African Parliaments Forge Common Front on Security, Climate and Migration

African parliaments are moving to establish a coordinated continental approach to security, climate change and migration, with the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and regional legislative bodies pushing for shared policies and model laws to guide national action.

On 19th August 2026, the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) held its 1362nd Session in Addis Ababa, dedicated to consultations with the newly elected Bureau of the Seventh Pan-African Parliament. It was the first engagement between the PSC and the Seventh Legislature’s leadership since their election in April 2026. The meeting focused on leveraging parliamentary diplomacy to promote peace and security, and welcomed PAP’s Legislative Agenda for Peace as a tool to advance the Johannesburg Declaration on Silencing the Guns.

During the First Ordinary Session of the Seventh Legislature, held from 17th July to the 1st of August 2026 at the PAP headquarters in Midrand, South Africa, the continental parliament launched three new model laws on gender equality and equity, labour migration and sustainable soil management.

These voluntary frameworks are designed to help AU member states align national legislation with Agenda 2063 and address cross-border challenges through common standards.

Regional parliaments are deepening cooperation in parallel. In mid-August 2026, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, concluded a working visit focused on strengthening West and East African parliamentary collaboration, with climate change, regional economic integration, migration, peace and security identified as priority areas for joint action.

In Central Africa, the Second Congo Basin Convening on Agroecology ran in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 25th to 27th August 2026, ending with the adoption of the Yaoundé Declaration 2026, a 24-point regional pact covering agro-ecology, biodiversity, food systems and climate justice. PAP committee chair Sulayman Saho used the platform to call for stronger cooperation among governments, parliaments, civil society and farmers to confront interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, conflict and food insecurity.

Parliamentary leaders increasingly frame climate change, insecurity and migration as mutually reinforcing problems. In Ghana’s Upper East region, Regional Minister Akamugri Donatus Atanga warned at Climate Talks 2026 in August 2026 that the worsening climate crisis is fuelling migration, resource competition and insecurity, urging stronger intelligence sharing, early warning systems and cross-border cooperation, particularly with Burkina Faso.

This linkage is reflected in AU programming. The PSC’s September 2026 agenda includes an open session on the “Nexus Between Climate Change, Peace and Security in Africa”, building on earlier deliberations on the impact of climate change on crises in the Sahel and Lake Chad.

Ahead of COP31 in Antalya, African climate negotiators met in Accra in August 2026 to consolidate a unified continental strategy, emphasising that climate talks now intersect with trade, energy, and peace and security. The meeting produced a practical roadmap and a “COP31 Action Matrix” defining responsibilities and timelines for the continent’s climate diplomacy.

Through model laws, joint declarations and regular consultations with the PSC, African pariaments are positioning themselves as key actors in shaping how the continent responds to overlapping crises. By harmonising legislation on labour migration, environmental management and social inclusion, they aim to reduce policy fragmentation and create a more coherent African stance in global forums on climate, security and mobility.

For citizens, the test will be whether these parliamentary initiatives translate into tangible changes in national laws, budgets and programmes that improve security, protect vulnerable communities and manage migration in a changing climate.

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