continental Early Warning System, and the African Standby Force are detailed in Articles 11, 12 and 13, respectively. Finally, the Protocol outlines the PSC's relationship with regional bodies in Article 16, and relationship with international organizations, especially the UN, in Article 17.


Organization


Meetings

There are three levels of PSC meetings: meetings between permanent representatives, meetings between ministers, and meetings between heads of state. Permanent representative meetings meet at least twice a month, whereas the other two levels meet at least once per year. Until 2007, there were three types of meetings: formal meetings, briefing sessions and consultations. In formal meetings, members discuss AU Commission reports, which often concern brewing conflicts. In briefing sessions, PSC staff briefs members on various subject areas and themes, such as terrorism and development. In consultation meetings, PSC members work to gather various actors and develop an understanding of a certain issue. After a brainstorming session in July 2007, the PSC instead chose to meet under four types of meetings: public meetings, closed meetings, consultations and "Arria-type" meetings. In "Arria-type" meetings, PSC members meet with non-state actors and carry out informal discussions. As of 2016, the PSC has held over 600 meetings.


Chairperson of the Commission

Every month, a new chairperson is selected from the PSC members. This selection cycles through the alphabetical order of the PSC's member country names, in English.


Members

Although the PSC was partly inspired by the United Nations Security Council, unlike the UNSC, the PSC does not have any permanent members or veto power. All 15 members have equal power in the Council. Ten members are elected for two years and five members are elected for three years. Members are elected to represent Africa's regional distribution. In order, each potential member must meet certain criteria. These criteria are outlined in Article five of th
Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council
Each term starts from the date of the 1st of April and ends on the date of the 31st of March. As of April 2020, the following countries occupy the seats of the PSC:


Role


Mission

The mission of the PSC is to respond to conflicts in Africa. The PSC relies on collective security and its early warning detection systems. Article 3 of th
Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council
expands upon the PSC's objectives.


Powers

Article 7 of th
Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council
lists the PSC's power. Some of these powers include undertaking "peace-making and peace-building functions to resolve conflicts", recommending intervention to the AU Assembly in "grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity", promoting a close relationship with regional bodies as well as with the United Nations, facilitating humanitarian action and finally, deciding "on any other issue having implications for the maintenance of peace, security and stability on the Continent".


Peace support missions

The following peace support operations have been conducted under an AU mandate, or with AU authorisation: * African Union Mission in Burundi (AMIB) – 2003 to 2004 *: AU mandated 2 April 2003 (for a period of 12 months); deployed 27 April 2003 to 31 May 2004 when the mission was succeeded by a UN mission. The Head of Mission and Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission was Ambassador Mamadou Bah (Guinea). The Force Commander of AMIB’s military component was Major-General Sipho Binda (South Africa), while his deputy, Brigadier-General G. Ayele, was from Ethiopia. *
African Union Mission in Sudan The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur to perform peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. It was founded in 2004, with ...
(AMIS) – 2004 to 2007 * African Union Military Observer Mission in the Comoros (MIOC) - 2004 * African Union Mission for Support to the Elections in Comoros (AMISEC) – 2006 *
African Union Mission in Somalia The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations Security Council. It was mandated to support transitional governmental structures, implem ...
(AMISOM) – 2007 to present *: On 20 February 2007 the UN Security Council adopted SC Resolution 1744, which authorised AMISOM’s deployment. * African Union Electoral and Security Assistance Mission to the Comoros (MAES) – 2007 to 2008 * African Union/ United Nations Hybrid Mission (UNAMID) - 2008 to present *: On 31 July 2007 UN Security Council Resolution 1769 (UNSC 2007) established the AU/ UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur, also referred to as UNAMID. * Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord’s Resistance Army (RCI-LRA) – 2011 to 2017 *: Authorised by the AU Peace and Security Council in November 2011. *
African-led International Support Mission to Mali The African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) is an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) organized military mission sent to support the government of ECOWAS member nation Mali against Islamist rebels in the Norther ...
(AFISMA) – 2013 * African-led Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) – 2013 to 2014 *: A regional peace support mission - the Mission for the consolidation of peace in Central African Republic (MICOPAX) - was deployed in 2008 under the leadership of the
Economic Community of Central African States The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; french: Communauté Économique des États de l'Afrique Centrale, CEEAC; es, Comunidad Económica de los Estados de África Central, CEEAC; pt, Comunidade Económica dos Estados da Áfr ...
(ECCAS). But a new crisis erupted in 2012-2013, when Séléka forces seized the capital Bangui. In response, on 19 July 2013, the AU Peace and Security Council approved the deployment of MISCA. The transfer of authority between ECCAS/MICOPAX and the AU/MISCA mission took place on 19 December 2013. The mission ended with the transfer of authority from MISCA to the UN mission MINUSCA on 15 September 2014. *
Multinational Joint Task Force The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) is a combined multinational formation, comprising units, mostly military, from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. It is headquartered in N'Djamena and is mandated to bring an end to the Boko Haram ...
(MNJTF) – 2015 to present * Regional Protection Force – 2017 to present *:During July 2016 the AU agreed to a Regional Protection Force to bolster the UN mission in South Sudan, similar to the
United Nations Force Intervention Brigade The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations ...
role with the MONUSCO mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo UN Security Council resolution 2304 adopted on 12 August 2016 approved the deployment of a Regional Protection Force to the UN Mission in South Sudan to provide a secure environment in and around Juba. Rwandan troops deployed during 2017 as part of the proposed force, but there has been little subsequent news of this force and it appears it may have been merely absorbed into the larger UN mission. It included a Bangladeshi engineer company and a Nepalese company in addition to a Rwandan mechanised infantry battalion, so cannot be said to be an African force. The following operations were authorized but never resulted in deployment: * During December 2015 the PSC authorised a force of up to 5000 troops to be deployed to Burundi for six months to help restore order following an outbreak of politically-inspired violence. However, the
African Prevention and Protection Mission in Burundi (MAPROBU) African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
was not welcomed by the Government of Burundi and never deployed to the troubled country.


Criticism

Some AU members criticized the PSC Protocol for being vague on which institution has the "primary legal authority" to use military force; in Article 16, the PSC Protocol states that the AU has "the primary responsibility for promoting peace, security and stability in Africa" whereas in Article 17, the Protocol states that the UN Security Council "has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security". Ben Kioko, the African Union's legal adviser, argued that " ome Africanleaders have shown themselves willing to push the frontiers of collective stability and security to the limit without any regard for legal niceties such as the authorization of the nited NationsSecurity Council". Later in 2005, African Union members acknowledged the Security Council's authority on military use, as demonstrated in a meeting roadmap which promised that the AU would first get Security Council authorization before carrying out military interventions. Some officials within the PSC have also argued that the PSC should broaden its scope beyond traditional military threats to security, and also address nontraditional threats such as disease and climate change. Conversely, others question the political will of PSC and AU members to follow the PSC protocol and carry out military interventions against other members without their consent in cases of mass human rights abuses. Furthermore, the PSC relies on regional bodies contributing funds or troops for operations, but many regional bodies do not have enough resources to meet these standards. When electing members into the PSC itself, critics have noted that members who were actively disobeying AU decisions or carrying out human rights violations within their borders have still been admitted into the Council because th
Assembly of the African Union Heads of State
did not properly evaluate the potential members' compliance to the PSC membership criteria.


References


Bibliography


External links


Peace and Security Council websiteProtocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union (pdf)
9 July 2002

{{African Union Organs of the African Union Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organizations established in 2003 2003 establishments in Africa