Ethiopia secures African Union Peace and Security Council seat amid regional tensions

Participants of the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council on February 12, 2025. (Photo: African Union)

By Mwangi Maina
Thursday, February 13, 2025

Given the growing geopolitical interest in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia's membership will allow it to counter external influence while promoting its own regional agenda.

Ethiopia was on Wednesday elected to the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) during the 46th Executive Council meeting in Addis Ababa, securing a three-year term.

With 38 votes, Ethiopia won the Eastern African seat, outpacing Rwanda and Somalia, which received one and ten votes, respectively.

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This victory bolsters Ethiopia's diplomatic presence on the continent's most influential security body. As the host nation of the African Union, Ethiopia traditionally faces limited options for what it can contest.

Membership in the AUPSC now grants Addis Ababa significant leverage on matters of peace and security, particularly in Somalia and the broader Horn of Africa, a region that has been marked by persistent instability.

Ethiopia's election comes at a time when it seeks to cement its influence on the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). Somali officials recently confirmed that obstacles to Ethiopia's full participation in AUSSOM had been resolved, with the final details on the composition and size of Ethiopian forces expected to be finalised soon.

This development follows tense diplomatic exchanges earlier this year when Somalia threatened to expel Ethiopian troops from AUSSOM unless Addis Ababa renounced a controversial memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Somaliland. The MOU, which would grant Ethiopia access to a 20-kilometer stretch of Somaliland's Gulf of Aden coastline for naval purposes, drew sharp criticism from Mogadishu.

Somali officials viewed the agreement as undermining their sovereignty, especially given the potential implications for Somaliland's push for formal independence.

Horn of Africa security matters

By securing a seat on the AUPSC, Ethiopia aims to shape discussions and decisions on critical security matters in the Horn of Africa and beyond. This includes influencing conflict management strategies and peacekeeping missions across the continent, at a time when Ethiopia itself is emerging from internal conflict in the Tigray region.

The Peace and Security Council, established as the African Union's standing organ for conflict prevention, management, and resolution, plays a central role in the continent's security architecture.

It was designed as a collective security mechanism with early-warning capabilities, tasked with facilitating timely responses to crises. Its functions range from preventive diplomacy and peace-making to peace support operations and humanitarian action in post-conflict settings.

For Ethiopia, this seat is not just a diplomatic win — it's a strategic tool.

Addis Ababa will now have a front-row seat in shaping the continent's security responses, particularly regarding interventions in fragile states and post-conflict reconstruction efforts.

Yet, it also has its own fragilities.

Given the growing geopolitical interest in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia's membership will allow it to counter external influence while promoting its own regional agenda.