The Africa Governance Report Table 4: Status of AU Peace and Security Instruments (September 2018) Instrument Signed (Out of 55) Ratified Deposited Constitutive Act of the African Union 5436 55 55 African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance 46 31 31 Protocol to the OAU Convention on The Prevention and Combating of Terrorism 45 21 21 African Union Non-Aggression and Common Defence Pact 44 22 22 The African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (The Treaty of Pelindaba)52 OAU Convention for the Elimination of Mercenaryism In Africa 41 41 36 32 32 Statute of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL)000 OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism 5043 43 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) 4027 27 African Union Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation (Niamey Convention)15 Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union 3 53 3 52 52 Source: https://au.int/en/treaties/status 5.4 Assessing Peace and Security The assessment of peace, security, and governance focuses on quantification of non-peaceful occurrences, that is, identification of the causes of conflict, unrest and instability, continental efforts to promote peace, security and stability, efforts by RECs and Member States to prevent, resolve and manage conflict, and progress in the development of the African Standby Force and the AU Peace Fund. 5.5 The Causes of Conflict in Africa There is a close relationship between peace, security and democratic governance. The minutes of the open session of the 766th Meeting of the African Peace and Security Council states: Council and participants acknowledged that most of the violent conflicts and crises facing parts of the African continent are rooted in governance deficits, which include mismanagement of diversity, manipulation of constitutions, marginalization of the youth and mismanagement of natural resources. In this regard, Council and participants urged all Member States to redouble their efforts and improve their governance systems.37 The African Union has identified the following seven (7) major causes of conflict and instability: i) poverty: there is a strong relationship between poverty and instability; internal armed violence is significantly more frequent in low-income and lower-middle-income countries than in upper-middleincome or wealthy countries; ii) disruptive transitions: Change, particularly including transitions from autocracy to democracy often leads to violence. Indeed, adverse regime changes are often violent; 36 37 Some countries ratified the instrument without signing. African Union Commission (2018), 766th Peace and Security Council Meeting, PSC/PR/BR. (DCCLXVI) Page 58 of 96