A wide view of the Security Council open debate on enhancing African capacities in the areas of peace and security. UN Photo/Mark Garten
Briefing the Security Council on their strengthened collaboration, top officials from the African Union (AU) and the United Nations today highlighted their joint work on peace and security in the Gambia, Somalia and South Sudan, as well as other African countries, and urged adequate, timely and predictable funding.
Addressing an open debate of the Council in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres said, “the international community needs to change the narrative about Africa and to establish a higher platform of cooperation that recognizes its enormous potential and promise.”
He noted that the AU and the UN have a shared interest in strengthening mechanisms to defuse conflicts before they escalate, and to manage them effectively when they occur.
The organization’s shared objective is “to work closely on the basis of the principles of mutual respect and comparative advantage in all stages of the conflict cycle and in a systematic, predictable and strategic manner,” he added.
Mr. Guterres highlighted a landmark framework signed between the UN and the AU in April to strengthen partnership between the two organizations on peace and security pillars, as well as their organization’s commitment to further institutionalize and build on the partnership.
source: UN News Centre
