The UN General Assembly met to consider the evolving partnership between the UN and the African Union (AU) under the 10-year capacity building programme for the AU.
The UN Secretary-General highlighted that durable peace and sustainable development in Africa can be achieved if, in supporting AU institutions, a comprehensive approach was adopted that integrated peace and security with economic, social and humanitarian activities.
28 March 2011: The UN General Assembly met on 28 March 2011 to discuss cooperation between the UN and the African Union (AU). States considered a report by the UN Secretary-General on the 10-year capacity-building programme for the AU, which offered a recommendation on achieving sustainable development in Africa.
The framework for the 10-year capacity-building programme first was laid out in the 2006 Declaration, “Enhancing UN-AU Cooperation: Framework for the Ten-Year Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union.” The initial focus of the Declaration was on peace and security, but it was conceived as an evolving strategic framework for cooperation between the two organizations.
In his report on the review of the capacity-building programme (document A/65/716), the UN Secretary-General noted that since its adoption, cooperation between the two organizations has seen an “unprecedented increase” in areas of common interest, particularly security and development. He recommended that the activities of the programme gradually should be expanded beyond its initial focus on peace and security issues. He highlighted that durable peace and sustainable development in Africa can be achieved if, in supporting AU institutions, a comprehensive approach is adopted that integrates peace and security with economic, social and humanitarian activities.
Speaking on behalf of the African Group, the Permanent Representative of Mauritius expressed confidence that the evolving partnership would yield better results in building a more effective global coalition for international peace, security and development. He added that to further realize the UN-AU collaboration, there was a need for enhanced information sharing between the UN, and the AU and its regional economic communities, as well as for allocation of adequate resources and expertise. He also welcomed the steps taken towards integrating the capacity building programme into the UN Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa, and urged the UNGA to support recommendations to strengthen the human and financial capacities of the newly established Joint Secretariat of the AU, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). [UNGA Press Release] [Publication: Secretary-General’s Report on Review of Capacity-building Programme]