The ECOWAS Permanent Representative to the African Union urged the AU Steering Committee on Security Sector Reform to guard against reform processes being used to settle scores at its eighth meeting in Addis Ababa on October 30, 2026.
The meeting reviewed progress made by member states and assessed the AU’s strategic support for security sector reform processes across the continent. At the start of proceedings, the committee unanimously adopted the report of its seventh meeting.
According to a report from the Economic Community of West African States, the Permanent Representative said reform must remain constructive and inclusive, and stressed that security sector reform should under no circumstances be perceived or used as a settling of scores to the detriment of any party.
The steering committee highlighted initiatives led jointly with ECOWAS, with particular emphasis on capacity-building workshops for parliamentarians held in June 2026 in Dakar, Senegal, and in October 2026 in Bo, Sierra Leone.
The eighth session’s agenda also covered other elements of the continental peace and security architecture:
- Popularisation of the Operational Guidance Note on Oversight and Accountability
- Finalisation and dissemination of the Operational Guidance Note on Mediation and Security Sector Reform
- Follow-up on recommendations from the 4th African Forum on Security Sector Reform, held in November 2025 in Addis Ababa
Security sector reform typically covers the restructuring and oversight of a state’s armed forces, police and intelligence services, and is a recurring item in African Union peace and security work.
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