During the 1278th session of the Council, the representatives of Gambia, Lesotho, Madagascar, and South Sudan will deliver their statements. Mali was due to present its report after being suspended from AU activities, but it will not participate in discussions.

The Institute for Security Studies will present the review of the security sector reform processes in the five countries, conducted in partnership with the Commission of the continental organization.

The agenda includes discussion of the Regional Economic Communities’ role, intelligence sharing and early warning, policy alignment, cross-border humanitarian disasters, and health crisis coordination.

The session opened with remarks by Harold Bundu Saffa, Sierra Leone’s Permanent Representative to the Security Commission and PSC Chairman for May, followed by Bankole Adeoye’s comments, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS).

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