STATEMENT BY
AMB. HAROLD ADLAI AGYEMAN,
Permanent Representative of Ghana to UN
Security Council Meeting on Financing of African Union-led Peace Support Operations
Mr. President,
On December 1981, then President Daniel Arab-Moi of Kenya in his capacity as the Chairman of the OAU wrote to the Security Council for resources to enable a pan-African peacekeeping force to be deployed to help stop the fighting in Chad. Regrettably, that support was never given and the conflict in Chad run its course, with many lives lost.
In the aftermath of the situation in Somalia and Rwanda in the early 1990s, and particularly since the United Nations and the African Union partnered to establish UNAMID in Darfur in 2007, there has been useful lessons both organisations have learnt including the growing recognition that each organization has its unique strength and brings to the table comparative advantages that helps the Security Council to fulfil its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security especially in relation to the continent of Africa.
Indeed, through the experiences of UNAMID and in the evolution of AMISOM/ATMIS since 2007, we have also seen a strengthened and coordinated approach to sustaining peace and security on the continent, in reflection of the true intent of the partnership envisioned with regional arrangements under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter.
While acknowledging the critical role UN peacekeeping has played in stabilizing several parts of the continent of Africa, the evolving nature of threats on the continent and the increasing complexities of the peacekeeping environment has underscored the need to look beyond traditional peacekeeping and deploy other tools as envisaged in Chapters VII and VIII of the Charter; and in a manner that enhances the complementarity of the tools available to the Security Council in addressing the protracted conflicts on the continent of Africa.
Driven by the ambition of the African Union to work closely with the United Nations, and in particular the Security Council to Silence the Guns over the continent, we have an opportunity today, through the draft resolution that has been presented by Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique, to address the question of adequate, predictable and sustainable financing that has been at the bane of AU peace support operations, away from the ad hoc arrangements that have so far existed.
Colleagues,
The draft resolution the A-3 has presented to you is a framework resolution that sets out in clear and simple terms the commitments of the African Union in complying with expected standards, the decision-making process, the financial arrangements and the oversight and reporting requirements. When adopted, the framework resolution would enable the African Union to request on a case-by-case basis, authorization of mandates with UN assessed contribution on the continent.
In getting to this point, we have been faithful to the Common African Position, also known as the AU Consensus Paper on the Financing of AUPSOs, and we have been responsive to the Secretary-General’s numerous appeals, including in his report of May 2023 and the relevant aspects of his policy brief on the New Agenda for Peace.
We thank all delegations for working constructively with the A-3 to reach where we are and count on your continued support to get this draft resolution through for the interest of the millions across the continent of Africa who continue to suffer the undignified conditions that conflict brings.
We believe that the United Nations support for enforcement operations led by the African Union brings enormous benefits to all of us and serves the interest of global peace and security. We urge your support for the resolution.
I thank you!