HIGH LEVEL THEMATIC DEBATE: STREGHTENNING COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE REGIONAL AND SUB-REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

DRAFT STATEMENT BY H.E. DR. ERASTUS MWENCHA, DEPUTY-CHAIRPERSON OF THE AFRICAN UNION COMMISSION

H. E. Mr. Sam Kutesa, President of the United Nations General Assembly,
H. E. President Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda,
H. E. Mr. Ban Ki –Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations,
H. E. Mr. Georges Rebelo Chikoti, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola and Chair of International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR),
H. E. Mrs. Annika Sodar, Vice Minister and State Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Sweden,
H. E. Mr. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of the Bahamas;
Honorable High Officials and Representatives of Regional and Sub regional Organizations,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The African Union is grateful to you Mr. President for organizing this timely and important high level debate on the important subject of strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and Regional and Sub-Regional Organizations. This debate is both timely and vital.
Timely because as rightly indicated by those that have spoken, the world has changed and equally so the theatre in which Pearce Operations takes place. This debate is also taking place on the threshold of milestone developments both at the African Union and the United Nations. The Reviews of UN Peacekeeping Operations and the UN Peace Building Commission, the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations, the preparation of the July 2015 Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development and the Humanitarian Summit to take place in Turkey in 2016, the development of a post 2015 development agenda and, the adoption of the African Union agenda 2063.
Africa has also adopted and submitted a Common position on Peace Operations based on: (1) lessons learned from close collaboration with the UN on the entire spectrum from Mediation to post conflict political transitions, peace keeping and peace building; and (2) approximately 70% of Special Political Missions and Peace Keeping Operations of the UN are deployed in Africa and has become the largest regional contributor of UN peace operations and now contributes approximately 45% of the UN’s uniformed peacekeepers.
The conflict dynamics facing UN and African peace operations have become more complex and asymmetrical since the Brahimi Report fifteen years ago. In many contemporary conflict zones, terrorists, criminal gangs, traffickers and armed groups or militias deliberately choose to use violence targeted against civilian populations, aid workers and, increasingly peacekeepers, to achieve their aims. Conflicts are also more regional in character and therefore require a more regional approach with the challenge of balancing the interests of the various States affected by the conflict.
While conflicts typically emerge in response to local conditions they are increasingly linked to international ideological trends. Here, I wish to mention as an example the ever-increasing trend of violent extremism which encompasses a generalized ideology less amenable to negotiated solutions, while at the same time providing networks for the trafficking of arms, money, fighters and tactics from one conflict zone to another.
Mr. President this debate is vital because, in these contexts, effectively managing such conflicts requires robust peace operation capabilities and, increasingly, offensive fighting capacity. While a decade ago, most UN peacekeeping operations were deployed after the negotiation of a peace agreement, today, by contrast, most UN peacekeeping missions are deployed amidst on-going conflict in countries where there is “no peace to keep” and where it is difficult to distinguish between armed groups and the local civilian population marking a significant shift in UN peacekeeping doctrine.

Mr. President,
The African Union, like the rest of the international community is forced to adapt to these changing conflict dynamics. A partnership model, even better, a division of labor is therefore emerging where the AU and/or Regional Economic Communities /Regional Mechanisms with support from the UN and other international partners, act as first responders to African crises. Close cooperation between the UN and the African Union is thus a strategic necessity. However, more efforts are needed to find creative and innovative ways to support African peace operations. Effective African peace operations represent a significant contribution to the global common good. It is in this regard that we welcome the political declaration to be adopted by this High Level meeting specifically the recognition that, in cases when regional or sub-regional organizations deploy peacekeeping operations authorized by the Security Council, they contribute towards maintenance of international peace and security consistent with the provisions of Chapter VIII of the UN charter and the need to enhance the predictability, sustainability and flexibility of financing regional organizations when they undertake peacekeeping under a Security Council mandate.

Mr. President,
Ten years after the establishment of the UN’s Peace Building Commission (PBC) and 9 years after the adoption of the AU’s policy on Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD), a number of challenges remain as shown by the relapse of some post conflict countries into violence. These challenges are even aggravated by the advent of new phenomenon such as radicalization and extremism, frequent droughts/floods emanating from climate change or of health nature such as the Ebola crisis in 3 of the 6 countries on the agenda of the PBC, namely in Liberia, Guinea and Serra Leone. In our opinion, the PBC should strengthen its leverage as a strategic partner to the AU and the RECs by applying a bottom up approach in engaging in peace building in Africa through close collaboration with the AU and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

Mr. President,
Our two Organizations have also made progress in other areas of cooperation such as humanitarian issues, marked by the signing of a memorandum of Understanding between UN/OCHA and the African Union, while agencies, Funds and Programs of the UN system have been instrumental in the materialization of the objectives of the cooperation between the African Union and the United Nations.
It is however important to underscore that While the African Union's Cooperation with the United Nations has evolved significantly in the area of peace and security, including establishment of mechanisms such as Joint Task Force, Desk to Desk and annual consultative meetings between the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council as well as existence of the Ad Working Group of the Security Council on Conflicts Resolution and Prevention in Africa, there is still considerable room for improvement in other areas of cooperation. These are indicated in the African Common Position on Peace Operations that I referred to earlier.
At this juncture, allow me to express the African Union's appreciation to the United Nations for the continued support to the African Union in the context of the Declaration on Enhancing UN-AU Cooperation Framework for the Ten Year Capacity Building Program for Africa adopted in November 2006. The expiration of the TYCB comes on the heels of the 70th anniversary celebration of the United Nations which informed the decision of the Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa at its recent meeting held in Addis Ababa to elaborate a successor program to respond to new continental imperatives and strategically aligned and synchronized with Africa's aspiration for a transformative development.
These efforts have found expression in the Framework for a Renewed UN/AU Partnership on Africa's Integration and Development Agenda (PAIDA) 2017to2027 as a successor to the Ten Year Capacity Building. PAIDA is anchored on the AU Agenda 2063 and its Ten Year Implementation and is based on shared values and core principle of African ownership and leadership.
As African Leaders roll out PAIDA by its adoption at the forthcoming African Union Summit, it is our expectation that the United Nations through the General Assembly will accompany the African Union by giving concrete effect to the support of PAIDA through the adoption of a resolution during the 70th Session of the UNGA. The draft resolution, will among other things, seek to secure enhanced cooperation and partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in implementation of PAIDA while at the same time ensuring predictable funding given the lessons learned from the implementation of the Ten Year Capacity Building Program. We count in the system wide support of the United Nations as we embark on this new endeavor.
I thank you for your kind attention.