Presidential Statement on cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security (May 24).
S/PRST/2016/8:
“The Security Council recalls its previous relevant resolutions and statements of its President which underscore the importance of developing effective partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant statutes of the regional organizations.
“The Security Council reiterates its primary responsibility under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security, and recalls that cooperation with regional and subregional organizations in matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security and consistent with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations can improve collective security.
“The Security Council commends the increased contribution of the African Union to the maintenance of peace and security, and welcomes the continuing important efforts and enhanced peacekeeping role of the African Union and its subregional organisations, consistent with Security Council resolutions and decisions, to prevent, mediate and settle conflicts in the African continent, paying tribute in this regard to the courage and sacrifice of those serving with African-led peace operations.
“The Security Council acknowledges the progress made in the ongoing cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, and stresses the importance of further strengthening cooperation and developing an effective partnership with the African Union underpinned by mutual consultations between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council in their respective decision-making processes and common strategies for a holistic response to conflict, as appropriate, based on respective comparative advantage, transparency and accountability to address common security challenges in Africa in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, including Chapter VIII and the Purposes and Principles
“The Security Council commends the efforts of the African Union to further strengthen its capacity, including through the operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), and welcomes the continued UN-AU cooperation on different components of the APSA, including on early warning, preventive diplomacy, mediation, electoral assistance, peacekeeping, conflict prevention and resolution, promotion of human rights and the rule of law, protection of women and children in conflict and post-conflict, and post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.
“The Security Council welcomes the development of the new APSA Road Map (2016‑2020), which aims at mapping out a way forward to enable the consolidation of gains made, and address the most pressing challenges, so as to make APSA fully operational. The Security Council notes that the Road Map contributes to achieving greater coordination and synergy between the AU and African subregional organizations, as well as among all APSA pillars, and is geared towards effective measures on conflict prevention, management, resolution and post-conflict reconstruction and development.
“The Security Council notes that the reviews of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture, of UN Peace Operations and of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security provide an opportunity to build a stronger, forward-looking partnership between the two organizations, in line with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, and to further harmonize their efforts to achieve a coherent and coordinated continuum of engagement throughout conflict and post-conflict phases with a view to sustaining peace, which should be broadly understood as a goal and a process to build a common vision of a society, ensuring that the needs of all segments of the population are taken into account, and which encompasses activities aimed at preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict.
“The Security Council recalls its resolution 2282 (2016), and reiterates that cooperation with regional and subregional organizations is critical to contributing to the prevention of the outbreak, escalation, continuation and recurrence of conflict, emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive approach to sustaining peace, particularly through the prevention of conflict and addressing its root causes, and further stresses the importance of partnership and cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, to improve cooperation and coordination in peacebuilding, to increase synergies and ensure the coherence and complementarity of such efforts.
“The Security Council notes that shared information and analysis between the United Nations, African Union and its subregional organizations is important for developing joint strategies and coordinating action on conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and encourages strengthened cooperation in this area.
“The Security Council recognizes the potential role that the African Union can play in post-conflict peacebuilding, recovery, reconstruction and development processes, noting in this regard the utility of the AU Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development Framework Policy (2006) and the African Solidarity Initiative (ASI) launched in 2012 for mobilizing support from within the continent for countries emerging from conflict, as well as the initiative to establish an African Union Centre for Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development (AUCPCRD).
“The Security Council recognizes that regional and subregional organizations are well positioned to understand the root causes and the triggers of armed conflicts in their respective regions and encourages initiatives to strengthen the use of preventive diplomacy within the African Union and its subregional organization and to enhance the coordination and complementarity of their efforts, including through the establishment of a Mediation Support Unit at the African Union Commission.
“The Security Council welcomes the United Nations partnership with the African Union in the field of peacekeeping, including support to the African Union’s efforts to develop policy, guidance and training, in particular in the areas of security sector reform, post-conflict reconstruction, women, peace and security, and protection of civilians, including child protection and prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence, in armed conflicts and post-conflict situations, and underscores the need to enhance the United Nations and African Union pre-deployment joint planning and joint mission assessment processes, as appropriate, to promote common understanding and increase effectiveness of peacekeeping missions, and to improve planning for AU-led peace operations and when relevant the management of transitions from AU-led to United Nations peacekeeping missions.
“The Security Council recognizes that the success of peacekeeping operations increasingly depends on strong collaboration between the United Nations and the AU and, in this regard, encourages the Secretariat to consult with the African Union, especially when transitioning from an AU-led to United Nations peacekeeping operation. The Security Council recognizes that the experience and expertise of troop- and police-contributing countries in theatres of operation can greatly assist the planning of operations and stresses the importance of effective consultations among the Security Council, troop- and police-contributing countries and the Secretariat. The Security Council reiterates the importance of a more effective relationship between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council including through achieving more effective annual consultative meetings, the holding of timely consultations, and collaborative field missions of the two Councils, as appropriate, to formulate cohesive positions and strategies on a case-by-case basis in dealing with conflict situations in Africa.
“The Security Council reaffirms the vital role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction, and stresses the need for the United Nations and the African Union to work to ensure that women and gender perspectives are fully integrated into all peace and security efforts undertaken by the two organizations, including by building the necessary capacity. The Security Council welcomes the efforts of the African Union to implement resolution 1325 (2000), including through the appointment of an African Union Commission Chairperson’s Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, and through the five-year Gender Peace and Security Programme (2015-2020), and encourages the African Union to pursue further implementation.
“The Security Council stresses the importance of further strengthening cooperation with the African Union in order to assist in building its capacity in conflict prevention, crisis management and resolution, as well as post-conflict peacebuilding , and encourages all member states and international partners to continue to contribute, and as appropriate more actively, in this regard.
“The Security Council acknowledges the substantive contribution of the Ten-year Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union, that expires in 2016, towards enhancing the institutional and technical capacities of the African Union, including in the area of peace and security and notes the adoption of the Framework for a Renewed UN/AU Partnership on Africa’s Integration and Development Agenda 2017-2027 (PAIDA) during the AU summit in Johannesburg, in June 2015, as the successor programme to the 10-Year Capacity-Building Program for the African Union, aiming at promoting closer and more effective partnership between the UN, AU and its subregional organizations and supporting the implementation of the AU Agenda 2063.
“The Security Council reiterates that regional organizations have the responsibility to secure human, financial, logistical and other resources for their organizations, including through contributions by their members and support from partners and welcomes the valuable financial support provided from partners in this regard.
“The Security Council recognizes that one major constraint facing the African Union in effectively carrying out the mandates of maintaining regional peace and security is securing predictable, sustainable and flexible resources, and encourages further dialogue on options for addressing this issue.
“The Security Council welcomes the African Union’s appointment of an AU High Representative for the Peace Fund and recognizes the benefit of joint planning missions and assessment visits in determining the needs of regional peace support operations.
“The Security Council notes the ongoing work by the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission to finalize, in 2016, a Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security, which will provide a blueprint for early and continuous engagement between the two organizations before, during and after conflict and with a view to finding political solutions to the crises on the continent.
“The Security Council looks forward to receiving the annual report of the Secretary-General, as initially requested by the Security Council in December 2014, on ways to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union on issues of peace and security in Africa including the work of the United Nations Office to the African Union.”