Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 27 November 2025

At the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, a unique convergence unfolded. Young leaders, national focal points, policymakers and peace practitioners gathered not to endorse familiar rhetoric, but to interrogate the real substance of what it will take to secure Africa’s future under the Youth Peace and Security (YPS) agenda. Convened by ACCORD with regional partners, the reflective seminar on YPS National Action Plans (NAPs) became a rare moment of continental honesty, clarity and renewed purpose.

The adoption of the DRC’s Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) National Action Plan represents a major step forward in integrating youth as essential partners for national stability. In a context where security dynamics remain complex, particularly in the east of the country, the implementation of this plan presents a crucial opportunity to permanently place Congolese youth at the heart of the YPS Agenda.

The idea of a Red Sea Arena, a term that refers broadly to the increasingly interconnected dynamics linking the Horn of Africa to its Gulf neighbours, has gained traction over the past decade, due to the complex and multifaceted situations and contestations conjuring images of a boxing ring where actors spar for power and influence. However, while African agency is being acknowledged far more frequently within many African academic and policy circles, it remains notably less prominent in much of the global analysis of the region.  

International financial support for African-led peace operations is no longer a viable option. Neither the UN, nor Africa’s traditional partners in Europe, are able to provide the level of financial support to African peace support operations that was previously available. African countries and institutions will have to increasingly finance their own operations. They have done so in the past, but now the exception will have to become the norm.