COMMUNIQUE?

Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 1376th meeting held on 2 November 2026, on Review of Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development in Africa:

The Peace and Security Council, 

Recalling the adoption by the Executive Council of the African Union, at its 9th Ordinary Session held in Banjul, The Gambia, on 28-29 June 2006, of the AU Policy on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development, which draws on the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council, and which has served for twenty years as the continental reference for supporting Member States emerging from violent conflict to recover, rebuild their institutions and avoid a relapse into violence;

Referring to Article 3 of the PSC Protocol, which stipulates the promotion and implementation of peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction activities is one of the core objectives of Council, and reaffirming that PCRD constitutes an integral component of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) that must be pursued in complementarity with the African Governance Architecture (AGA), the Silencing the Guns agenda and also Agenda 2063;

Making reference to its previous decisions on PCRD, in particular Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1312 (2025)]adopted at its 1312th meeting held on 17 November 2025, during which Council requested the AU Commission to extend the commemoration of the PCRD Awareness Week to a full month with effect from 2026; Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1198 (2024)] adopted at its 1198th meeting held on 31 January 2024, by which Council adopted the revised AU PCRD Policy and submitted it to the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union and Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1047(2021)] adopted at its 1047th meeting held on 12 November 2021, which welcomed the launch of the first PCRD Awareness Week;

Noting with satisfaction that the revised AU PCRD Policy of 2024 places greater emphasis on national ownership and leadership, local participation, inclusivity and accountability, and on the nexus between peace, security and development, and that the fifth edition of the PCRD Awareness Week, held on 17-23 November 2025 in Addis Ababa and Cairo, confirmed the value of this commemoration as a continental platform for advocacy, partnership building and resource mobilization;

Taking note of the opening remarks by H.E. Ambassador Antonin B. Bieke, Permanent Representative of Cote d’Ivoire to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for the month of November 2026, the introductory remarks by H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, as well as statements by H.E. Ambassador Obaida El Dandarawy, Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the AU, representing the AU Champion on Post-Conflict, Reconstruction and Development; and the statement by H.E. Ambassador Willy Nyamitwe, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Burundi to the AU, as Chairperson of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC); and H.E Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to the AU and Head of UNOAU; and

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol, the Peace and Security Council:

 

1. Welcomes the Annual report of the Chairperson of the AU Commission on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development and the commemoration of the 6th edition of the AU PCRD Month, marking the first transition from the PCRD Week to the PCRD Month, and providing a continental platform to consolidate peace and development, as well as preventing relapse into conflict;

2. Acknowledges the launch of the first PCRD Awareness Month marking the sixth consecutive year of commemorating PCRD, as a continental platform for advocacy, knowledge sharing, partnership building and resource mobilization;

3. Commends the AU Commission for the progress made in the implementation of the revised AU PCRD Policy and the PCRD Month, validation of the Strategic Framework for 2026-2028, as well as quick impact and peace strengthening projects (QIPs/PSPs) to Member States, upon request and in consultation with Member States concerned;

4. Expresses appreciation to H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, for his leadership and unwavering commitment as AU Champion for PCRD in strengthening national institutions, addressing root causes and mobilizing support for African-led recovery;

5. Welcomes the positive engagements and efforts of the AU Commission through the Centre for PCRD in supporting institutional recovery, community resilience and peacebuilding at the country level, including through Quick Impact Projects in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Mozambique and The Gambia; requests the AU Commission to undertake a mapping exercise of all countries which need PCRD support to ensure effective planning for the required support;

6. Also welcomes the publication of the AU Journal on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD), as a platform for advancing African-led knowledge production, policy dialogue and exchange of experiences, lessons and best practices on peacebuilding;

7. Requests the AU Commission, through the PCRD Centre to continue to provide technical support, conduct technical needs assessments and implement quick-impact and peace strengthening projects in Member States undergoing political transition and those emerging from conflicts, within the identified national priorities, and working closely with national authorities, the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) and the relevant AU Liaison Offices; stresses the urgent need to equip the Centre with necessary resources and tools to ensure smooth and effective implementation of its mandate; and requests the AU Commission to ensure that the necessary budgetary provisions are made for the next financial year following due process;

8. Reaffirms the commitment to the full implementation of the revised AU PCRD Policy, including its emphasis on national ownership, local participation, inclusivity, accountability and the interdependence between peace, security, governance and development, and emphasizes that PCRD must be tackled as a long-term, multidimensional and nationally-owned and led process that begins early and is adequately resourced and sustained in order to ensure peace dividends in the target communities;

9. Encourages Member States to make full use of the expertise and support of the PCRD Centre and, in this regard, calls on the PSC Sub Committee on PCRD to strengthen coordination and information-sharing with the Centre, undertake various activities related to PCRD, including following up on the implementation of the PSC decisions on PCRD;

10. Encourages Member States emerging from conflicts to domesticate the revised AU PCRD Policy by integrating PCRD priorities into national development plans, and encourages the RECs/RMs to align their regional frameworks with the revised PCRD Policy taking into account the specificities and priorities of each region; calls upon the AU Commission, AUDA-NEPAD and the RECs/RMs to strengthen coordination within existing arrangements, clarify their respective roles and align their support with nationally identified PCRD priorities, with a view to ensuring coherence and avoiding duplication of efforts;

11. Calls for the revitalization of the African Solidarity Initiative as a mechanism for African self-reliance in PCRD, and encourages Member States to make voluntary financial and in-kind contributions, including expertise, training and technical cooperation, as an expression of continental solidarity;

12. Directs the AU Commission to further engage African financial institutions, as well as the African private sector, philanthropists, the diaspora and international partners, with a view to developing post-conflict recovery instruments and risk-sharing facilities and ensuring predictable multi-year financing in direct support of priorities identified by the countries concerned;

13. Stresses that support for post-conflict reconstruction and development must be grounded in Africa’s values, history and diverse national contexts; further underscores the need to overcome short termism external commitments not to be withdrawn before institutional, social and economic recovery takes root; and underscores the importance of sustained support for nationally identified priorities, including the restoration of essential services;

14. Calls for the meaningful participation and empowerment of youth, women and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the concerned countries in planning, implementation and monitoring of PCRD programmes, supported by dedicated resources, and encourages Member States to integrate PCRD and peace education into national curricula, in line with the Council’s decision adopted at its 1312th meeting held on 17 November 2025;

15. Encourages sustained engagement with the AU Working Group on PCRD to strengthen coordination and support the effective implementation of PCRD and peacebuilding initiatives across the continent, as well as coordinate information sharing, lessons learnt and best practices among Member States; also encourages Member States to provide African experts, to be deployed voluntarily to assist countries emerging from conflict situations bearing in mind the specificities of each country context;

16. Calls for the development of a joint action plan between the AU Commission (PCRD Centre) and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (UNPBSO), including implementing joint projects in line with the priorities and needs of the beneficiary countries; in the same context, the Council requests the AU Commission, working with the UNPBSO, to expedite the implementation of the outcomes of the 9th Consultative meeting between the AU PSC and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, including the undertaking of joint field missions and the launching of quick impact and peace strengthening projects (QIPs/PSPs);

17. Looks forward to the upcoming 6th edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, to be held from 21 to 22 November 2026 in Aswan, Arab Republic of Egypt; and underscores the importance of Aswan Forum as one of the African platforms for advancing the peace-security-development nexus and supporting Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) efforts across the continent;

18. Underlines the imperative of accelerating, in accordance with the recommendations of the Tangier Declaration, the identification of concrete projects based on the peace, security and development nexus, in view of the third edition of the African Union Policy Conference on promoting the Peace, Security and Development Nexus, scheduled to take place in Angola in 2028;

19. Requests the AU Commission, through the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), to prepare a comprehensive report marking the twentieth anniversary of the AU PCRD Framework, assessing progress achieved, challenges encountered and lessons learned in its implementation since its adoption in 2006, including the status of implementation of relevant AU decisions, and identifying strategic priorities and recommendations to strengthen PCRD efforts over the next decade;

20. Encourages Member States, RECs/RMs, AU Liaison Offices, civil society organizations and the private sector to organize national, regional and continental activities during the Month of November, so as to support and broaden public awareness of AU PCRD Policy and activities aiming at building a culture of peacebuilding and development across Africa; and

21. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS