Mr. President,

 First of all, I would like to extend to you my most heart-felt congratulations on your appointment as the new leader of the Libyan Delegation. I thank the Libyan presidency for convening this important Open Debate. I welcome the participation of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Chairman of the African Union-United Nations Panel, Mr. Romano Prodi, the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, Mr. Ramtane Lamamra, Minister Dlamini Zuma of South Africa and other distinguished delegates from the African Union for their contributions. We align ourselves with the statement to be delivered by Ambassador Abelardo Moreno of Cuba on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.

 

 Mr. President,

As the United Nations‘ highest body entrusted with the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, the Security Council has, for the past 60 years, played an indispensable role in resolving international conflicts and disputes, especially in the African continent. The fact that half of the UN ‘s 63 peacekeeping missions have been deployed in Africa since 1948 manifests the unique relationship  between the United Nations and Africa in the area of peacekeeping. Endowed with their distinct knowledge of and experience in tackling issues of their own region, the African Union and African sub-regional organizations have many comparative advantages in dealing with conflict situations in Africa. While, as defined by the UN Charter, the Security Council plays a leading role in maintaining international peace and security, in the face of the prevalence of threats to peace and security in Africa, enhancing the partnership and cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union has been and continues to be imperative. The transition from ECOMIL to UNMIL in Liberia, the deployment of UNAMID in Dafur and the upcoming establishment of a UN peacekeeping operation in Somalia as a follow-on force to AMISOM, the Security Council’s adoption of resolution 1809, its meeting with the AU Peace and Security Council last April, the prompt establishment of the AU-UN Panel last September all testify to not only the necessity but also the viability of this cooperation. By unanimously adopting resolution 1809, the Security Council has demonstrated a strong determination to elevate its partnership with the African Union to a higher level. We strongly support the Security Council and the African Union‘s shared objective of enhancing the predictability, sustainability and flexibility of financing regional organizations operating under a UN mandate. We also support the ongoing efforts to search for modalities to strengthen the relationship between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council as well as between the UN Secretariat and the AU Commission.

Mr. President,

The recent developments in conflict areas in Africa have shown that much remains to be desired if lasting peace and stability are to be achieved. Both the successes and failures of UN-led peacekeeping operations in Africa have highlighted the importance of enhancing the African Union‘s ability to carry out UN-mandated peacekeeping operations. It is noteworthy that while peacekeepers in Africa account for 75% of the UN‘s total number of peacekeepers deployed worldwide, only 40% are drawn from African troop contributors. As the AU-UN Panel Report indicates, the principle of African ownership should be further enhanced. To this end, the implementation of the 10-Year-Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union approved at the World Summit in 2005 should be expedited. We commend the AU-UN Panel for its Report issued last December which contain many useful recommendations, especially those relating to capacity-building, logistical assistance, funding, financing and division of responsibility. While awaiting further assessment, we support the widely shared opinion that in defining the division of responsibility, the creation of the perception that the United Nations is subcontracting peacekeeping to the African Union should be avoided as this is imperative to bring into full play the African Union’s comparative advantages, enhance its capacity, avoid overlapping and ensure the sustainability of the strategic partnership between the two organizations.

Finally, Mr. President, like in any other continent, but more so, the root causes of conflict in Africa are political and social injustice, violation of human rights,   absolute poverty and foreign interference and agression which require a coherent and comprehensive approach. Again, it is the view of my Delegation that the division of responsibility among different UN bodies in cooperation with the African Union to remove these root causes should also be clarified for the same effect.  

  I thank you, Mr. President!