12 October 2023
Thank you, Mr. President,
I would like to thank Brazil for convening today’s meeting, as well as SRSG Onanga-Anyanga, Ambassador Mohammed and Mr. Dersso for their briefings.
Colleagues,
The foundation of the United Nations – African Union Partnership, based on the Joint Framework for an Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security, has grown in scope and depth throughout the years. It needs to be further strengthened.
The persistent and complex challenges that the African continent is facing – from the west coast to the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa to the Sahel – call for the need to reconsider and adapt traditional, local, regional and international responses, so as to better tackle the root causes of instability and conflict.
The deliberations of the 17th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting of the AU PSC and of the UNSC held last week in Addis Ababa, and the Joint Communique, reflect a shared understanding of the progress made thus far, as well as the awareness of emerging internal challenges, exacerbated by external threats.
Colleagues,
The spiral of recent unconstitutional changes in several African states and the onslaught of political transitions in others are alarming indicators of weak governance and failing institutions that are unable to respond to the needs of the populations, deliver services and ensure justice.
Efforts to manipulate democratic processes; attempts to modify and eliminate constitutional term limits; continued social and political exclusion; human rights violations and lack of proper response to mismanagement of Africa’s wealth of natural resources should be resisted by actions rooted in the law and through legitimate political processes.
Experience has shown, convincingly, that military coups do not bring solutions, they only exacerbate problems and offer short-lived false promises for the much-needed change.
Compounding the situation are the severe effects of climate change, international economic pressures, including global food insecurity caused by the Russian aggression in Ukraine. This has fueled inter-communal violence, overstretched local economies, and exposed vulnerabilities to the benefit of armed and terrorist groups, as well as to foreign exploiters.
Albania believes that treating the root causes of conflict goes hand in hand with the need for sustainable development, guided by the 2030 Agenda and the African Union’s 2063Agenda.
UN cooperation with the AU and with regional organizations can play a pivotal role in preventing conflicts by supporting states’ capacities to detect and pre-empt them at the earliest signs. The ongoing UN support for the Silencing the Guns in Africa initiative, remains crucial to mediation and disarmament efforts, while boosting the women and youth empowerment and peace education.
Despite an overall mixed picture, it is worth highlight areas of progress.
The agreement of November 2022 for the permanent cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia; the continued engagement with Somalia towards the implementation of peacebuilding and state-building priorities; the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region, as well as of the Nairobi and Luanda processes are positive examples.
We recognize that some African countries have fallen out with the UN peacekeeping Missions. A widening gap between the actual mandate and the expectations from local stakeholders has not helped in this respect.
While there is room for discussion on the need to evolve the traditional peacekeeping operations, we warn against the illusions of the quick fix by calling in Wagner and other mercenaries.
Human rights violations, total lack of accountability and vested interests in exploiting the national resources is and will be the price to pay.
And, as we notice in the Sahel, the terrorist acts have dramatically increased, the situation in getting better and more civilians are being harmed.
Albania recognizes the progress made in ensuring predictable, sustainable and flexible resourcing for peace support operations led by the African Union, including through the Peace Fund, and welcomes the allocation of $2 million each to ATMIS and the East African Community regional force in the DRC.
We are also encouraged by the AU’s efforts to guarantee continuity of planned and conducted peace support operations in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law and applicable standards of conduct.
Let me conclude by highlighting that we firmly believe that the African Union, the largest regional organization, can be a formidable tool in the efforts to put an end to the immense suffering of civilians across the continent, to the fighting in Sudan; the terrorist groups in the Sahel and elsewhere in the continent, and lead its Members towards peace, development and prosperity.
Thank you.