Communiqué of the 1161st Meeting of the Peace and Security Council held on 6 July 2023, at the 2nd Annual Consultative Meeting between the Peace and Security Council; Economic, Social & Cultural Council; and Representatives of Civil Society Organizations.

Abstract

The Council commended the work done by ECOSOCC and the dedicated efforts of the CSOs in promoting peace, peace security and stability in Africa. Council also welcomed the progress made by ECOSOCC in establishing the CSO’s database and the two flagship citizens’ engagement initiatives, namely the Citizens’ Forum and the People’s Assemblies as mechanisms to provide the African citizenry with institutional platforms to provide civil society perspectives and feedback into the work of the Union, including the PSC. Council further called on the CSOs to improve coordination and cooperation through the PSC and ECOSOCC Mechanisms and highlighted the need to i) enhance and capitalize the engagement between the PSC and CSOs on the African continent and ii) implementation of the Livingstone formula and Maseru conclusions and in this regard, the AU Commission in coordination with ECOSOCC was requested to provide the status of the implementation, challenges and recommendations on the way forward. The need for the inclusion of the CSOs in the activities of the Inter-Regional Knowledge Exchange Platform (I-RECKE) and Africa Supporting Inclusive Transitions Facility (AFSIT) was also emphasized in order to ensure that the voices of the civilians are included in AU’s peace and security activities. Lastly, while stressing the critical role that CSOs and African think tanks, Council underlined the importance of the launching of the Network of Think Tanks, Research Centers and the report of the mapping exercise of CSOs working on governance, peace and security matters, by the AU Commission.