Addis Ababa, 29 November 2018: The Peace and Security Council (PSC) held its 813^th Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 29 November 2018. The Meeting considered and adopted the African Union Policy on Conduct and Discipline for Peace Support Operations (AUPSOs) and the African Union  Policy on  the Prevention and Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse for PSOs.  The two policies were submitted to the PSC for consideration and adoption, pursuant to the Declaration of the 11^th Ordinary Meeting of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS), held in Addis ababa, on 12 October 2018.

The policies outline standards of conduct and discipline expected of military, police and civilian personnel in AU PSOs. They are essential and part of the AU Commission’s efforts to ensure that all personnel serving in AU PSOs uphold the highest standards of conduct, behavior, integrity and accountability in the implementation of their mandate. They also reinforce existing Military and Police Codes of Conduct which accord Member States the responsibility to ensure professional conduct and discipline of their personnel when serving in AU PSOs. These policies are also part of the AU Framework on International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL), as well as Compliance and Accountability, that is linked to ongoing processes of the revitalized AU Peace Fund.

The adoption of these two policies is a culmination of rigorous consultations with AU Member States/Troop and Police Contributing Countries (TPCCs), Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), as well as inputs from the UN. Thus, the two policies are informed by good  practices and lessons from the past and current AU and UN Peace Operations.

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