African Union Summit: Antonio Guterres pleads for a "peace enforcement force"
In Addis Ababa, during the 36th African Union summit, Antonio Gutteres pleaded for a "peace enforcement force" to face the continent's security challenges.
TONY KARUMBA / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In his speech at the opening ceremony of the 36th AU Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa this Saturday, February 18, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres returned to the many challenges facing the continent. faces and in particular the maintenance of peace.
Advertisement
Read more
“
Africa needs action for peace
,” United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres insisted before the assembly of the African Union (AU) on Saturday.
He said he was "
deeply concerned
" by the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in the Sahel.
“
We must continue to fight for peace.
Nevertheless, to put it bluntly, the mechanisms of peace are faltering
”, worried in his speech, the Secretary General of the UN.
►
To read also
: opening of the 36ᵉ summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa
Antonio Guterres has proposed ways out, including the creation of an African so-called "
peace enforcement
" force, supported by the United Nations and with guaranteed funding.
Who will fund it?
what share for Africa while diplomatic sources speak of differences on the shares of the different actors?
Antonio Guterres clarified his proposal at a press conference yesterday, report
our special envoys,
Esdras Ndikumana
and
Robin Cussenot
.
“
I must say that the experience of the G5 Sahel has shown that voluntary funding of peace enforcement operations does not work.
And that is why I have always defended that in the African context, where there are situations that require peace enforcement and counter-terrorism operations, these operations must have a mandate from the Council security under
Chapter VII
and predictable contributions through the mechanism of assessed contributions that exists in the United Nations system
.
►
To read also
: Chad and Niger promise a new breath for the G5 Sahel despite the departure of Mali
And as far as I know, I have never heard of any European country opposing this position. It is obvious that voluntary contributions have proved that they are not capable of guaranteeing the effectiveness of these forces.
»
Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter authorizes the forces deployed within this framework to use force, in the event of self-defense or to prevent terrorist attacks.
Their mandate therefore goes beyond that of mere interposition forces.
In an interview granted
last September to RFI
, the Secretary General of the United Nations already declared the need to "recognize
our collective bankruptcy
" in the Sahel and therefore to "
find another approach because this region is going from bad to worse
".
►
To read also:
from the OAU to the AU (webdoc)
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
African Union
UN
G5 Sahel
Antonio Guterres