UN and AU consider the future of peacekeeping missions

The future of peacekeeping operations in Africa is increasingly in question as Mali abruptly requested the departure of MINUSMA forces in June 2023 and the DRC is firmly calling for a start of MONUSCO's withdrawal as early as this December. The United Nations is therefore considering how to deal with the threats posed by terrorists and armed groups on the African continent. And how to replace peacekeepers. This was an issue at the heart of the Seventh Conference on Relations between the United Nations and the African Union (AU). The two institutions have also signed an agreement on respect for human rights.

MONUSCO camp in DRC (illustrative image). The future of peacekeeping operations in Africa is increasingly in question. © REUTERS/Samuel MamboR

By: RFI Follow

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With our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten

For the bosses of the African Union and the UN, peacekeeping missions as they were envisioned decades ago are no longer relevant to respond to the growing violence on the ground. It is time to change the model, says Moussa Faki, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission: "The nature of this threat in the African continent needs an appropriate response. It is not for lack of having proposed that we, the Africans, make forces available. »

The AU Capable

But, he said, "these African missions must be financed by the resources of the United Nations. This is a threat to peace and security, and this is the responsibility of the UN Security Council." The question of funding is holding back the five permanent members in New York, who do not look favourably on the withdrawals of peacekeepers that are too "early". However, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, assures that the African Union is capable of carrying out these missions.

« Confidence »

« 

The compliance rules that the African Union has established are fully compatible with ours," he said. And the agreement we have reached today on human rights is a further guarantee that we can trust the African Union to deliver effective peacekeeping operations in Africa."

Read alsoDRC: government and UN sign a plan to withdraw MONUSCO

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