Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 1266^th meeting, held on 19 March 2025, on the Deradicalization as a leverage for the fight Against Violent Extremism in Africa.

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling its previous decisions and pronouncements on Deradicalization, Counter Terrorism and fight against Violent Extremism in Africa, particularly Communiqué [PSC/MIN/COMM.1111 (2022)] adopted at its 1111^th meeting held at Ministerial level on 7 October 2022; and Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1237 (2024)] adopted at its 1237^th meeting held on 23 October 2024;

Noting the opening statements by H.E. Ambassador Mohamed Arrouchi, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC of the AU for March 2025 and the opening remarks H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs Peace and Security of the AU Commission; and also noting the written Statement of H.E. Parfait Onanga Anyanga, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General to the AU and Head of the United Nation Office to the African Union; and

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

1. Expresses grave concern over the alarming surge in terrorist activities across the continent, which has resulted in devastating consequences, including loss of life, destruction of livelihoods, and population displacement, creating a severe humanitarian crisis;

2. Also expresses concern about the growing threat posed by the return of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) or their relocation to conflict zones, bringing with them combat experience, ideological indoctrination, connection to transnational organized crime networks and operational expertise that could strengthen existing terrorist networks in Africa;

3. Stresses the deradicalization as an effective tool in the fight against extremist ideologies and hate speech, as well as in the prevention of terrorism and violent extremism; in this regard, emphasizes the need to incorporate the fight against radicalization and extremist ideologies into the AU action plan on the prevention and fight against terrorism and violent extremism;

4. Encourages Member States to continuously enhance the institutional capacity of the national agencies responsible for national defence and security; and urges them to further strengthen governance structures and enforce arms control measures to combat the proliferation of illicit weapons;

5. Calls on Member States to holistically address the deep-rooted structural causes of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as the factors that fuel and facilitate them, based on the nexus between peace, security, and development, as reflected in the Declaration of the AU Policy Conference on Promoting the Peace, Security and Development nexus in Africa (Tangier Declaration);

6. Underlines the need to further strengthen national regional and continental frameworks for preventing and combating radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, including the Djibouti and the Nouakchott Processes on Intelligence-sharing Towards Enhanced Security in the Sahelo-Sahara and Horn of Africa Region;

7. Also underlines the need to strengthen the regulatory and legislative framework to bridge existing legal gaps in governance that contribute to the aggravation of violent extremism leading to terrorism; in this regard, stresses the need to regular review the AU’s legal framework on counterterrorism to align it with the current context and the existing international legal framework on counterterrorism;

8. Emphasizes the importance of enhancing collaboration between and among all critical stakeholders at all levels: local, national, regional and continental as well as international;

9. Recognizes the critical role of religious and community leaders in countering extremist ideologies, particularly through moderate religious teachings, interfaith dialogue, designing and delivering alternative messaging and engagement with at-risk youth; and encourages AU Member States to establish and strengthen platforms for promoting inter-faith dialogue, tolerance and peaceful coexistence;

10. Underscores the need to strengthen early warning and prevention mechanisms to anticipate and mitigate the risks of violent extremism; as well as the need for prevention mechanisms tailored for youth are particularly vulnerable to extremist ideological narratives;

11. Streses the need for prevention mechanisms tailored to refugee camps, where youth are particularly vulnerable to extremist ideological narratives; 

12. Emphasizes the need to invest in research on the impact of technological advancements on radicalization and violent extremism in Africa; in this regard, calls for stronger cooperation between AU Member States and technology companies to detect and remove extremist content from digital platforms and enhance cybersecurity measures to monitor and disrupt online terrorist activities;

13. Underscores the important role of effective communication strategies in sensitizing the public on the dangers of terrorism and violent extremism and urges media outlets to: (i) Promote the culture of peace and tolerance across Africa; (ii) Counter extremist propaganda by amplifying narratives of unity and coexistence; (iii) Complement peace education curricula through responsible journalism on issues related to radicalization and extremism;

14. Underlines the imperative of leveraging best practices and experiences gained among African countries by establishing platforms for sharing experiences, lessons and best practices on preventing and combating radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism;

15. Underscores the need for AU Member States with support from the AU Commission to mobilize adequate resources for the development of comprehensive and inclusive initiatives to address radicalization and fight against terrorism and violent extremism;

16. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS