Addis-Ababa (Somalia Today) – Somalia was elected Wednesday to the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) for the 2026–2028 term, a major diplomatic win that underscores the Horn of Africa nation’s return to the heart of continental decision-making after decades of instability.
The election, held during the 48th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council in Addis Ababa, puts Mogadishu on Africa’s premier security body just weeks after Somalia’s January presidency of the UN Security Council concluded.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud hailed the outcome as a “historic victory” and a sign of the country’s recovery.
“We previously became a member of the UN Security Council, and today we sit on the African Peace and Security Council,” Mohamud said in a statement from Mogadishu.
“The confidence and support Somalia has received… is evidence of the positive change taking place in the country.”
For much of the 21st century, Somalia served mainly as a primary recipient of AU security interventions, rather than a country shaping the bloc’s policies. The new seat marks a dramatic turnaround.
Somalia takes its place on the PSC as the AU continues to navigate the post-ATMIS (African Union Transition Mission in Somalia) landscape, following its transition to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) in January 2025.
Mogadishu has pledged to use its three-year term to prioritise conflict prevention and counter-terrorism, drawing on its own hard-won experience battling the Al-Shabaab jihadist insurgency to support other nations confronting similar threats.
“Grounded in its own experience of state-building and security sector reform, Somalia will bring practical insight… to the PSC’s mandate,” the Somali foreign ministry said.
Water and wars
The vote came as foreign ministers met at AU headquarters for a session dominated by a packed agenda under the 2026 theme: “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems.”
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the Djiboutian diplomat who assumed the chairpersonship of the African Union Commission in 2025, opened the meeting with a stark warning about the link between climate change, resource scarcity, and conflict.
“This vital resource must be perceived as a collective good to be preserved at all costs and as a vector… for peace,” Youssouf told the assembly.
He also pointed to strain in the continent’s security architecture, speaking of a “regression” in some regions despite ongoing mediation efforts.
Youssouf highlighted the persistent threat of terrorism in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, while cautiously welcoming the “return to constitutional order” in Gabon and Guinea after their readmission to the bloc.
At the same time, he voiced deep concern over fresh instability in Guinea-Bissau and Madagascar, urging member states to strengthen their collective security mechanisms—an appeal that echoes Somalia’s new role on the PSC.
Regional rapprochement?
Somalia secured its election with the “unity and solidarity” of the Eastern Africa region, according to the Somali foreign ministry.
Diplomats say regional backing matters amid turbulence in the Horn of Africa over the past two years.
A controversial maritime memorandum of understanding between Addis Ababa and the breakaway region of Somaliland badly strained Somalia’s relations with Ethiopia in 2024.
Despite those tensions, the unanimous regional endorsement suggests a pragmatic separation of bilateral disputes from broader multilateral cooperation.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos, addressing the opening session, avoided direct reference to bilateral rows but called for “true strength through unity” to defend African interests amid geopolitical competition.
Timothewos also highlighted Ethiopia’s upcoming role as host of the COP32 climate summit, tying the water security theme to the continent’s wider push for “climate justice”.
Dual mandate
Somalia’s tenure on the PSC runs from 2026 to 2028, coming shortly after Somalia’s January 2026 presidency of the UN Security Council concluded.
Analysts say the alignment gives Mogadishu a unique chance to link African and global security agendas, especially on financing peace support operations—an issue that has long divided the AU and the UN.
The Executive Council session concludes on Thursday, ahead of the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government on February 14–15.
Leaders will likely adopt ministers’ decisions, including the finalisation of the new PSC membership and the strategic directives for implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
For Somalia, however, the immediate emphasis is on its rapid reintegration.
“Today we sit on the Council,” President Mohamud said. “This victory reflects… a unified vision for a peaceful Africa.”
