Ever since its foundation, the United Nations has developed numerous frameworks of actions aiming to prevent, mitigate and resolve crisis worldwide, from advocating for human rights and inclusive development to actions targeting prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building. Despite some progress to certain extents, there is a collective call for urgent transformations, especially on the way in which the organization have conceived and applied its peace and security mechanisms to maximize impacts on the ground.
A reassessment of the UN’s peace operations was conducted by the High-Level Independent Panel and, as a result, the former UN Secretary-General defined three pillars of priority: stronger focus on prevention and mediation; reinvigorate regional-global partnerships; and faster and more effective ways to conduct peace operations.
Concerning the second pillar, in recent years, the UN have recognized the relevance of institutionalizing cooperation with regional partners as to enable consultation and recommendations by strengthening coordinated responses to conflict prevention and peace-building efforts. As the Panel highlights, ‘stronger global-regional partnerships are central to effective international peace and security engagements’[1].
In this way, the UN embarked in a new joint initiative with the AU to further boost cooperation between the two organizations in issues ranging from human rights and inclusive development, to sustaining peace and security. Signed on April 2017, the Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhancing Partnership on Peace and Security provides a blueprint for early engagement and preventive responses to conflict through joint-mechanisms, integrated conflict management and regular consultations, with the ultimate goal of finding political solutions to crisis affecting the continent[2]. As highlighted during the African Union Annual Conference, which took place in 19 April 2017, ‘in addressing conflict, the United Nations and the African Union will strive, wherever possible, to reach a common understanding of the problems and, through consultative decision-making , develop a collaborative approach’.
Followed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed on 18 September 2017[3], this joint action is yet another key milestone aiming to reinvigorate the UN-AU partnership, especially in a time when failures to prevent the conflict in South Sudan, or to solve the political dead-lock in the DRC have dominated public consciousness. In addition to this, cuts from Member States on funding have already started to impact peace operations on the continent, especially in the DRC (MONUSCO)[4], which can in the short-term to middle-term hinder any attempt to sustainable solutions to conflict the region[5].
UN-AU Cooperation Background: a New Period of Partnerships?
The UN-AU collaborative initiatives operate under the umbrella of the Ten-Year Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union, an agreement which was reached in 2006 and that covered a broad range of issues, including institution building, human resources management and peace and security matters.
In January 2015, the AU Assembly endorsed a new 50-year long strategic framework for socio-economic transformation – the Agenda 2063, aiming to achieve an ‘integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena’. The UN plays a role in this framework and works closely with the Peace and Security Department and the Department of Political Affairs of the AU Commission. Together, they collaborate in ongoing peace initiatives and work to operationalize key components of the African Peace and Security Architecture as well as the African Governance Architecture.
The mutual engagement of the two organizations is translated into consultative mechanisms for peace operations, including early-warning systems, conflict prevention and mediation. One example that illustrates this cooperation is the UN-AU Hybrid Operations in Darfur (UNAMID), which has organized forums and peace campaigns to promote dialogue among community members, traditional leaders and civilians confronting tensions in the region.
The Financial Issue: An Elephant in the Room
With the recent joint action between the two organizations, the UN have taken a step further in strengthening the processes happening at the UN-AU level, but also to advance in a jointly manner the reforms of the UN peace operations. As discussed during last week’s UN Security Council debate on the implementations of the 2015 High-Level Panel, more prominence should be given to the AU’s concerns, especially on the implementation of the African Standby Force, which faces financial issues.
In the past years, the AU has used several ad-hoc and ‘one-size-fits-all’ initiatives to address the current security challenges[6], including Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord’s Resistance Army[7] and the Multi-National Joint Task Force, which targets Boko Haram militancy. However, these initiatives remain inadequate in their operational capabilities due to the limited resources.
Another example that illustrates this tension over lack of funding is the recent approval of G5 Sahel Joint Force[8], which highlighted some divisions within the UNSC over whether the Council should support its budget. Currently, the Force is funded by the European Union, France and G5 countries.
Following the September 11 joint consultative meeting between the UN-AU Security Councils and also last week’s consultative debate, it is clear that despite the number of agreements and partnership frameworks developed, many issues remain unsettled. The lack of sustainable financial frameworks continues to be pivotal among them, which demonstrates the enormous gap between the expectations established by such partnerships and the paucity of resources available – political, technical and financial. Without an inclusive and comprehensive economic and security package to address long-term transnational challenges, the Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhancing Partnership on Peace and Security will be another initiative with no concrete results on the ground.
Recommendations:
- A more adaptable, regular and adequate financial instrument should be included in every UN-AU peace operations, with stronger relevance to preventive measures to conflict.
- A more balanced financial relationship adhered to both parties is necessary to take the partnership one step further.
- A more defined and clearer division of labor and a burden-sharing arrangement will be key to enhance cooperation.
- The UN should also make sure that peace building processes and operations are nationally owned in the fullest sense.