This report discusses several development issues on the African Continent. The first article is titled: African members stand together at the UN. At the end of September, African Union (AU) member states will be present en masse in New York for the United Nations (UN) General Assembly debates and for a ministerial meeting of the Peace and Security Council (PSC). The second article: Amnesty Month: the gap between rhetoric and reality. The AU launched Amnesty Month for the surrender and collection of illicit arms and light weapons in 2017, as part of the Master Roadmap of Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa by the year 2020. Amnesty Month, celebrated by the PSC every September, is envisaged to provide a chance for individuals to voluntarily hand over illicit arms, with a guarantee of anonymity and immunity from prosecution. In practice, member states define the level and scope of the immunity provided under amnesty programmes. The third article: The CAR’s peace deal under threat – Early September 2019, for at least the second time this year, the Mouvement des libérateurs centrafricains pour la justice (MLCJ) and the Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC) faced off in the town of Birao in the northern Central African Republic (CAR). The fourth article: With Bashir gone, the Horn faces a power shake-up. Sudan’s new government has its hands full. Following Omar al-Bashir’s removal on 11 April, a transitional authority was formed after an agreement in August between the leaders of the protest movement that forced al-Bashir from power, and the military elements that assumed power. The following article: Can South Africa repair its image damaged by xenophobia? is discussing the latest xenophobic attacks and what South Africa needs to do to repair its image in Africa before chairing the AU in 2020. The last article: Done properly, national dialogue could stabilise Cameroon. Cameroon’s recently announced national dialogue to solve the crisis that has engulfed its English speaking North-West and South-West Regions, among other issues, has largely been welcomed. While some analysts see it as a political move, national stakeholders and international partners alike have emphasised the need for dialogue.
