A3+ JOINT STATEMENT ON COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS & THE AFRICAN UNION

  Delivered by

H.E. Amar BENDJAMA, Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations

7th October 2025

Thank You Mr President,

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the A3+ members, namely, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Somalia and my own country Algeria.

We wish at the outset to thank SRSG Parfait Onanga, Ambassador Mohamed Edrees, the AU Permanent Observer and ASG Martha Pobee for their briefings.

We appreciate the efforts of the UN Secretary General in strengthening the cooperation with the African Union and reaffirm our full commitment to advancing efforts aimed at deepening the existing partnership.

In this regard, we wish to highlight the following points:

First: Today’s complex international context requires a deeper and more effective partnership between the African Union and the United Nations.

The African Union has been and remains a strategic and reliable partner of the United Nations. In this regard, the UN reform process under the UN80 Initiative coupled with the significant financial challenges facing the organization requires enhanced collaboration with regional organizations, including urgent institutional reform with respect to the AU’s longstanding call for equity within the United Nations, in particular, the UN Security Council.

We believe it is time for the implementation of the letter and spirit of Chapter 8 of the UN Charter, which grants the AU a bigger role along with the necessary and predictable resources, to undertake peace initiatives on behalf of the international community.

Such an approach will help to rationalize resources and deliver better results in line with the current challenges.

We welcome in this regard, the continued engagements between the UN Secretariat and the AU Commission, particularly through the AU-UN Annual Conference and the AU-UN Joint Task Force on peace and security.

This institutional cooperation must be further enhanced to move beyond narratives and address urgent challenges, by prioritizing resource mobilization for AU led Peace Support operations.

We are confident that the new leadership of the AU Commission will show the expected commitment to advance this strategic partnership in line with the existing joint frameworks.

Second: the partnership at the inter-governmental level is an important pillar of the AU-UN cooperation.

The Annual Joint Consultative meeting between the AU PSC and the UN Security Council provides a valuable opportunity to align priorities of both Councils and bridge the existing gaps.

In this context, the A3+ mechanism serves as the “trait d’union” between the two councils -- a unique tool mandated to reflect and advocate for AU positions on peace and security issues at the level of this Council.

The A3+ mechanism, with the support of the AU Permanent Observer mission seeks to deepen the existing cooperation between the AU and the UN, including through the “Oran Process” which serves as a coordination platform between the A3+ and the AU PSC with the support of different bilateral and multilateral partners, particularly the UN.

We, therefore, look forward to the upcoming joint consultative meeting to be held in Addis-Ababa and express the readiness of the A3+ to contribute constructively to this important engagement.

Moreover, we believe that the annual engagements between the AU PSC and the Security Council must transcend the mere adoption of a joint communiqué. These outcomes should serve as a reference for future negotiations in both New York and Addis-Ababa.

Actively following up on the implementation of previous joint communiqués is a necessity and we welcome efforts undertaken in this regard by Somalia as Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group for Conflicts Prevention and Resolution in Africa.

Third: It is important to confer concrete meaning to “African ownership” under

the spirit of “African solutions for African problems”.

Considering the nature of the challenges and security threats that Africa is facing, including Terrorism, Governance deficits and Unconstitutional Changes of Governments, particularly in the Sahel region, it is essential to strengthen AU’s mechanisms and frameworks under the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) and the African Governance Architecture (AGA).

As the first responder to crisis, the African Union should be equipped with the required resources and the needed mutual trust to properly undertake operations on behalf of this Council and the international community.

Resolution 2719 represents a clear framework for financing AU-led Peace Support Operations from the UN-assessed contributions and a significant step forward towards securing predictable, adequate and sustainable resources In this regard.

Yet, fixing a ceiling for financial contributions by the UN is not a viable solution. We must pursue Innovative ways, building on the Council’s recent willingness to depart from beaten tracks.

Furthermore, the Council’s working methods must adapt to the growing need of supporting African ownership. Also, penholdership on African files must evolve in response to Africa’s aspiration to own the solutions for its challenges.

Mr President and dear Colleagues,

In conclusion, the partnership between the AU and the UN must be elevated to the next level. We believe in the power of partnerships and in the ability of both organizations to demonstrate stronger commitment under the spirit of complementarity as enshrined in chapter 8 of the UN Charter.

I Thank You,