Peace and Security in Africa: Financing of African Union peace support operations

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Madam President, [Your Excellency Ms. Viola Amherd, Vice President of the Swiss Confederation],
On the auspicious occasion of Africa Day, which also marks the 60th anniversary of African unity, I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the members of the A3, namely Gabon, Mozambique and my own country Ghana. We welcome the report of the Secretary-General pursuant to the Council’s Presidential Statement of August 2022 and thank USG Rosemary DiCarlo and African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Adeoye Bankole for their briefing and unique insights. We also welcome the participation in this meeting of Ms. Bitania Tadesse, who spoke on behalf of Amani Africa. Today’s debate also coincides with United Nations Peacekeeping Day and the commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of UN Peacekeeping. It is therefore fitting that I begin by paying a special tribute to all peacekeepers. Their sacrifices have helped bring peace to many parts of our world, and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, our solemn recommitment to global peace should be the fitting memorial that we establish, as we condole with their families.

Madam President,
The strength of peacekeeping and its noted challenges have been spoken about several times and are largely understood. Peacekeeping has however endured and served as a veritable tool for this Council over the past 75 years, as it has pursued its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. With the presentation of the Secretary-General’s report, however, we have an opportunity to preserve the strengths of peacekeeping and embrace the additional instrument that the African Union has offered to this Organisation – to lead on behalf of the international community robust peace enforcement operations that would enjoy adequate, predictable and sustainable financing, including from UN assessed contributions on a case-by-case basis. It is worth mentioning that the evolving context and outlook of peace and security in Africa requires the adaptation of the responses to be designed by the Council through more proactive and offensive approaches. On this note, we fully support the SG’s statement in his report when he states “On several occasions, I have emphasized the need for a new generation of peace enforcement missions and counter-terrorist operations, led by regional forces, with guaranteed, predictable funding. The African Union is an obvious partner in this regard” – end of quote.

It is evident that if this Council is to remain effective in addressing the complex and persisting conflict situations on the African continent, we would need to carefully consider the options that the Secretary-General has presented to us and retain the Council’s capacity to leverage existing UN partnerships with regional and sub-regional arrangements to address the new and emerging threats on the African continent. In recalling the long journey that Africa has travelled, in her quest to be an effective partner to this Council in the maintenance of peace and security on the continent, it is important to refer to the first request that was made to the Security Council by the Organisation of African Unity in December 1981, for support to deploy a pan-African peacekeeping force to Chad, as well as resolution 1769 (2007) which established a basis for the funding of UNAMID and resolution 1863 (2009) that initiated the UN logistical support package for AMISOM/ATMIS
operations in Somalia.

Following the adoption of resolutions 2320 (2016) and 2378 (2017) and building on the momentum generated by the positive work done on the financing of African-led PSOs, we believe that there is a very good basis for this Council to have a constructive engagement to unlock the potential of AU-led PSOs to serve as critical enabler for the realization of the SDGs, the silencing of the guns initiative as well as the 2063 agenda of the AU. This firm conviction is borne out of the capability that Africa-led peace support operations have shown to understand the context and dynamics of the conflicts on the continent, preempt them, and advance durable strategies in addressing them.

Madam President,
In reacting to the report of the Secretary-General and guided by the Consensus Paper on Predictable, Adequate and Sustainable Financing for African Union Peace and Security Activities, as well as concerns of other delegations, the A3 would like to comment on four (4) issues, relating to

(a) the compliance frameworks and mechanisms for respecting human rights and internationalhumanitarian law, (b) the prudential and fiduciary standards of the financial arrangements of the African Union, (c) the joint planning and decision-making for missions, and (d) the question of burden-sharing. Regarding the compliance frameworks, the AU has demonstrated strong efforts and good faith commitment to strengthen its compliance framework and mechanisms for respecting human rights and international humanitarian law, and conform to high discipline and conduct standards in its doctrines, training principles and practices for peace support operations. In this regard, it is important to note that on 12th May the Specialised Technical Committee of the African Union on Defence, Safety and Security adopted three (3) key documents, namely (a) the African Union Strategic Framework for Compliance and Accountability in Peace Support Operations, (b) the African Union Policy on Protection of Civilians in Peace Support Operations, and (c) the African Union Policy on Selection and Screening of Personnel for Peace Support Operations.

These policies assure a compliance akin to that of standards similar to those of the UN. The tripartite project of the AU-EU-UN is also an important mechanism that has contributed in reinforcing the compliance framework through the exchange of experiences and good practices among the three organizations involved. On the issue of prudential and fiduciary standards, we note that the African Union has made steady and significant progress in enhancing its financial rules and arrangements to ensure transparency in the use of and accountability over the funds allocated for peace support operations.

We believe that the evolved and strengthened structure and arrangements of the AU Peace Fund and its Crisis Reserve Facility also provide rigorous financial oversight over funds that are committed to AU PSOs to ensure proper use and accountability for those funds. Pertaining to the issue of joint planning and decision-making for missions, we welcome the number of safeguards provided by the AU itself and the UN which helps to avoid arbitrariness in the process. The chart in the Secretary-General’s report and the procedures within the AU that has to be followed before a mandate can be triggered including a layer of confirmation and approval by the relevant organ of the African Union, before consideration by the United Nations Security Council are useful safeguards, which, we believe, facilitates the Security Council’s reporting needs and oversight in accordance with its responsibilities.

Lastly on the issue of burden sharing, we welcome the clarification that the AU Consensus Paper has provided in relation to the allocation of 25% of the Union’s budget towards the broader peace and security activities from the AU Peace Fund. We believe that starting the discussions on a common understanding around this matter is crucial for coherent, constructive and fruitful deliberations. We also welcome the full operationalization of the Peace Fund, which as of February 2023, had a balance of $337 million. We look forward to the implementation of AU PSC’s recent decision to increase, after due financial processes, the ceiling of the Crisis Reserve Facility from $5 million to $10 million for 2023 and 2024 and the request for the AU Commission to use the Peace Fund to contribute in addressing the financial gaps in ongoing missions such as ATMIS.

We believe that within Africa’s ability to pay, the ongoing financial decisions of the Union, as well as the strong contribution of African T/PCCs that have on countless occasions sacrificed their lives for the cause of peace, we would, during further consultations, converge our views on a pragmatic and constructive basis to reach a common ground that would be satisfactory to all. While we have noted existing comments on the issue of command and control, we remain mindful that a more useful discussion on that matter would be most appropriate after the Council has clarified its common understanding on the choice of option proposed for consideration by the Secretary-General. Nevertheless, the existing command and control architecture, through the presently deployed AU led PSOs authorized by the Council, could serve as a ground for further discussions. As we all know, based on lessons learnt, the Secretary-General in his report has put forward two practical financing models: (a) the United Nations Support Office model for African PSOs such as we have with AMISOM/ATMIS with some additions; and (b) joint financing of a United Nations-African Union Hybrid mission like the UNAMID model in Darfur. These models provide useful elements that we can leverage in shaping the best framework for United Nations assessed contribution support for financing Africa-led peace support operations.

Madam President,
Having received a mandate from the AUPSC to resume consultations towards the adoption of a UN Security Council framework resolution on financing AU-led PSOs, as contained in the AUPSC communique issued at its Ministerial meeting held on 12th May 2023, the A3 intends to listen carefully to the views of all Member States within and outside the Council and would ensure that the views of all delegations are taken on board as we advance the further processes to give effect to the aspiration for a new and effective engagement between the African Union and the United Nations in our common objective for peace and security in the African continent. Our engagements would seek to bridge the understanding that exists between the African Union ambitions and the expectations of the other members of the Security Council.

In concluding, peace support operations have become an essential mechanism for responding to the crises affecting the continent and must be integrated into the New Agenda for Peace. The A3 re-affirms our support for the SecretaryGeneral’s call in his report for adequate, sustainable, and predictable funding from UN assessed contributions for AU led Peace Support Operations. This
Council holds the key to making this a reality. Together we can stem the scourge of the needless armed conflicts on the African continent.

I thank you.