On the occasion of its 1160th Session held from June 29th to July 1st in Addis Ababa, the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) convened a dedicated annual consultative meeting with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). Chaired by Ambassador Sophia Nyamudeza Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the AU, the PSC expressed its appreciation to the President of PAP Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira and highlighted the significant outcomes achieved during the meeting.
The session closed with Ambassador Sophia Nyamudeza expressing gratitude for the congratulatory messages and proceeded to outline the key highlights of the meeting. Notably, the PSC recalled Article 17 paragraph 1 of the AU constitutive act, which established the Pan-African Parliament, along with Article 18 of the protocol. The Council also acknowledged the importance of their collaboration by recalling the last press statement issued during their last consultation in 2012, with the first-ever meeting having been in 2008.
The PSC also commended the Pan-African Parliament for its relentless efforts in promoting peace, security, and stability, and for representing the aspirations of the African people in the development of the continent. Both organs emphasized the need to further enhance their collaboration and cooperation while exploring practical means to strengthen their working relations. The PSC underscored the significance of working synergies among all AU organs, whose respective mandates complement each other in contributing to the promotion of democracy, good governance, peace, security, stability, and the well-being of Africans.
In a crucial decision, the Peace and Security Council declared that an annual recess would be dedicated to facilitating meetings between the PSC and PAP during their annual consultations. Themes for these annual meetings will be jointly agreed upon by both organs. Additionally, the Council urged the Pan-African Parliament to continue championing a common African position, which includes the signing and ratification of AU instruments by member states, in line with the 2014 Malabo Protocol, to fully operationalize the PAP.
The PSC emphasized the importance of speaking with one voice on the common African position in international fora and encouraged further synergies between the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), with close cooperation with the PAP.
In a bid to institutionalize and regularize the annual consultative meetings, it was decided that these meetings would be held alternately between Addis Ababa and Johannesburg. The next annual consultative meeting is scheduled to take place in June 2024 in Johannesburg.
Ambassador Sophia Nyamudeza concluded the session by thanking Hon. Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira for his active participation and reiterated the Council's appreciation for the critical role played by the Pan-African Parliament in providing a platform for citizens to discuss, exchange ideas, share best practices, and collaborate on common challenges related to peace and security. She also extended her best wishes to Hon. Chief Charumbira and urged him to remain resilient in his service to the continent.
The Peace and Security Council members’ contributions will be incorporated into the final communique, to be prepared and published by the secretariat as per established practices.
The meeting demonstrated the revived working relations between the PSC and the PAP to advance peace, security, and stability on the continent. As the African Union Peace and Security Council remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting peace and stability on the continent, the organ looks forward to further strengthening collaboration with its sister partner, the Pan-African Parliament, to achieve common goals for a prosperous and peaceful Africa.
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