The African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) convened a high-level preparatory meeting today in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, ahead of their upcoming Joint Consultative Meeting, scheduled for 17–18 July 2025 in Midrand, South Africa. The preparatory session took place on the margins of the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM), offering a strategic opportunity to finalise the agenda and align institutional expectations for the landmark engagement.
The forthcoming Joint Consultative Meeting represents the first formal collaboration between the PSC and PAP in over a decade and is expected to set the foundation for institutionalised and sustained cooperation between Africa’s premier peace and security organ and its continental legislative body.
The Chairperson of the PSC, Her Excellency, Ambassador Rebecca Amuge Otongo, welcomed the PAP delegation and acknowledged the significance of this initiative in strengthening African Union organs' coordination on peace, security, and governance matters. Speaking at the same occasion, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), His Excellency, Ambassador Bankole Adewoye, reiterated the relevance of the meeting themes, which reflect the African Union’s peace and security priorities, including conflict dynamics in the Sahel, Sudan, and South Sudan, the role of women and youth in peacebuilding, and responses to unconstitutional changes of government.
Commissioner Bankole stressed the importance of the upcoming meeting in establishing a structured and inclusive partnership and encouraged PAP to leverage its parliamentary networks to advance Africa’s Peace and Security Agenda. He expressed appreciation to the PAP leadership for their commitment to strengthening collaboration between the PAP and the AU peace and security architecture.
In response, the President of the PAP, His Excellency, Chief Fortune Zephania Charumbira, reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to the convening of the Joint Meeting, stating that no logistical challenge would obstruct the success of the Joint Meeting. He highlighted the importance of building durable working methods, including, but not limited to: Formation of specialized parliamentary committees to support peace and security hotspots; Enhanced use of parliamentary diplomacy in conflict resolution and management; Institutional and operational synergies backed by time-bound action plans; and, Consideration of technical and financial capacity-building for PAP’s engagement in peace efforts.
The 1st Vice President, Hon. Dr. Fatimetou Habib, emphasised the need to include women and youth in continental fora focusing on peace, security and governance. To that end, the PAP Bureau had made the deliberate decision to include the Women Caucus and the Youth Caucus in the Joint Meeting
In her closing remarks, the Chairperson of the PSC thanked all participants for their contributions and reaffirmed the PSC’s commitment to building a dynamic and results-driven partnership with the Pan-African Parliament.
The PSC and PAP jointly committed to ensuring the successful convening of the Joint Consultative Meeting on 17–18 July 2025, marking a new era of inter-organ collaboration in support of peace, security, and democratic governance across the continent.
MALABO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA – 9 JULY 2025
