African Humanitarian Situations Worry Peace & Security Council

On Friday, the African Union's Peace and Security Council (PSC) expressed deep concern over "the continued prevalence of complex, multifaceted and, unprecedented humanitarian crises in the continent."

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The PSC associated the worsening security and humanitarian situations with climate change-related and public health emergences, amongst other hazards, especially in areas that are already fragile due to terrorism and violent conflicts which cause food insecurity and forced displacements.

It further expressed concern over the increasing number of refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees, asylum-seekers, stateless persons, missing persons and their diminishing resilience capacity. It underlined the imperative of continental collaboration and an action-oriented approach to strengthening the resilience of these vulnerable populations.

The PSC also emphasized the need to address the root causes and drivers of humanitarian crises and to ensure that the "continental early warning system" incorporates multi-hazard early warning and early action systems.

Such efforts would enable timely interventions to address the diverse humanitarian disaster risks and their potential consequences. Meanwhile, the council commended African countries for hosting refugees in their countries, albeit with limited capacities.

It further appealed to the international community to provide adequate and flexible support to countries hosting refugees to allow them to effectively respond to the needs of the refugees taking into consideration the unpredictable nature of humanitarian needs.

The PSC also called on the African Union Commission to expedite action in the finalization of the "Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Statelessness in Africa."