(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The Security Council stressed the importance of further strengthening cooperation and developing effective partnership with the African Union Peace and Security Council consistent with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, to address common collective security challenges in Africa.
In the Open Debate on Cooperation between the UN and the Regional and Sub-regional Organizations, the Security Council acknowledged in a presidential statement, the role of the African Union in efforts to prevent or settle conflicts in the African continent and expresses its support for the promotion of peace initiatives.
The Council commended the AU's increased contribution to the maintenance of peace and security including peacekeeping in particular in Sudan (Darfur), Mali, CAR and Somalia, as well as the AU Regional Task Force (AU-RTF), and efforts to further strengthen its capacity, including through the operationalization of both its African Standby Force (ASF) and its Rapid Deployment Capability (RDC).
In the statement, the Council welcomed the UN-AU continued cooperation on different components of the African Peace and Security Architecture, including on early warning, preventive diplomacy, mediation, electoral assistance, peacekeeping, conflict prevention and resolution, promotion of human rights and the rule of law, and post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.
Furthermore, the Council urged Member States and relevant international organizations to contribute to strengthening the capacity of the AU and its subregional organizations, in conflict prevention and crisis management, and in post-conflict stabilization, including through the provision of human, technical and financial assistance.
It then stressed the importance of supporting the political role of the AU, both during the transition from AU to UN peacekeeping missions, as well as in the formulation and implementation of governance and other reforms to be carried out in addressing the root causes of conflict in Africa, the statement added.
The presidential statement adopted today, called on the Secretary General to coordinate with and support the AU Commission in its development of a list of needed capacities and recommendations on ways it can further develop its military, civilian, police, technical, logistic and administrative capabilities.
On his part, the Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that over the years, cooperation between the UN and its regional and sub-regional partners has intensified.
Ban then affirmed that the UNSC and the AU Peace and Security Council are working together more than ever and there is increased support for African-led peace operations and their transition into UN peace operations, as have seen in Mali and the Central African Republic.
"We should also strengthen our trilateral discussions with the European Union, which together with the AU is an important regional partner in deploying and managing peace operations, he said.
Head of the organization's Mission for Mali and the Sahel, Pierre Buyoya, spoke on the behalf of the AU, said that to make the partnership more effective, the new Joint Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security could be refined and extended across the organizations. More specifically, the two organizations, should agree on a set of principles aimed at clarifying their relationship and anchoring it on more solid platform, he said.
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