COMMUNIQUÉ

Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its 1336^th meeting held on 17 March 2026, on Briefing by the Panel of the Wise on its Activities in Africa:

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling all previous decisions and pronouncements of Council on the Briefing by the Panel of the Wise on its Activities in Africa, particularly, Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1264 (2025)] adopted at its 1264^th meeting held on 11 March 2025 and Communiqué [PSC/PR/COMM.1204 (2024)] adopted at its 1204^th meeting held on 13 March 2024; 

Reaffirming its unwavering support to the Panel of the Wise to enable it to more effectively discharge its mandate as enshrined in Article 11 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union; 

Taking note of the Opening Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Almon Mahlaba Mamba, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Eswatini to the African Union (AU) and Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the AU for March 2026  and the Introductory Statement by H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, as well as the Briefing by H.E. Domitien Ndayizeye, Former President of the Republic of Burundi and 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 the Panel of the Wise, on its activities in Africa; commends the Panel for the significant and invaluable contributions to the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa; and commends, in particular, the individual members of the Panel for their personal commitment and dedication to the work of the Panel;  as well as the AU Commission for supporting the work of the Panel of the Wise;

2. Takes note of the lessons emerging from the activities of the Panel of the Wise and the capacity challenges facing the effectiveness of the Panel and in this regard, stresses the importance of further enhancing the institutional capacity of the Panel, including by mobilizing predictable, adequate and sustainable financial resources to enable the Panel to more effectively discharge its mandate; 

3. Reaffirms the central role of the Panel of the Wise as the AU’s primary mechanism for preventive diplomacy as stipulated in Article 11 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council; 

4. Emphasizes that regular PSC engagements with the Panel should serve not only as briefings on activities undertaken, but also as opportunities for collective strategic reflection on continental trends in peace, security and governance; 

5. Underscores the importance of timely preventive diplomacy efforts and use of good offices, through the Panel of the Wise, as well as the importance of working in coordination with the Member States concerned and similar institutions or entities of the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), particularly in situations that can potentially trigger violent conflicts, and on issues relating to unconstitutional changes of government, with a view to containing and de-escalating political tension; 

6. Encourages Member States to fully cooperate with, and to support, the Panel of the Wise in its engagements on the Continent; 

7. Also encourages the Panel to be selective in its approaches and to engage more in situations or cases where the Panel has comparative advantages, in order to be more impactful;

8. Underscores the importance of sustained engagement of the Panel in South Sudan, including in supporting inclusive dialogue, trust and confidence-building measures, coherence across the political transition related processes, and stronger linkages with the efforts of the grassroots particularly the affected communities; 

9. Further encourages the Panel to follow up on the priorities identified jointly with the South Sudanese civil society actors from the different regions of the country, with a view to further strengthening support for grassroots peace efforts, community-level dialogue, early warning and localized peacebuilding measures; 

10. Requests the Panel of the Wise to continue engaging the leadership of South Sudan and to coordinate its efforts with other key stakeholders with a view to contributing towards the de-escalation of the situation and paving the way towards a lasting consensual solution to the current crisis;

11. Also requests the Panel of the Wise to engage with the key stakeholders, including undertaking a field mission to the Republic of Sudan with a view to exploring avenues to bring to an end the ongoing conflict;   

12. Also encourages the Panel to include in the scope of its activities, preventive diplomacy engagements on border disputes, including community-based dialogue, cross-border confidence and trust building measures, building on the outcomes of the Brazzaville Retreat held from 26 to 27 November 2024; 

13. Underlines the importance of following-up on the implementation of the outcomes of the Dakar Consultation with religious and traditional leaders from West Africa and the Sahel, held from 15 to 16 November 2024, including through sustained outreach programmes and structured engagement with community-level actors in order to improve mutual understanding of the role of the AU and its preventive diplomacy mechanisms; 

14. Also underlines the need for the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Panel of the Wise and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Durban, South Africa, during the 30^th Anniversary of the APRM; 

15. Further underlines the need for the Panel to include women and youth in its engagements, mindful of their critical role in peace processes;  

16. Calls for the strengthening of working synergies among the African Governance Architecture (AGA), the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the Panel of the Wise in enhancing conflict prevention, management, and resolution by leveraging the specialized roles of both architectures and the high-level diplomatic expertise of the Panel of the Wise;

17. Further underscores the imperative of further strengthening the Continental Early Warning System to enable the Panel to more effectively deploy preventive diplomacy efforts, such as mediation and facilitation, before crises escalate;

18. Also stresses the urgent need for the appointment of the representative of the northern Africa region to ensure equitable regional representation and also to ensure that the Panel is fully constituted; 

19. Also requests the Panel to submit to Council, the Indicative Annual Programme of its Activities for 2026; 

20. Looks forward to frequent engagements between the PSC and the Panel of the Wise, to further strengthen early warning and promote timely preventive action; and 

21. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS