LUANDA, Angola — August 30, 2026 — The African Union has called for major reforms to Africa’s peace and security system, with AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf urging African leaders to strengthen the continent’s ability to prevent conflicts before they escalate into prolonged crises.
Speaking at the 21st Extraordinary African Union Summit on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa in Luanda, Youssouf emphasized the need for stronger early-warning mechanisms, better implementation of AU decisions and more reliable financing for African-led peace operations.
A major focus of the summit was the need to make the AU Peace Fund fully operational and sustainably financed. Reliable African financing could give the Union greater capacity to respond to conflicts without depending heavily on external partners.
Youssouf also stressed the importance of closer coordination between the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Organizations such as ECOWAS, SADC, EAC, IGAD and ECCAS are often closer to emerging regional crises and can play critical roles in mediation, diplomacy and conflict prevention. Stronger AU-REC coordination could help reduce duplication and allow African institutions to respond more quickly.
The urgency of reform is underscored by continuing conflicts and instability across the continent. Youssouf pointed to Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, the Sahel, Libya and northern Mozambique as areas requiring stronger collective African action.
The Luanda summit highlights a longstanding challenge facing African integration: the continent has developed institutions and frameworks for maintaining peace, but implementation, financing and enforcement have often fallen short.
For the AU, strengthening Africa’s peace and security architecture is therefore closely connected to the broader continental integration agenda. Trade, infrastructure development and the free movement of people are difficult to advance when conflicts disrupt borders, displace populations and weaken regional cooperation.
The message from Luanda is increasingly clear: Africa’s integration ambitions will depend not only on connecting its economies, but also on building an effective African-led system capable of preventing conflicts and protecting peace across the continent.