The United Nations and the African Union have reinforced their partnership following the conclusion of their seventh high-level dialogue in New York on Tuesday.听
At the meeting, UN听Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres听and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat signed a framework agreement on human rights, which follows a previous accord on peace and security, and another on development.听
Speaking afterwards to reporters, they underscored the need to reform the global financial architecture to reflect current realities.
鈥淲hat Africa needs above all is justice in international relations because Africa has been the victim of the structural injustices of our international relations,鈥� said Mr. Guterres.听
Haven for terrorism听
Touching on their discussions, Mr. Faki began by focusing on peace and security.听 He said that Africa is going through a 鈥渄ifficult period鈥� as it has become 鈥渁 haven for terrorism and extremism,鈥� affecting many regions and as some AU peacekeeping operations are drawing down.
Africa is also facing economic challenges brought on by what he called the 鈥渢riple crisis鈥� of the听COVID-19听pandemic, climate change and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, which has impacted food supply.
He stressed that financing for both development and peace is critical, together with reform of global financial institutions.
Call for climate justice
Mr. Faki said the two leaders will attend the COP28 climate conference that opens this week in Dubai which must also be the opportunity to advocate for Africa 鈥渨hich is severely impacted by the effects of climate change even though it pollutes very little.鈥�
The transition to green energy must be fair, he said, given that some 600 million people across the continent still do not have access to electricity.
鈥淲e also need to ensure that we are on the right track for development. And this will perhaps help us to mitigate the issue of migration which has become a particularly delicate issue for our neighbors in Europe,鈥� he added.
A top priority听
Mr. Guterres underscored that Africa remains a key UN priority, highlighting the importance of working with the AU 鈥渂ased on the principle of African-led solutions for African problems鈥�.
He said the continent has been 鈥渢he double victim of injustice鈥� linked to colonialism and slavery in the past and financial and economic power relations today.
Seeds of frustration听
Africa had some of the highest economic growth rates in the world prior to the pandemic, which exposed injustices, including through the distribution of vaccines and in increased debt burdens that restrict fiscal space.
As a result, countries cannot respond to the basic needs of their populations, which are mainly made up of youth, leading to enormous frustration which sows the seeds for instability, coups and other developments that undermine peace and security.
鈥淚t's very important to give a double response to those problems of peace and security. First of all, to recognize that peacekeeping missions do not make sense where there is no peace to keep,鈥� said Mr. Guterres.
Support AU operations听
He called for peace enforcement and counterterrorism operations in Africa that are led by the AU and mandated by the UN听Security Council, and the assessed contributions necessary to finance those missions.听
鈥淭hey are the only way to be effective in fighting the kind of violence and terrorism that is now proliferating in many African countries,鈥� he said.
The UN chief also emphasized the need to mobilize the international community to address the economic and social root causes of conflicts. 听鈥淎nd that is why we are so keen on the need for reforming international financial institutions in order to make sure that they correspond to today's economy and not to the economy after the Second World War,鈥� he said.听
Gaza and Sudan听
During a question-and-answer segment, the UN chief was asked about the current pause in fighting in Gaza, which has been in place for five days.听
Although the truce was 鈥渁 step in the right direction鈥� and 鈥渁 symbol of hope鈥�, Mr. Guterres said 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 solve the key problems we face鈥�.听 He repeated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire leading to the unconditional release of hostages and the delivery of aid to all people in Gaza.听
Both leaders were also asked if the call for the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from Sudan, and reports of atrocities in West Darfur, represented a failure of the international community.听
Mr. Guterres described the situation in Sudan 鈥� where rival generals have been fighting since mid-April 鈥� as 鈥渢he fault of those that sacrifice the interests of their people for a pure struggle for power, and of the ones that support them based on considerations that I would not like to comment (on) today.鈥澨�
