AU to Convene 14th High-Level Retreat on Promotion of Peace, Security, Stability in Cairo

The African Union Commission will convene the 14th High-Level Retreat on the Promotion of Peace, Security, and Stability in Africa under the theme, “Resetting Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation for the 21st Century in Africa” in Cairo, Egypt, from October 17-18. 

The Retreat brings together the Commission’s leadership and Special Representatives and Special Envoys from other regional and international organizations, including the Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), the United Nations (UN), and the European Union (EU), will provide the opportunity to reflect on how to re-energize preventive diplomacy and mediation and recentre it at the heart of the African Union’s interventions across the African Continent. 

The Retreat is being organized in collaboration with the Government of Egypt and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA).

During these two days, policymakers and decision-makers will reflect on strengthening existing formal and informal preventive diplomacy mechanisms to ensure they can effectively respond to emerging threats to political stability. 

They will also reflect on how to reinvigorate preventive diplomacy and mediation and foster strategic partnerships between multilateral and independent institutions in a changed continental and geo-political context.

The High-Level Retreat will be preceded by the Inaugural Retreat of the AU Commission, AU SRCCs, and the UN SRSGs towards enhanced cooperation and collaboration in peace and security, which will be held on the 16th of October 2023. 

This platform will foster joint consultations, analysis, and engagement between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN).

From the 16th to the 18th of October 2023, the African Union and its partners will therefore reflect on ways to prioritize conflict prevention and mediation while ensuring inclusivity, strengthen UN-AU-RECs/RMs cooperation in addressing conflicts, ensure coherence and complementarity, and leverage each institution’s comparative advantage to prevent and manage conflicts in Africa.