Communiqué of The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 543rd meeting on the implementation of the decisions of the 455th meeting of the PSC held on 2 September 2014, at the level of Heads of States and Government in Nairobi, Kenya

COMMUNIQUE

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 543^rd meeting held on 11 September 2015, adopted the following decision on the implementation of the decisions of the 455^th meeting of the PSC held on 2 September 2014, at the level of Heads of States and Government in Nairobi, Kenya:

Council,

1. Takes note of the briefing by the Commission on the status of implementation of the decision of the 455^th meeting of the PSC held on 2 September 2014, at the level of Heads of States and Government in Nairobi, Kenya;

2. Recalls its earlier pronouncements on the issue of terrorism and violent extremism in Africa, notably, communiques PSC/AHG/COMM.(CDLV), PSC/PR/COMM. 1(CCCXLI, PSC/PR/COMM.2(CCCIII), and PSC/PR/COMM.(CCXLVIX), adopted at its 455^th, 341^st, 303^rd and 249^th meetings held, respectively, on 2 September 2014 at the level of Heads of State and Government and on 13 November 2012; on 8 December 2011, as well as on 22 November 2010;

3. Commends all Member States which are providing capacity building support to the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) and to the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services for Africa (CISSA). In this context, Council expresses gratitude to the Government of Algeria for offering to host a meeting of experts on financing terrorism and violent extremism;

4. Also commends the Commission for the efforts made, to date, in implementing the Nairobi PSC Summit decision, in particular in the areas of resource mobilization, sourcing expertise for the ACSRT, sensitization campaigns against terrorism and violent extremism, and provision of technical support to Member States;

5. Reiterates its deep concern over the worsening scourge of terrorism and violent extremism, including its concomitant phenomenon of payment of ransoms to terrorist groups, linkage between terrorist activities and international organized crime, as well as human and drug trafficking, in various parts of Africa;

6. Welcomes the successful installation of secure communication systems within the activities of CISSA as part of the ongoing efforts aimed at preventing and effectively combating terrorism and violent extremism. In this respect, Council encourages the Commission, working with both CISSA and the ACSRT, to continue this effort and replicate it in all the regions of the continent;

7. Once again, stresses the urgency for an action-oriented approach to give concrete expression to the commitment made by the Member States to combat terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations. In this regard, Council reiterates its call on the Member States, which have not yet done so, to urgently take the necessary steps to become parties to the 1999 Convention and the 2004 Supplementary Protocol, as well as to the relevant international instruments adopted under the auspices of the United Nations;

8. Further reiterates its call on the Member States, which have not yet done so, to urgently sign and ratify the AU Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation (Niamey Convention), adopted by the 23^rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, which contains provisions on cooperation in the area of security, including combating terrorism and transnational organized crime;

9. Stresses the need for the ACSRT and CISSA to provide regular, comprehensive briefings to Council, at least twice every year, with a view to enhancing the Council's conflict prevention efforts;

10. Urges Member States to address the root causes of violent extremism, particularly, through educational programmes, promotion of entrepreneurial activities and employment creation focusing more on the youths;

11. Underlines the importance of building the capacity of the services of Member States, with a view to enabling them to more effectively prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism. In this context, Council emphasizes the need for close cooperation and coordination among the relevant entities, including between the Nouakchott and Djibouti Processes, in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the continent;

12. Welcomes the progress being made by the Commission towards the operationalization of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation- (AFRIPOL). In this regard, Council requests the Commission to expedite the establishment of AFRIPOL as an important coordination mechanism for combating terrorism, violent extremism as well as international organized crime in Africa;

13. Appeals to all AU Partners, including the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, which has already pledged USD $10million to the AU, to continue to provide support to Africa's efforts against terrorism and violent extremism. In the same spirit, Council urges Member States to make financial contributions to the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in Africa;

14. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.