Statement by Mr Thabo Molefe, Acting Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Africa to the United Nations, at the Open Debate on Peace and Security In Africa, Strengthening Peacekeeping Operations in Africa
20 November 2018
Mr President,
Thank you for convening this important debate on the issue of Peace and Security in Africa: Strengthening Peacekeeping Operations in Africa. First we would like to pay tribute to the blue helmets killed in the Eastern DRC and in other different AU/UN and UN operations elsewhere in Africa and in the world.
We also thank the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres and the AU Commissioner, Mr Smaïl Chergui for their briefings. Second, my delegation aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Mr President,
South Africa is amongst the top 20 Troop Contributing Countries and has presently deployed in the DRC, South Sudan and UNAMID. South Africa has also pledged a Formed Police Unit ready to be deployed to a UN Peacekeeping Mission. Furthermore South Africa is also active towards the finalization of the African Standby Force and its Rapid Deployment Capability.
Mr President,
My delegation further wishes to emphasize the following four points:
Firstly, we welcome the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) initiative which was launched during the High-Level week in September. Collaboration, particularly with regional organisations, is the cornerstone of making peacekeeping more effective.
This complementary relationship between the UN and the AU is demonstrated by the important role that the African Union plays in peace operations on the African continent. We should continue to explore ways to enhance this cooperation including through implementation of Resolution 2033(2012). Both the AU Peace and Security Council and UN Security Council should undertake regular joint field missions and make Special Envoys and representatives of both organisations available for briefings to both Councils.
Secondly, we welcome the two agreements signed between the UN and the African Union – the Framework on Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063, and the UN-AU Framework on Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security, which form the platform for renewed cooperation between the two organizations. South Africa hopes these agreements can be fully implemented in order to help Africa achieve inclusive and sustainable peace, security and development and help the continent achieve the 2030 sustainable goals.
Thirdly, we would like to once again echo the AU and the HIPPO Report’s call for sustained, predictable and flexible funding mechanisms for African Union peace operations. In this regard, we welcome the adoption of UN Security Council resolutions 1809(2008), 2320(2016) and 2378(2017), which stresses the same need as the reports, particularly for African Union-led peace support operations authorised by the Security Council. Actions taken to implement the resolutions will take peacekeeping on the African continent to the next level. Progress in this area will be in line with Action for Peacekeeping’s pillar of “Partnerships” and its consistency with Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. We call for the support of the resolution presented by the A3 that address the issue of financing for AU-led peace operations, as Africa has the political will and human resources to deploy but Africa needs to enhance some of its capacities in order to respond to conflicts. Furthermore, we also welcome the AU’s initiatives in launching the African Union Peace Fund aimed at developing a mechanism of self-financing of Africa’s peace and security activities, which was launched recently at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, of which South Africa’s Minister of finance is a member of the board of trustees of this Fund.
Mr President,
Lastly, there will never be sustainable peace without development; therefore there is a need to ensure that the appropriate steps are taken to ensure that countries coming out of conflict are given the necessary support to ensure that they do not relapse back into conflict. Post-conflict reconstruction and development including peacebuilding are necessary components of the peace process. Our approach to peacebuilding needs to be re-engineered as a supporting mechanism to peacekeeping, towards restoring institutional capacity and governance structures in the maintenance of the rule of law, curbing violence, restoring justice, socio-economic development, community and national reconciliation should be prioritised.
In conclusion, Mr President
We should recall the Political Declaration adopted by the Peace Summit commemorating the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, which they highlighted the role of “the United Nations, regional and sub-regional organisations which have a multitude of tools and mechanisms to support peace and express our desire to continue to review the effectiveness of the tools at our disposal to the armed conflicts at hand”.
I thank you.
Rev. Monday, 26-Nov-2018 4:52 PM