AFRIPOL Reform Presented before the Specialized Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS), 8–11 December 2025

The 17th Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS) was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, following a structured sequence comprising the Experts’ Meeting (8–9 December), the Meeting of Chiefs of Defence Staff and Heads of Safety and Security Services (10 December), and the Ministerial Meeting (11 December 2025). This session was distinguished, for the first time, by the participation of Police Chiefs, Directors General and Inspectors General of Police, reflecting the growing recognition of the central role of police cooperation within Africa’s peace and security architecture.In his opening address, H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) of the African Union Commission, highlighted the increasingly strained continental security environment and called for African-led solutions grounded in solidarity, collective security and the strengthening of continental mechanisms.The AFRIPOL reform, as approved by its Extraordinary General Assembly of 28 November 2024, was presented to the deliberations of the STCDSS. On this occasion, the vast majority of Member States expressed their strong support for the reform, underscoring the need to strengthen AFRIPOL’s governance as well as its institutional and operational capacities, in order to consolidate continental police cooperation and enhance the collective response to transnational threats.