AU and UN Set Cross-Border Security Agenda

The African Union’s peace and security commissioner was scheduled to meet United Nations officials this week to discuss conflicts, peace operations and future support for the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia. The meetings put the AU and UN Security Council into a shared process on security priorities and resources in several African countries.

Security Talks Across Institutions

African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye was scheduled to finish a U.S. visit during the week of October 19, 2026. He planned stops in Atlanta and New York after visiting Washington late the previous week. His delegation met State Department members on Friday, October 16, after a background briefing at the National Endowment for Democracy.

The discussions covered conflicts in Sudan, Ethiopia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, engagement with juntas and the return to civilian rule in the Sahel, along with upcoming elections in Nigeria, Kenya and Angola. U.S. and African Union officials put national political and security issues on the agenda.

On Wednesday, October 21, the delegation was expected to meet the African Group at the United Nations, the A3 African Security Council members Liberia, Somalia and the DRC, and participants in the 9th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting with the UN Peacebuilding Commission.

The next day, the 11th Informal Joint Seminar between the AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council was expected to cover five topics: AU and UN peace operations; youth, peace and security; joint efforts to counter terrorism in Africa; children and armed conflicts; and natural resources management.

On Friday, the AU Peace and Security Council and the Security Council were scheduled to hold their annual Joint Consultative Meeting. Its agenda included identifying and optimising future resources and support mechanisms for AUSSOM, plus the situations in Sudan, South Sudan and eastern DRC.

Funding, Forums and U.S. Participation

Armenia was hosting the year’s most significant biodiversity conference in Yerevan, starting October 19, as the United States continued its retreat from global forums. COP17, the 17th meeting of the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, was set to include the first global review of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022 and aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.

At least 28 African countries released new National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans in the previous year. South Africa and the African Wildlife Foundation pressed developed nations to help close the international biodiversity finance gap. The annual goal of $20 billion was falling short. The United States wasn’t taking part as a full voting party, and it was the only member state not to have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Sudanese nationals’ status in the United States was also on the week’s agenda. More than 1,790 Sudanese nationals were enrolled in Temporary Protected Status. Their deportation protections were due to expire Monday, but the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that an announcement about their status “will be made at the appropriate time.”

Other events were scheduled for the week. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council planned a briefing and consultations on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. Special Representative for the Central African Republic and Head of MINUSCA Valentine Rugwabiza was expected to brief. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency was also due to host gas-sector decision-makers from Angola and Mozambique in Houston, Texas, to share market intelligence with potential U.S. partners and investors. The agency said rapid sector growth was creating demand for midstream infrastructure and opportunities for U.S. technologies, engineering expertise and equipment.

Tech Safari’s Big Move was scheduled to hold its first gathering in the U.S. capital for professionals and diaspora members considering careers, capital or ventures on the continent. George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs was hosting Mozambique opposition leader Venncio António Bila Mondlane of the National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique for a virtual discussion. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs was hosting a panel titled “America’s Place in the World: Global Volatility and Authoritarianism.”