On 10 February 2026, the Pan-African Agenda Institute (PAAI) convened senior leaders and policy stakeholders at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi for the official launch of its landmark analytical report examining the state of the African Union (AU) and Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).
Released ahead of the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, the report asks a bold and urgent question: Is Africa’s premier continental organisation, the African Union, fit for purpose?
The launch took place at a critical moment for the continent. Over the past two decades, conflict-related fatalities in Africa have surged by 841 percent. Wars continue to rage across Sudan, the Sahel, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and other regions, while millions remain displaced. Against this backdrop, the report delivers a sobering assessment: the AU, in its current form, has struggled to fulfil its core mandate of preventing wars, mass atrocities, and state collapse.
Drawing on extensive data and trend analysis, the report documents the scale of the crisis. Between 2014 and 2024, more than 532,000 war-related deaths were recorded across the continent. During the same period, Africa accounted for half of the world’s internally displaced persons, 76.3 million people, and 81 million refugees and asylum seekers. In 2024 alone, the economic impact of violence in Africa reached an estimated US$929 billion.
The report also highlights stark disparities in global media and diplomatic attention. Some of Africa’s most devastating conflicts receive only a fraction of sustained international coverage compared to crises elsewhere, contributing to what the report terms an “invisible catastrophe.” Large-scale atrocities, including the Tigray War, the deadliest conflict globally since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, unfolded with limited continental response and muted global focus.
Beyond diagnosis, the report situates the AU within a rapidly shifting global order. Conceived during the post–Cold War liberal international moment, the AU now operates in an era marked by intensifying geopolitical rivalry, declining multilateralism, and shrinking external support. According to the analysis, these changing dynamics have rendered many of the AU’s ambitious mandates difficult to operationalise.
Rather than incremental reform, PAAI advances four bold proposals for transformation. These include recalibrating the AU’s level of ambition to align with political will and available resources; strengthening coordination between the AU and Regional Economic Communities; reimagining governance models within African states to better manage diversity and conflict; prioritising domestic constituencies, especially youth, as drivers of political renewal; and pursuing a pragmatic, collective Pan-African geopolitical strategy in an increasingly volatile global environment.
The launch brought together senior politicians, diplomats, international civil servants, private sector leaders, academics, civil society representatives, and members of the media for a forward-looking discussion. Participants engaged with the report’s findings and debated what meaningful reform would require at both continental and national levels.
The conversation underscored a central message: Africa stands at an inflection point. With conflict deaths rising and global multilateral systems under strain, the continent faces both profound risk and historic opportunity. The question is no longer whether reform is necessary, but whether the political will exists to undertake it.
Through this report and its launch, PAAI reaffirmed its commitment to rigorous analysis, candid dialogue, and bold thinking aimed at strengthening Africa’s peace, security, and governance institutions for a changing world.