Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 1264th meeting, held on 11 March 2025, on the Briefing on the Activities of the Panel of the Wise and its Subsidiary Mechanisms in Africa (Panwise Network, Femwise-Africa and WiseYouth).

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling its previous decisions on the Activities on the Panel of the Wise, particularly Communique [PSC/PR/COMM.1204 (2024)] adopted at its 1204^th meeting held on 13 March 2024 on the briefing by the Panel of the Wise on its activities in Africa; also recalling its previous decisions on the activities of the Panel of the Wise, particularly Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM (DCLV)] adopted at its 665th meeting held on 13 March 2017;

Reaffirming AU’s unwavering support to the Panel of the Wise and its mechanisms in order to implement their mandate as enshrined in Article 2 of the Protocol establishing the Peace and Security Council of the African Union;

Faithful to the provisions of Article 11 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of 2002, which established the Panel of the Wise to support the efforts of the PSC and the Chairperson of the Commission on conflict prevention, and all matters relating to the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa; and reaffirming its commitment to regularizing the briefings by the Panel of the Wise and further enhancing the capacity of the Panel to implement its mandate effectively in line with its modalities to ensure the timely prevention and resolution of conflicts in Africa;

Noting the opening statements by H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the African Union and Chairperson of the PSC for March 2025 and the opening remarks by Dr. Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, Director, Conflict Management Directorate, on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the AU Commission; and also noting the briefing by Hon. Justice Effie Owuor, Chairperson of the Panel of the Wise; and

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

1. Welcomes the briefing by Honourable Justice (Rtd) Effie Owuor, Chairperson of the Panel of the Wise, on the Activities of the Panel of the Wise and its Subsidiary Mechanisms in Africa (Pan Wise, Network, Femwise Africa and the WiseYouth Network);

2. Underscores the strategic role of the Panel of the Wise in conflict prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding, including providing critical advice to the Council and Chairperson of the Commission on emerging peace and security challenges;

3. Commends the sustained efforts of the Panel of the Wise in preventive diplomacy, including its engagement in various situations in the continent, instrumental in fostering dialogue and political stability;

4. Requests the AU Commission to reinforce the Panel’s work in South Sudan by allocating necessary resources and strengthening the AU’s presence on the ground to provide continuous engagement with national and regional stakeholders; and encourages the Panel’s sustained engagement with the Tumaini Initiative stakeholders to ensure alignment with the R-ARCSS and prevent fragmentation of peace efforts;

5. Welcomes the inaugural joint retreat between the AU Panel of the Wise and the ECCAS Committee of Elders held in November 2024, in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo and encourages the institutionalization of AU-ECCAS coordination mechanisms to strengthen preventive diplomacy, border conflict resolution, and governance stability in Central Africa;

6. Requests the AU Commission to allocate adequate resources to support the implementation of key outcomes from the AU-ECCAS joint retreat, including strengthening early warning systems and enhancing cross-border peace initiatives;

7. Encourages the continued deployment of FemWise-Africa members in AU-led Preventive Diplomacy and Election Observation Missions and calls for enhanced financial and technical support for the network;

8. Notes the operationalization of the WiseYouth Network in October 2024 and calls for deeper integration of WiseYouth members into AU mediation processes and supports increased capacity-building efforts to strengthen youth-led conflict prevention initiatives;

9. Encourages close collaboration between WiseYouth and the Pan-African Youth Union, with a view to further promoting the involvement of young people in peace processes;

10. Taking into consideration the trend of emerging conflicts in the continent and the need for enhancing the rapid deployment of the Panel, Council directs the AU Commission to strengthen the provision of frequent early warning analysis to the Panel of the Wise and to conduct joint scenario building with experts including those from the African Network of Think Tanks for Peace (NeTT4Peace);

11. Requests the AU Commission to avail resources to enable the Panel of the Wise and its subsidiary Mechanisms to timely support the activities of the Peace and Security Council on conflict prevention, through mediation and dialogue in Africa;

12. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS