From Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond, complex, interconnected threats continue to drive conflicts across Africa, the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the African Union told the Security Council today, calling for stronger multilateral cooperation in support of security in one of the world's youngest and most dynamic continents.
"Africa is a continent of incredible promise and opportunities," said Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, who also heads the UN Office to the African Union. "Its population is youthful, energetic, innovative and brimming with hope and immense untapped potential." Introducing the Secretary-General's latest report, which outlines opportunities for deepening the UN's strategic partnership with the regional bloc, he said the partnership between the two organizations is already a cornerstone of multilateralism. Moreover, the situation on the continent is largely positive, though notable challenges remain.
In the last year, he said, free, fair and credible elections were held in Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius, Senegal and Malawi, yielding peaceful transfers of power. There was a notable increase in the participation of women and youth and greater efficiency in many national electoral management bodies. Africa also continues to demonstrate economic resilience driven by a youthful population, abundant natural resources, expanding markets and new opportunities through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
However, he warned, challenges remain, driven by conflicts and often worsened by weak or ineffective State authority, violent extremism, climate change and - in some cases - the denial of fundamental human rights. Spotlighting serious conflicts in the Horn of Africa, Sudan, South Sudan and the Sahel and Great Lakes regions, he declared: "No military solution whatsoever can resolve the underlying causes of the conflict." African nations should create dedicated conflict prevention mechanisms and promote national cohesion, and the Council should leverage its influence over parties to resolve Africa's conflicts peacefully.
Resolution 2719 (2023) a 'Top Priority'
Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, agreed that conflicts have become more complex. Welcoming the adoption of resolution 2719 (2023), she stated: "Since then, we - the African Union Commission and the UN Secretariat - have made progress, drawing on [past] lessons […] and our ongoing collaboration."
Highlighting four priority workstreams, she recalled that joint planning modalities for AU-led operations were recently approved at a UN-African Union Joint Task Force meeting, ensuring "predictable, coherent and shared decision-making". Regarding financing, she went on to point to the Secretary-General's May report detailing the application of UN financial rules, which is under review by legislative bodies. She also stressed the importance of a robust Human Rights Due Diligence Policy and noted the African Union's progress on a compliance and accountability framework.
Call to 'Move beyond Narratives', Prioritize Resources
Mohamed Fathi Ahmed Edrees, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the UN, said the partnership between the two organizations is grounded in the principle of complementarity. Among a range of improvements, he proposed that penholdership - the role of leading the drafting and negotiation of a specific Security Council resolution or issue - by the so-called "A3 Plus" nations should be encouraged, supported and strengthened, ensuring African leadership and ownership of files affecting the continent and guaranteeing that African priorities are considered and integrated into the Council's decisions.
Meanwhile, in cases where UN peacekeeping may not be suitable, he said African Union-led peace support operations, including enforcement actions, play a crucial role in both regional and global peace and security. In that context, the effective implementation of resolution 2719 (2023) remains a top priority. The recent attempt to use it to support the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) demonstrated that political will, rather than technical capacity, remains the key factor for success.
Algeria's delegate, who also spoke for Guyana, Sierra Leone and Somalia, was among the many speakers in today's debate who welcomed the deepening relationship between the UN and the African Union. He emphasized that the partnership must be further enhanced in order to "move beyond narratives" and address urgent challenges - including through prioritized resource mobilization for African Union-led peace support operations.
Noting the valuable opportunity afforded by the upcoming Annual Joint Consultative meeting between the Union's Peace and Security Council and the Security Council, he said those annual meetings "must transcend the mere adoption of a joint communiqué" and serve as a point of reference for future negotiations. Underscoring the need to confer concrete meaning to the idea of "African solutions for African problems", he agreed with many other speakers that "penholdership on African files must evolve in response to Africa's aspiration to own the solutions for its challenges."
Many speakers hailed the positive working relationship between the UN and the African Union, spotlighting progress in such areas as good governance, electoral reform, the protection of women and children and efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
In that vein, Slovenia's delegate highlighted the Common African Position on Climate Change, Peace and Security and the adoption of the Africa Water Vision 2063 - aimed at tackling some of the "key drivers of instability and conflict" on the continent - while the representative of Greece urged the African Union and the UN to jointly seek innovative solutions to address critical environmental pressures. Denmark's representative welcomed UN-African Union efforts to implement the Women, Peace and Security framework - as well as critical progress on youth, peace and security - which are driving good results in many parts of the continent.
Solidarity with Somalia
Other speakers, including Panama's representative, argued that giving more prominence to the UN-African Union partnership would promote African development priorities, address the root causes of conflict and prevent cycles of extremism and violence - such as those raging across the Horn of Africa.
In that regard, many speakers spotlighted the situation in Somalia, where a draft Council resolution in December 2024 would have applied resolution 2719 (2023) to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission. That application was opposed at the time by the United States, whose delegate today expressed strong support for the UN-African Union relationship. While Washington, D.C., remains committed to countering terrorism in Somalia, other partners should increase their financial support and resolution 2719 (2023) should not be applied in cases where a risk exists of contradicting its "spirit and word".
The Republic of Korea's delegate highlighted AUSSOM's dire financial situation, noting that Seoul has already contributed $1.6 million to AUSSOM this year, while the representative of the United Kingdom spotlighted his country's $22 million commitment and its hosting of a recent Somalia funding conference. France's representative said the application of resolution 2719 (2023) in Somalia would have provided AUSSOM with adequate, predictable and sustainable funding.
Calling on all countries to provide strong support to that mission, he went on to call for better representation for Africa on the Security Council - namely, the addition of permanent seats, and the veto power, for two African States.
African-Owned, Future-Focused
Pakistan's delegate said the UN-African Union relationship demonstrates that "regional voices can shape global action when guided by mutual respect and shared purpose". However, he voiced concern that responses to African crises are still filtered through the lenses of geopolitical competition, commercial interests and selective humanitarianism. The Council must move away from externally imposed models of stabilization and towards models endorsed and owned by African actors, he stressed.
The representatives of the Russian Federation and China echoed those concerns, with the former emphasizing that Africa's deeper roots of conflict lie in "the tragic legacy of colonialism and neocolonial interference", and the latter stressing that the continent's regional conflicts and terrorism are "the result of historical injustice" and external manipulation. Among other things, he urged the international community to help the continent eradicate that damaging legacy, avoid future intervention and "make up for lost ground in development".
