S/PV.5649 Security Council

In accordance with the understanding reached in the Council’s prior consultations, I am pleased to invite Mr. Hédi Annabi, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, and His Excellency Mr. Said Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union, to sit at the side of the Council Chamber, under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. Pursuant to the invitations extended by the Council under rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite His Excellency Mr. Yahya Mahmassani, Permanent Observer for the League of Arab States to the United Nations, and His Excellency Mr. Abdul Wahab, Permanent Observer for the Organization of the Islamic Conference to the United Nations, to participate in this meeting and invite them to take seats at the side of the Council Chamber. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. I should like to draw attention to document S/2007/148, which contains the text of a letter dated 14 March 2007 from the Permanent Representative of South Africa to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General, transmitting a concept paper on the item under consideration. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa. This is not the first time that the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union (AU), in the maintenance of international peace and security has been discussed in the Security Council or the General Assembly. The reason is that we are seeing an increased reliance on regional organizations in resolving some of the conflicts currently facing us. South Africa believes that the time has come to look into ways of strengthening the relationship with regional organizations as foreseen in Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. Our hope is that during our tenure in the Security Council, we can contribute to better articulation and clarification of this important matter. At the most recent summit of the African Union, African heads of State or Government called upon the United Nations “to examine, within the context of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, the possibility of funding, through assessed contributions, peacekeeping operations undertaken by the African Union or under its authority and with the consent of the United Nations”. The decision of the African Union followed up on the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit (General Assembly resolution 60/1), which called for further strengthening of the partnership with regional organizations, in particular the African Union. Such engagement is informed by the benefits of the synergies that we have witnessed in those instances in which the United Nations has worked with regional organizations in diverse places such as Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kosovo and the Sudan, among others. In all those instances, the cooperation ranged from ad hoc arrangements to structured co-deployment in peacekeeping missions. That cooperation, however, does not absolve the Security Council of its Charter-mandated responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council remains the principal organ entrusted with primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. In that regard, we believe strongly that we should coordinate our collective security efforts under the United Nations. At the same time, we have witnessed regional organizations make contributions to the maintenance of international peace and security. The African Union has intervened in some situations where the United Nations was unable to intervene, as well as in situations where rapid interventions by the United Nations were necessary but not possible. In some cases the United Nations processes themselves take a long time to finalize at the time when security situations on the ground are deteriorating. Regional organizations can therefore help to address those practical shortfalls. Regional organizations bring advantages to the maintenance of international peace and security, including their proximity to, and an informed understanding about, specific conflict situations. They have greater flexibility to intervene, especially during initial stages, and can also be involved in mediation efforts when conflicts arise. Our experience in Burundi was that the African Union chose to intervene at a time when the United Nations, in the absence of a permanent ceasefire between the parties, could not deploy a peacekeeping mission. There have been other instances where the Council has given retrospective endorsement to the involvement of regional organizations. That has caused the Council to be perceived as not acting in a consistent manner; hence the need for us to further clarify the relationship with regional organizations. Furthermore, the African Union created the Peace and Security Council, whose agenda complements that of the United Nations Security Council. That has raised the question of how the decisions of the AU Peace and Security Council can relate to those of this Council. There have been occasions when this Council has responded to decisions of the Peace and Security Council. However, there have also been occasions when that has not been the case, thereby drawing attention to the need to strengthen the relationship between the two bodies. In the case of Burundi we saw how the work of the African Union complemented the decisions of the Security Council. We hope for a similar process in Somalia. It is up to the Security Council to transform the African Union Military Observer Mission in Somalia into a United Nations force in six months, as the African Union has requested. In the case of the situation in Darfur, both the Security Council and the African Union face complex challenges. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) has played a useful role in Darfur. Despite limited resources, AMIS has contributed to the protection of the civilian population and assisted humanitarian workers in their difficult task. Through the presence of AMIS in Darfur we have a better understanding of the challenges facing the international community. One thing is clear, however: the African Union cannot bear the burden of Darfur alone. It was for that reason that the African Union appealed to the United Nations to become involved in Darfur after 30 June 2007, when our troops are expected to leave the Sudan. We therefore hope that there will be speedy implementation of the AU-United Nations hybrid mission in the Sudan. There are also other challenges that make the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations more concrete and operational. There is a need for predictability, as agreed during the 2005 World Summit. The existing ad hoc arrangements are not sustainable and will always remain fragile. We need to articulate a clear form of burden-sharing between the United Nations and regional organizations. That has to be based on the understanding that the goals of the African Union and the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security are the same. However, we must understand that circumstances have changed and that we therefore need new solutions to address today’s realities. The rigid doctrines of the past relating to our support of peacekeeping missions can no longer hold. Regional organizations, and in particular the African Union, are partners in carrying out the mandate of the United Nations, especially that of the Security Council. That requires us to think anew in determining the forms of concrete assistance that can be provided to regional organizations to address the challenges we all face. We are therefore pleased that the Security Council has adopted a presidential statement that contains language enhancing the relationship with regional organizations, including the intention to explore ways to share the burden of maintaining international peace and security. My Government remains ready to work with all members of the Security Council in the coming months as we continue to seek ways to address this common challenge, thereby responding to the call of the Summit of the African Union. I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council. At this meeting the Security Council will hear briefings from Mr. Hédi Annabi, Assistant Secretary- General for Peacekeeping Operations, and Mr. Said Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. I now give the floor to Mr. Annabi. Mr. Annabi: It is a pleasure for me to participate, on behalf of the Secretariat, in this morning’s debate on a subject that is of crucial importance for the maintenance of international peace and security. Let me, at the outset, pay tribute to the delegation of South Africa, and in particular to Foreign Minister Dlamini Zuma, for convening this meeting and for providing a stimulating set of questions to facilitate our discussion. This is, as she has said, the fourth time in the past few years that the Security Council is meeting on the issue of relations between the United Nations and regional organizations. The frequency of our discussions underscores the importance of that relationship for collective security. That significance was recognized at the time of the establishment of the United Nations and is reflected in the framework for cooperation set out in Chapter VIII of the Charter. That Chapter provides clear and detailed guidance on the relationship between the Security Council and regional arrangements and remains a fundamental guide for the activities of the Secretariat in relation to regional organizations. The more complex the challenges of our globalized world, the more crucial partnership between our respective organizations has become for the pursuit of a security that is truly collective, effective and equitable for all men and women around the world. International peacekeeping is the most potent, practical demonstration of our commitment to collective security. Partnership in that area between the United Nations and regional organizations has become crucial for the success of our common endeavours. The partnership between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations is among the most intense of all peacekeeping partnerships. It is a partnership that stretches back many years — to the Organization of African Unity and its successor, the African Union — and has translated into cooperation at all phases of conflict management — prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding — on all corners of the African continent, from Western Sahara to the Comoros Islands and from the Horn of Africa to West Africa. The establishment of the African Union, and its commitment to develop African peacekeeping capabilities, has given a new dimension to our partnership. That has opened up new avenues as well as new challenges for our cooperation. The fact that over 75 per cent of all United Nations peacekeepers are today deployed in Africa makes our relationship essential, not just for the success of African regional endeavours, but for the United Nations and international peacekeeping around the world. Africa provides up to 40 per cent of those United Nations troops, and it participates in United Nations missions throughout the world. That contribution has been remarkable in its consistency. Over the past three years, we have forged ambitious new directions in the United Nations-AU partnership, which have been reflected in a range of documents — most recently the November 2006 declaration between the United Nations and the African Union. In support of the AU’s commitment to develop its continental security architecture and peacekeeping capabilities, the Secretariat recently established a dedicated capacity known as the African Peacekeeping Support Team. Significantly, the bulk of this capacity is located in Addis Ababa, focusing on direct support in priority areas identified by the African Union — military, police, logistics and finance, as well as information and communication systems. The goal of that cooperation is the operationalization of the African standby force by 2010. Following the many discussions we had with Chairperson Konaré and our friend Commissioner Djinnit, whom I would like warmly to welcome in the Chamber, the two organizations have developed a joint action plan for the provision of United Nations support as well as a detailed annual work plan that is focused on three areas: support for AU capacity development in planning peacekeeping missions, in mission management and in mission support, particularly in logistics and resource management. Alongside this work agenda, we continue to deepen cooperation in specific operational areas such as training and information exchange, both with the African Union and with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which has been a key subregional partner for United Nations peacekeeping. At the level of specific conflict situations, our cooperation has become particularly intensive. This morning I will confine my remarks to the United Nations-African Union partnership in two conflict areas, Darfur and Somalia. In the context of the Darfur crisis, the African Union and the United Nations have established since 2004 a collaborative and mutually reinforcing relationship that is redefining the scope and content of peacekeeping partnerships. The United Nations has provided strategic support to the African Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) through a special assistance cell established in Addis Ababa. That work has contributed directly to the development and enhancement of African Union plans for AMIS. The cell has facilitated the provision of practical assistance by the United Nations to AMIS operations in the field, including the deployment of technical experts to assist AMIS in the areas of planning, logistics, communications and transport. AMIS, for its part, has been instrumental in providing support for humanitarian convoys and the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Darfur, where, as the Council is aware, the security situation is often prohibitive. The United Nations has also provided considerable support to the African Union’s efforts to reach a political settlement of the conflict by providing substantive expertise and logistical support to the AU mediation and the participants in the talks held at Abuja last year. African Union-United Nations cooperation with regard to peacemaking in Darfur continues, with the joint efforts of Special Envoys Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, to re-energize the political process and achieve an effective cessation of hostilities. The AU and the United Nations have cooperated in developing the contents of substantial United Nations support packages for AU peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. That has culminated in joint planning conducted in Addis Ababa for an African Union-United Nations hybrid operation. Subject to the cooperation of the Government of the Sudan, the implementation of these initiatives would mark an unprecedented peacekeeping arrangement between the United Nations and a regional organization. It would also open the way to the provision by the United Nations of substantial financial support to AMIS on the basis of joint command, control and management structures. Turning to Somalia, as Council members are aware, the African Union began deployment of an operation known as the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) in early March, and so far 1,700 Uganda troops have arrived in Somalia. However, the security situation in the country, and particularly in Mogadishu, remains tense and volatile. We are working with the African Union in support of its efforts to obtain assistance to complete the full deployment of AMISOM. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations is also assisting the African Union in the planning of AMISOM. A team of 10 planners has been assembled and will be dispatched to Addis Ababa shortly. The team will work side by side with their AU colleagues to assist with the deployment of AMISOM and will coordinate closely with other United Nations staff currently supporting AU peacekeeping capacity development in Addis Ababa. In the meantime, a United Nations technical assessment mission to Somalia is returning this week and will report to the Security Council on its findings. We welcome the ceasefire agreement reached on 22 March, as we strongly believe that there can be no military solution to a conflict which has already inflicted untold suffering on the people of Somalia. We also welcome the decision of the Transitional Federal Government to hold a national reconciliation congress, which should be as inclusive as possible so as to create a meaningful political basis for a peacekeeping operation. It would be essential in that regard for the international community not to lose sight of the painful lessons learned in Somalia and elsewhere during the past decade. Over the past three years, African Union-United cooperation in peacekeeping has gone in new directions, in ways that few of us would ever have envisaged. Our practical cooperation in the planning and conduct of a range of peacekeeping operations takes place at all levels, in a variety of contexts and locations. Those multiple experiences and the innovations introduced provide rich sources for learning lessons that can further inform and deepen our cooperation in future. The range of parallel new initiatives that we have set in motion gives us confidence that African countries will be able in future to assume an even greater role in peacekeeping on their continent and beyond. I would like in that context to pay tribute to the African Union for the commitment and courage of its troops, police and civilian personnel, who often spearhead the action of the international community, as was the case recently in Burundi, for example, at a time when the United Nations was not ready to become involved. The United Nations-African Union partnership in peacekeeping demonstrates the indivisibility of international peacekeeping. We are guided by shared principles — the purposes and principles set out in the United Nations Charter. We are supported by the same international community which provides the political direction as well as the personnel, material and financial resources crucial to peacekeeping, and we are seized with many of the same conflicts, many of them in Africa, which challenge our commitment to collective security and rob the continent of Africa of so much of its promise. Peacekeeping partnerships cannot be seen in isolation from each other. Other partners, including regional and subregional actors, such as ECOWAS, the European Union, NATO and others, play a crucial role in supporting peacekeeping in Africa. The United Nations will continue to work with the African Union at its request in mobilizing international political, material and financial support. The Security Council, in accordance with its responsibilities under the Charter, has a vital role to play in facilitating partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations or arrangements that can contribute to achieving our common goals. The innovations of the United Nations-African Union partnership demonstrate the practical potential of such cooperation. We look forward to the Council’s consideration of how we can advance this realization.

I give the floor to Mr. Said Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union.

Madam President, allow me at the outset to convey to you the gratitude of President Alpha Oumar Konaré for having included the African Union Commission in this Council meeting on the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security. Allow me as well to express our appreciation for your initiative in diligently bringing to the Security Council the debate on a matter crucial for our continental organization, one which was also the subject of a decision of a recent African Union summit and which is particularly dear to our hearts within the Commission. The question of financing by the United Nations, through assessed contributions, of peacekeeping operations undertaken by the African Union or under its authority has been discussed regularly in recent years in view of the growing involvement of our organization in peacekeeping missions. The idea of involving our continental organization in peacekeeping operations, beyond the deployment of military observer missions that are short-termed and limited in scope, reappeared during our discussions on the Constitutive Act of the African Union. As the Council knows, articles 4 (h) and 4 (j) of the Constitutive Act granted the Union the right to intervene in member States. That power of the Union was stated in article 6 (d) of the protocol establishing the Peace and Security Council. During the deployment by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) — during the transition period towards the African Union (AU) — of the African mission in Burundi in 2003 and 2004, the major question of financing arose. All eyes, of course turned to the mother Organization and its Security Council, which has been entrusted with the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It is worth recalling here that the decision of the OAU/AU to deploy a peacekeeping mission to Burundi was taken with a view to, and while awaiting the deployment of, a peacekeeping operation by the United Nations. The European Union came to the aid of the OAU/AU, as did other, bilateral partners who provided logistical and financial support, thus facilitating the deployment of and the support for that mission for 13 months. Following that period, the AU mission was transferred to the United Nations, which in the meantime had considered that conditions had now been met for the deployment of a peacekeeping operation. But the commitment of European funding initially earmarked for development to finance peacekeeping operations raised ethical and moral problems. The problem arose more specifically when, wishing to build on the example of a partnership for peace in the case of Burundi, in order to give a new impetus and a long- term perspective to that partnership, the AU made a proposal to the EU that a facility be set up to support peacekeeping operations undertaken by the AU or under its authority, using European funding, including the resources earmarked for development. There was no final decision on that ethical debate, and it still haunts discussions on the renewal of the Facility, whose usefulness has certainly been proven. It is the position of the African Union that that Facility must not only be maintained, but also reinforced. Thus, the AU has put forth the idea of setting up a peace facility within the framework of the partnership with the G8++, thus giving effect to the commitments taken during the Kananaskis summit and reiterated at the summits of Evian and Gleneagles. However important and innovative those initiatives for financing peacekeeping operations through ad hoc arrangements are, they cannot replace the mechanisms found in the framework of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. In that context, and strengthened by our faith in the United Nations ideals of peace and solidarity and by our commitment to the primary role of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security and to the principle of the indivisibility of international peace and security, the Commission of the African Union took the opportunity of its meeting with the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, set up by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to formally propose that the United Nations consider the possibility of financing peacekeeping operations undertaken by the African Union or under its authority through assessed contributions. In submitting that proposal, the Commission was of the opinion that each time the African Union was called upon to become involved in a conflict situation in Africa, it would, in accordance with its founding principles, act on behalf of the international community and more particularly of the United Nations. The African Union should be able to move rapidly to contribute to the immediate stabilization of a given situation and to create conditions favourable to the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping or peacebuilding operation. That would be done through role sharing based on complementarity and solidarity. The Commission was encouraged to note that in its report, the High-level Panel recognized in chapter XVI, on regional organizations, the growing role of those organizations in restoring and maintaining peace and recommended that “The rules for the United Nations peacekeeping budget should be amended to give the United Nations the option on a case-by-case basis to finance regional operations authorized by the Security Council with assessed contributions.” (A/59/565, para. 272(f)) In his report to the General Assembly entitled, “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all” (A/59/2005), in particular in paragraphs 213 to 215, the Secretary-General endorsed that recommendation and proposed a 10-year plan for capacity-building with the African Union. The question of lasting and foreseeable financing for peacekeeping operations undertaken by the African Union became even more pressing at the time of the deployment of the AU mission in Darfur in the Sudan. More recently, the AU decision — spurred by the possibilities for peace and reconciliation in Somalia following recent events in that country — to deploy a peacekeeping operation has given a sharper aspect to that question. In taking that decision fraught with consequences, the AU was aware that its means are pathetic — that must be emphasized — but at the same time it was moved by its principle to not remain indifferent and by its staunch faith in international solidarity. Once again, eyes turned, naturally, to the United Nations and its Security Council, which has in fact authorized the deployment of the African Union Military Observer Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). That is the thrust of a decision taken at the recent African Union summit, which “Calls upon the United Nations to examine, within the context of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, the possibility of funding, through assessed contributions, peace-keeping operations undertaken by African Union or under its authority and with the consent of the United Nations.” (decision 145(VIII), para. 20) The question before you is fundamental, because it is at the heart of the essential relation between the Security Council and regional organizations, and it raises the problem of cooperation among the various levels of the global structure for security. Regional organizations such as the African Union and its subregional organizations are in a perfect position, having been given a mandate to intervene in conflicts — in conformity with the United Nations Charter. Increasingly they are called upon by crisis situations and cannot evade their responsibility. Africans expect that their institutions will accept their duty with regard to assistance and solidarity, at the very time when the United Nations is facing difficulties because of its growing needs in the area of peacekeeping operations. It is reasonable to think that regional organizations must give relief to the United Nations and assume their share of the burden within the legitimate framework of the Charter of the United Nations and its Chapter VIII, which should be made more specific and updated to bring it into line with new international realities and the aspirations of all the peoples of the world. In the light of the path followed by the African Union and African subregional organizations, and in view of the expectations of the people of Africa and their commitment to the United Nations ideals of peace and solidarity, the African Union Commission fervently hopes that the Security Council will favourably consider the request of the African Union Summit and decide to establish a follow-up mechanism to pursue this question. The Council will undoubtedly be inspired by the ongoing efforts of the United Nations aimed at supporting the African Union mission in Darfur, which should lead to a hybrid mission to be financed by the United Nations through mandatory contributions. Certainly, what is at stake is the credibility and the effectiveness of regional organizations, as well as the durability and solidity of their relations with the United Nations. Ultimately, it will also affect the credibility and authority of the Security Council as the guardian and the ultimate guarantor of international peace and security.

I thank Mr. Djinnit for his briefing. In accordance with the understanding reached among Council members, I wish to remind all speakers to limit their statements to no more than five minutes, in order to enable the Council to carry out its work expeditiously. Delegations with lengthy statements are kindly requested to circulate their texts in writing in the Chamber and to deliver a condensed version when speaking. On behalf of the Security Council, I now extend a warm welcome to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Congo, His Excellency Mr. Rodolphe Adada.

First of all, Madam President, I would like to thank you for having taken the initiative to organize this open debate on the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security, and to focus it on the African Union. This theme, which is of great importance to us, speaks to the new vision of an Africa that on a daily basis affirms its ambition to address with courage and determination the interdependent challenges of peace, security and development, in a region where the question of peace and security remains a major concern. Our debate today reflects, once again, the need increasingly felt by the United Nations and the international community to attach particular importance to the role that regional organizations can play in crisis management. It was in this spirit that the 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1) recognized the capacity of regional organizations to contribute to United Nations efforts in the maintenance of peace and security and called for greater involvement by them in the work of the Security Council. In that way, the Council recognizes that owing to their proximity to areas of conflict, those organizations can usefully and effectively contribute to stabilizing a situation. Depending on their geographical location, in Europe, South-East Asia or Africa, regional organizations are engaged in different ways in maintaining peace, and their involvement should be a focus of our attention. Africa continues to experiment and improve the tools and the channels for conflict prevention, management and settlement on the continent. Thus, to take up these challenges, eminent African leaders have often engaged in efforts at mediation, conciliation and good offices, all in the interest of preventive diplomacy. Thus, it is not surprising that African leaders have used either the good offices of the President of the African Union or mediation conducted by a designated individual. This also requires intensified cooperation with the international community. Mindful of that requirement, the African Union has chosen to harmonize its action with that of the United Nations, within a beneficial partnership that has enabled us together to manage quite a few African crises. That is the thrust of the appeal made by African leaders during the most recent African Union Summit, held in Addis Ababa, for close cooperation, within the framework of Chapter VIII of the Charter, between the United Nations and African Union, in order to strengthen and improve peacekeeping operations deployed by the African Union. Similarly, during its 69th meeting, held on 19 January 2007, the African Union Peace and Security Council emphasized, among other things, the essential role that must be played by the countries in the region, whose efforts seek to promote sustainable peace and reconciliation. The co-management of the situations in Darfur, Côte d’Ivoire and Somalia is a major development in the Council’s approach to the settlement of conflicts that threaten international peace and security. Of great significance, and symbolic of this trend, the sending of joint missions and the development of a hybrid operation plan for Darfur represent a partnership formula that we very much hope to see implemented. In order to consolidate gains and to maintain more reassuring prospects, we must continue tirelessly to promote this new pragmatic approach, which is consistent with the spirit and the letter of Chapter VIII of the Charter, but which up to now has had only limited impact in the practice of the Security Council. The African Union, through subregional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States and the Southern African Development Community, has shown an active commitment to the prevention and resolution of conflicts. This type of effort, to be effective and to produce lasting results, must be sustained. First of all, we need to make greater use of institutional and legal mechanisms established to promote a partnership based on complementarity and on comparative advantage. Here, I would refer to the memorandum of understanding between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, the signing of which in Addis Ababa on 16 November 2006 has made it possible to lay the foundation for expedited formalization of cooperation mechanisms between the two bodies. The two organizations now have a framework for dynamic and useful cooperation for the joint management of crisis situations. I would also like to mention the Ten-Year Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union, the development of which is proof of the commitment of heads of State or Government at the 2005 World Summit to take into consideration the specific capacity-building needs of Africa in the area of peacekeeping. In the spirit of the letter dated 10 December 2005 from the Chairperson of the African Union Commission addressed to the Secretary-General regarding the priorities of the African Union in the context of a new partnership with the United Nations, implementation of that Programme must be strengthened, especially in essential areas such as the planning and management of operations, the training of civilian, military and police personnel, logistical support and financial assistance. That should be done in order to take account of the constraints on the action of a regional organization that is engaged in a bold policy of crisis management but with limited means. Then, based on the June 2006 report of the Secretary-General, published as document A/60/891, and the recommendations of resolution 1625 (2005) of 14 September 2005, we need more coherence in our common action, by implementing a comprehensive conflict prevention strategy. That is the purpose of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, currently chaired by the Congo. This work is being carried out in the spirit of the 2005 World Summit Outcome. Indeed, much remains to be done in the area of prevention. The action of the Security Council has too often been to intervene once conflict has already broken out, although it is generally recognized that the cost of prevention is far less than the cost of repeated peacekeeping operations. Finally, I would like to emphasize the need to establish an institutional relationship between the United Nations Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. In this respect, the mission to Addis Ababa undertaken last year by the Security Council is an encouraging sign, should be followed by others and should give rise to a regular cooperation framework. To conclude, I would like to stress the advantages to be derived from cooperation between the United Nations and the regional organizations for the maintenance of peace and security in order to ensure greater complementarity, coherence and effectiveness in a partnership we consider indispensable. My delegation lends its full support to the draft presidential statement presented by South Africa. Nana Effah-Apenteng (Ghana): Madam President, it is my pleasure to welcome you and to commend your delegation for organizing this debate during this historic occasion of South Africa’s presidency of the Security Council. Ghana remains deeply committed to President Thabo Mbeki’s vision of an African renaissance that would enable our continent to assume its rightful place of honour and dignity in the twenty-first century. This is the context in which my delegation wishes to situate its contribution to this morning’s debate, which, inevitably, raises a number of cross-cutting issues already reflected in the Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit, including the 10-year plan for capacity-building and peacekeeping in relation to the African Union (AU). It is our view that, beyond the requirements of a strong African peacekeeping capability necessary for containing immediate dangers, we cannot afford to resign ourselves to a mindset that accepts perpetual conflict as the natural course of events in our continent. Our cherished vision of an African renaissance is, indeed, inseparable from the Millennium Development Goals that represent the international consensus on the pre-conditions for achieving lasting peace and security, especially in the most volatile parts of the world. Therefore, much as we attach great importance to capacity-building in peacekeeping, we consider the far less costly strategy of conflict prevention to be the path to the empowerment of African States so that we can become the true masters of our destiny. In the endeavour to realize a new era of peace and stability in Africa, the United Nations is an indispensable ally. Indeed, even if Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter had not explicitly prescribed a role for regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security, the imperatives of our history and the current situation on our continent would still have dictated the need for a close and symbiotic relationship between the United Nations and the AU. That is evident from the substantial investments that the world body continues to make in the peace and developmental process in Africa. The adoption of Burundi and Sierra Leone by the Peacebuilding Commission is an example of the sort of sustained engagement expected of the United Nations in our region. Therefore, it is of vital importance that we do our utmost to build a strong partnership between the AU and the United Nations, so that the two organizations can complement each other’s efforts in a manner that reflects their need for each other in the management of conflicts in Africa. Already, some of the institutional structures of the AU, including the Peace and Security Council, are substantially modelled on the United Nations, which should facilitate increased cooperation and coordination between them. The grave instability and dire humanitarian situation in various parts of our continent sometimes lead us to question whether the vision of an African renaissance, so well articulated in the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and in the Constitutive Act of the African Union, has been wholeheartedly embraced by our Governments and peoples. Two thirds of all United Nations peacekeeping forces are still deployed in Africa. The intolerable deprivations suffered by our people have, in several respects, become a major preoccupation of various United Nations specialized agencies. In these circumstances, we are duty-bound to speak out forcefully in defence of those principles and values that will help us realize our shared vision. In the same breath, we must denounce any tendencies that would diminish the prospects for achieving a new era of peace and stability in Africa. In this connection, we welcome the admirable efforts being made by the African Union and various subregional bodies, such as the Southern African Economic Community, the Economic Community of West African States, the Intergovernmental Authority of Development and their counterparts to strengthen their peacemaking capability, with the support of the United Nations and other international actors. It must be emphasized, nonetheless, that the effectiveness of the AU as a partner in peacemaking does not depend solely on its ability to mobilize adequate financial and logistical support. It also has much to do with the extent to which the AU can transcend any negative constraints on its capabilities resulting from its internal political dynamics. Furthermore, it is essential for the AU to pay close attention to the implications of the integrated approach to United Nations peace operations that is emerging as the preferred model. It has been demonstrated time and again that the international community is most effective when it unites behind a common diplomatic endeavour and backs it with the necessary political will to enforce its decisions. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world; the interests of nations frequently clash and rarely converge, thereby preventing timely and decisive action, even in the face of unspeakable atrocities and acute human suffering affecting millions of people. Consequently, while my delegation fully supports the politically expedient principle of African leadership in peacekeeping on the continent, we wish to caution against stretching that idea too far lest it become another paralysing dogma. Even if co-deployment between the United Nations and regional bodies represents the most viable alternative to traditional peacekeeping, what should be the overriding objective in such situations is the interest of the innocent civilian victims of conflict, especially women and children, who deserve adequate protection from the international community. On the other hand, let me hasten to add that decision-making within the United Nations itself has occasionally been held hostage by vested interests that are not necessarily limited to the most powerful Members. Certainly, the internal dynamics of both organizations have impacted on their relationship with each other, and not always positively. These factors need to be carefully considered, if realism is to prevail in the partnership between the United Nations and the AU. Ghana is proud to be among the countries that have so far signed on to the African Peer Review Mechanism, and in 2005 we submitted ourselves before a panel for a critical review of our internal situation. We believe that it is only through recognizing our individual national failings and taking the necessary steps to correct them that Africa will emerge stronger and more resilient. We hope the United Nations will take an active interest in and support the African Peer Review Mechanism so that it can make a strong contribution to peace and security in Africa. To conclude, there is need for a more systematic and sustained follow-up to the strategic shift that has occurred in contemporary thinking about peace and security. African States have long recognized that substantial progress in the areas of good governance, democracy, security sector reform, rule of law, economic reform and social justice, among other areas, is a prerequisite for durable peace and stability. If the AU is to fulfil its Chapter VIII responsibility as a pillar of the global security architecture, then it must be encouraged and supported to pursue a strategy of pre- emption that addresses the underlying causes of conflict and instability in our region in a holistic manner. Short of that, the African renaissance is unlikely to materialize this century. In closing, we fully support the draft Presidential statement that the South African delegation has kindly prepared.

On behalf of the members of the Security Council, I extend a warm welcome to the Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency Mr. Imron Cotan.

Madam President, at the outset, on behalf of my delegation, I would like to express our appreciation to you for organizing this debate on the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union (AU), in the maintenance of international peace and security. Coming so soon after the recent African Union summit meeting in Addis Ababa, this thematic debate, under the auspices of the delegation of a key member of the African Union, is a pertinent opportunity for us to re-examine this important subject. Present-day relations among nations feature four important processes that affect, in one way or another, the internal and external dynamics of every nation. The first is multilateralism. The United Nations is central to contemporary multilateralism; since its inception, it has been working steadily and in a concerted manner to maintain international peace and security and to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character. The second process is regionalism, which has been steadily proliferating, emerging as a force that reinvigorates the world’s dynamics. In Europe, the European Union integrates Europeans into a deep sense of “we-ness”. The transformation of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union marked a new departure towards a more integrated Africa. In our region, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is moving from a mere association towards a community with a deep sense of interdependence and unity. The ASEAN community ideal is developed on the basis of benchmarks embedded within its three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio- cultural Community. Thirdly, there have been tremendous efforts recently to optimize mutual benefits through interregional partnerships. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, has facilitated cooperation between Asian nations and the Americas. We have the Asia-Europe Meeting — a bridge between Asians and Europeans. Between Asia and Africa, the long- established bridge of cooperation between the two continents has also been reinvigorated by the launch of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership through an initiative co-sponsored by Indonesia and South Africa — your beloved country, Madam President. Lastly, we are also currently becoming aware of the growing urgency of collaboration within the framework of multilateralism: regionalism. This manifests itself in particular in the relationship between the United Nations and various regional arrangements, a subject on which my delegation would like to dwell further. The drafters of the Charter were visionary about the regionalism that was yet to come and the importance of its relationship with the United Nations when they included Chapter VIII in the Charter. In our view, that Chapter reflects the sense of the authors’ pragmatism concerning situations in which the United Nations would not always be able to achieve its objectives alone. As also stipulated in the Charter, regional organizations are encouraged to develop and play their role in the maintenance of international peace and security. Today, their vision is relevant, and its realization is visible. The contributions of regional organizations to the maintenance of peace and security and the promotion of economic and socio-political progress both within and outside their milieu are increasing. The EU’s assumption of responsibility in the stabilization efforts in Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina has enabled the United Nations to use more of its resources to address threats to international peace and security in other regions. The African Union and some subregional arrangements have begun to play a similar role in response to various security challenges in the African continent. The EU has broadened its reach beyond Europe. It collaborated with ASEAN in deploying a monitoring mission in Aceh, Indonesia. That has become the first model for interregional cooperation in the South-East Asian region. There are three scenarios as to how the United Nations and regional organizations may be able to nurture their relationship with regard to conflict resolution. First, both entities may develop a joint mission deployed in different parts of the globe. Such a concerted venture requires complementarity of resources. Secondly, the United Nations could resume a mission previously under the auspices of a regional organization. That is what has been under discussion in the case of Somalia. Thirdly, regional organizations can take responsibility for the continuation of a United Nations-initiated peace mission. A good example of that scenario is the takeover of the United Nations International Police Task Force by the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Another scenario could be a subcontracting arrangement, by which the United Nations tasks a regional organization to do all or part of its work. That option is particularly relevant when the use of a regional organization to address threats to peace is considered more effective than direct involvement by the United Nations. Cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations will be viable when it develops on the basis of equal partnership. Nevertheless, my delegation believes that regional arrangements should not, in any way or shape, substitute for the United Nations role in the maintenance of peace and security. It is the primary responsibility of the United Nations, as stipulated in its Charter, to maintain international peace and security. The United Nations must remain the centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of peace and security, as you, Madam President, rightly stated during your opening remarks. In order to ensure close collaboration between the United Nations and regional organizations, it is important to ensure not only that there is a legal foundation for such cooperation — such as memorandums of understanding — but also that pertinent, mutually reinforcing structures exist within the two entities to maintain contacts. As regards cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, my delegation is gratified that extensive work has already been done in this area. At the 2005 World Summit, Member States recognized the special needs of Africa and agreed to the development of a 10-year plan for capacity- building with the African Union. We are encouraged by the fact that, in November of last year, the Secretary- General of the United Nations and the Chairperson of the African Union signed a declaration entitled “Enhancing United Nations-African Union Cooperation: Framework for the Ten-Year Capacity- Building Programme for the African Union”. My delegation would also like to express its pleasure at the joint African Union/United Nations action plan for United Nations assistance for African Union peacekeeping capacity-building. We welcome the discussions between the African Union Peace Support Operations Division and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), which were held twice last year to identify specific areas in which the United Nations could respond to the capacity-building requirements of operationalizing the African Standby Force, for which a planned date of 2010 has been set. We believe that both of those discussions were of paramount importance in ensuring effective joint responses to security challenges in the continent, as well as in clarifying lingering issues as to how best cooperation can be organized and effected in both general and specific areas. Cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations — particularly between the United Nations and the African Union — is a significant multilateral engagement that we must all continue to encourage and contribute to. We believe that regional organizations could play a bigger role in contributing to the maintenance of international peace and security in the pursuit of more acceptable and comprehensive solutions to conflicts in various regions. Indonesia wishes to reaffirm its support for the enhancement of cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations, particularly the African Union, in whose region most of the conflicts have occurred. We are hopeful that that partnership can develop viable joint actions, not only to put an end to armed conflicts, which undermine the continent’s peace, prosperity and security, but also to promote the sustainable development of its States.

At the outset, Madam Minister, I should like to express our great pleasure at seeing you presiding over the Security Council and to congratulate you on the outstanding manner in which your delegation, under the leadership of Ambassador Kumalo and his team, has conducted the work of the Security Council since the beginning of this month. I should also like to express our appreciation to your friendly country, South Africa, for its particular interest in the issue of cooperation between the Security Council and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security. I thank you for convening this open thematic debate and for submitting the valuable concept paper (S/2007/148, annex) in that regard. While the Charter of the United Nations entrusts to the Security Council the primary role in the maintenance of international peace and security, its authors realized that cooperation between the Organization and regional arrangements or agencies is the linchpin of collective efforts to safeguard international peace and security. That is why they devoted the whole of Chapter VIII to such important cooperation. Since then, international developments, new forms of conflict and threats to international and regional peace and security have made it imperative to develop, update and expand such cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations on the basis of their comparative advantages, their complementarity and the experiences that they have acquired. It should be noted that Chapter VIII of the Charter still provides a generally accepted framework for the nature of the relationship between the United Nations — in particular the Security Council — and regional organizations. The leading role that can be played by regional and subregional organizations in peacebuilding has special significance, since such organizations are in a better position to understand the root causes of the conflicts in their regions and to assess the best means for addressing and settling them. Over the past few years, regional organizations have become increasingly aware of the regional aspects of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. In addition, the actual role played by regional organizations, particularly the African Union, has increased in those areas and others, including disarmament, preventing the proliferation of weapons, protecting civilians and even dealing with natural disasters. Some regional organizations have established their own peacekeeping mechanisms to supplement the role of the Security Council and the United Nations in that regard. Here, the African Union Peace and Security Council comes readily to mind. In parallel, there has been a growing recognition in the United Nations system of the regional aspects of maintaining international peace and security, the role of regional organizations in that regard and the prospects for developing that role. That is clearly reflected in a number of Security Council resolutions and presidential statements, particularly resolution 1631 (2005) and presidential statement S/PRST/2006/39. Moreover, the 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1) underscored the importance of a stronger relationship between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, pursuant to Chapter VIII of the Charter. Moreover, in many of his reports on this item, the Secretary-General has offered detailed ideas regarding the multifaceted cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations and the means to develop such cooperation. This issue is not confined to its theoretical aspects. The experience gained in peacemaking, in a number of situations, in partnership between the United Nations and the African Union (AU) reveals the great possibilities of such cooperation — particularly cooperation between the United Nations and a regional organization — and the great benefits that it can yield. In that regard, we wish to indicate that the experience gained from the cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in Africa is not particular to that region; rather, it is an asset that can be used by the United Nations in similar situations in the future. It is imperative that we continue to consider possible forms of partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations, including providing support and resources to regional and subregional organizations, enhancing their resource base and building their capacities, as well as holding regular meetings between the Organization and regional and subregional organizations on the maintenance of international peace and security, with a view to developing means for cooperation and partnership. Cooperation between the Security Council and regional organizations should not be limited to military aspects and peacekeeping, but should include the other aspects of peacebuilding and conflict prevention. These issues must also be considered from a holistic, long- term and non-selective perspective. That would enhance the effectiveness of conflict prevention and resolution efforts, promote respect for international law and contribute to the attainment of the common objectives of safeguarding national, regional and international peace and security. In conclusion, I should like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the delegation of South Africa for its strenuous efforts in preparing the draft presidential statement. We look forward to its adoption at the conclusion of this meeting.

We are pleased to see you, Madam Minister, presiding over this important meeting. We commend the initiative of the South African presidency to organize a thematic debate on the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security. In that respect, we are pleased to note that the cooperation and interaction between the African Union and the United Nations has recently intensified. It has become a crucial element in addressing many security threats and challenges on the African continent. We welcome this opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen and cultivate that important partnership for the benefit of regional and global security and stability. Slovakia fully aligns itself with the statement to be made later today by the representative of Germany on behalf of the European Union. However, I wish to make some additional comments on this matter, about which we feel strongly. Slovakia, as a member of several regional and subregional organizations and groups, has always been a strong advocate and promoter of regional cooperation and ownership. Any global model or strategy needs to be implemented locally and must also reflect the specificities of a concrete case. In that respect, close cooperation with regional organizations becomes instrumental and often indispensable as a result of several factors, including the comparative advantages of regional organizations. First, they have the ability to review and share lessons learned relevant to particular circumstances and to understand local and regional specificities. Secondly, the influence and trust that they enjoy on the ground is often much stronger than that of global institutions. Thirdly, they can embed national efforts in a regional context. I would not hesitate to say that the cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in the area of the maintenance of international peace and security is one of the most productive and successful endeavours of recent years. Several conflict situations in African countries were contained, and tensions reduced, thanks to the African Union’s involvement, mediation and cooperation with the United Nations. At the same time, we believe that that partnership has not yet reached its full potential. It should be further cultivated and developed. We fully agree that yet more attention, expertise and resources need to be given to assisting Africa to build its own capacities and to improve existing efforts in the areas of peace, security and prosperity. That investment of the international community will pay off. As the situation of still too many African countries in conflict demonstrates, there is an urgent need for expanded and improved African Union capacities, capabilities and mechanisms to deal with crisis situations such as those in Darfur and Somalia. In that regard, we regret that, despite intensified joint efforts by the African Union and the United Nations, there is a lack of significant progress in implementing agreements reached in Addis Ababa and Abuja last year. We have not thus far been able to deploy an effective peacekeeping force that would ensure effective protection of civilians. We therefore urge President Al-Bashir to extend Sudan’s full cooperation to the United Nations and the African Union in our joint efforts to bring lasting peace and genuine stability to the whole of Sudan. Slovakia is also gravely concerned about the current security and humanitarian situation in Somalia. We fully support the current efforts of the African Union, and we agree that the international community and the United Nations must provide all the necessary support to promote peace, stability and reconciliation in Somalia. In that regard, we commend the countries that are providing troops and logistical and financial support to the AU Mission in Somalia. The global partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations, including the African Union, should also be cultivated in the areas of global peace and security. There are a number of areas where regional organizations can significantly contribute to the success of national and international efforts. Let me mention just several areas that have been of particular importance to Slovakia during our membership of the Council, and where we wish to see stronger engagement by regional and subregional organizations. First, we believe that regional organizations, including the African Union, should play a larger role in mobilizing the efforts and attention of their members to address common regional and global security threats and challenges — including the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, terrorism and illegal activities by non-State actors in the area of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We believe that it is only through regional cooperation and interaction that those threats can be addressed efficiently and effectively. All regional organizations should contribute to combating those threats, as there is no safe haven from, or region immune to, them. At the same time, regional and subregional organizations in Africa should be assisted and fully supported in their endeavours to address challenges and problems in building prevention and protection systems against the threats that I have mentioned, which are connected with a lack of human and administrative capacities and financial resources. In that respect, we call for greater cooperation and interaction with regional and specialized international organizations and donor countries in the implementation of resolutions 1540 (2004) and 1673 (2006). We would also like to underscore the importance of direct cooperation and experience- sharing between regional organizations in different regions of the world as regards best practices in dealing with global security threats and challenges. Secondly, regional cooperation and support is also essential in the field of security sector reform, where local ownership is a sine qua non for its success and sustainability. Regional organizations have assumed increasingly important responsibilities in shaping the security sector reform agenda. They have played a central role in designing and delivering programmes for reform in several countries, and a number of them have developed, or are in the process of developing, policy frameworks and implementation strategies to guide their various activities in this area. The contribution that regional and subregional organizations can make in support of nationally led security sector reform programmes was acknowledged in the presidential statement of 20 February 2007. We believe that the African Union can play a major role in that field. We therefore look forward to co-organizing a workshop on security sector reform with our South African colleagues, which will be held later this year in Pretoria. Thirdly, we would like to commend some positive examples in the area of confidence building, where the African Union, together with its subregional partners — including the Economic Community of West African States, the Southern African Development Community and others — has proven to be increasingly effective. Just recently, we witnessed strong African leadership in promoting dialogue between the major stakeholders in the Ivorian conflict. That led eventually to the signing of the Ouagadougou agreement, which we hope will contribute to the implementation of resolution 1721 (2006) and to finally solving that long conflict. The cooperation of African leaders with the United Nations Office for West Africa in mediating the Guinean crisis and helping to avert a major conflict was another success story. Similarly successful was the cooperation between the African Union and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region in supporting and promoting the Great Lakes Conference process, which led eventually to the adoption of the Pact on Stability, Security and Development in the Great Lakes Region. In our view, if it is ratified and implemented expeditiously, the Pact can become the cornerstone of peace consolidation in that subregion, whose stability is crucial for the stability of the whole of Africa. We think that the unique potential and capabilities of the African Union in regional confidence-building and preventive diplomacy should be further, and more efficiently, utilized to establish lasting peace and security on the entire African continent.

Your presence here, Madam President, underscores the importance of this debate. We would like to thank you for your initiative to be here today to preside over the Security Council. We also welcome the presence of Mr. Adada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo, as well as that of Commissioner Djinnit. Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations provides a special framework for the development of relations between the United Nations and regional organizations. Fortunately, in recent years we have made progress in that direction — as called for by the Charter — thanks to the African Union (AU), which has played a leading role, and thanks also to the European Union (EU). The Security Council and the international community have largely benefited from the noteworthy efforts made by the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CAEMC). That is true both in terms of managing crises in Africa and as regards the deployment of peacekeeping forces on the continent. Whether in Burundi, Darfur, Côte d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic, Liberia or Somalia, the African Union and the subregional organizations have done a fine job of charting the course in that regard. And your country, Madam President, has made an important contribution to several of those efforts. We must now expand that cooperation, and we take note of what Mr. Djinnit said this morning in that regard. Likewise, it is also desirable that the United Nations develop similar cooperation with other regional organizations. Generally speaking, as several speakers have already mentioned, the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations must be based on complementarity and on respect for the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security, as enshrined in the Charter. France and its European Union partners — and here I wish to associate myself with the statement to be made by later by the representative of Germany — are increasingly involved in the maintenance of peace, both by supporting the United Nations and by working to build the capacities of regional organizations. In the framework of its cooperation with the United Nations, the European Union has deployed two operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — Operation Artemis and the EU-led force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is important to learn lessons from those operations in order to devise new methods that will enable us to enhance interactions between the United Nations, regional and subregional organizations, and the EU. Such cooperation is also very important with respect to Darfur. I would add that building African capacity to prevent, manage and settle conflicts is a priority for us. That would enable African regional and subregional organizations better to meet some of the objectives that they have set for themselves. The Department of Peacekeeping Operations can make a contribution in that respect given its expertise in the area, which makes it a key player in that respect. We were interested to hear what was said this morning by Mr. Annabi on the subject of developing a partnership between the United Nations and the African Union. The EU, for its part, is fully committed to building Africa’s capacity in the area of peacekeeping, and in that respect is working on the basis of the efforts already made bilaterally by several Member States, such as the 10-year capacity-building programme for the African Union (RECAMP), initiated by France and taken up at the European level. The RECAMP 6 cycle, for the period 2007-2009, will thus represent a synthesis of the joint strategy of the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union with respect to security in Africa. We welcome the President’s proposal to request a report from the Secretary-General on means of strengthening the support of the United Nations for the capacities of regional organizations, in particular those of the African Union. We are also pleased to see that the report allows us to consider, within the existing legal framework, the possibility of deepening the dialogue between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. Finally, I should like to thank South Africa for the draft presidential statement that it prepared and which we fully support.

Madam President, at the outset I wish to join others who have preceded me in taking the floor to congratulate you on having convened this debate, which is very timely given the present context of the Security Council’s work. I should also like to welcome your presence here with us. In considering the item before the Council today, we should bear in mind that the international community has entrusted the United Nations with responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Within this Organization, this task is shared by the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. The General Assembly may, within certain limitations relating to the Council’s responsibilities, consider and make recommendations on the general principles governing cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, and may also discuss any issue related to the maintenance of international peace and security that is brought before it for consideration by any Member of the United Nations. The drafters of the Charter of the United Nations also foresaw the importance of regional organizations in the settlement of conflicts, as such organizations are often in the best position to find and promote innovative and lasting solutions to conflicts. Article 52 of the Charter states that Members of the United Nations “shall make every effort to achieve pacific settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies before referring them to the Security Council.” In fact, with the passage of time, regional institutions have, out of necessity, played a key role in world politics. In the current context of globalization, all political, economic and social phenomena can have a regional component and impact. The United Nations has developed a series of approaches to this issue that include cooperation agreements with regional organizations. The Security Council in particular has worked jointly with regional organizations in the maintenance of peace. It has reaffirmed the importance of such joint efforts in a number of resolutions, including resolution 1625 (2005). Cooperation between regional organizations and the United Nations involves a recognition of their complementarity and of the comparative advantages of each. Regional organizations can often be more effective than the United Nations in responding to threats on the ground given that they have a better understanding of the specificities of such threats to regional peace and security. However, the operational scope of regional organizations is restricted by a lack of logistical and financial resources which limits its activities over the long term. Among regional organizations, the African Union in particular has taken major steps towards playing a greater role in the context of regional peace and security. The United Nations and the Security Council in particular must provide support and cooperation with respect to such efforts. Cooperation with the African Union must also be based on recognition of not only its capabilities but also of its responsibilities, and account must be taken of the need to develop its capacity to discharge such responsibilities. Of course, that principle applies to other regional organizations as well. The United Nations must continue to support improvements in the capacity of the African Union to prevent and resolve conflicts and to maintain regional peace and security. That must involve training military and civilian personnel, including the police component, in order to facilitate the transformation of multilateral missions into regional missions. In addition, the United Nations must promote the logistical capacity of institutions entrusted with the various aspects of peacekeeping operations. We consider it particularly important to explore new financing schemes for joint operations that would make it possible for African States to defray a larger part of the costs. It is also important for the United Nations to continue to support African Union initiatives to promote national dialogue and reconciliation, at the initiative of the parties in conflict. As we have said, regional organizations have a comparative advantage in this area. Moreover, those comparative advantages mean that the transfer of knowledge can and must go both ways. The Council periodically invites regional agencies to advise it or to submit reports. That is an important contribution to resolving international disputes. At the operational level, those organizations — as the Organization of American States has done in some cases, for example — provide logistical support and even carry out joint operations and co-deploy forces in areas of conflict. It is essential to keep channels of communication between the United Nations and regional agencies open in order to maintain and enrich dialogue. Better cooperation and coordination between those agencies, the United Nations and the Security Council will in future affect the ability of the international community to comply with the call of Chapter VIII of the Charter — that we first resort to regional agencies before putting various crises on the agenda of the Security Council.

I first wish to thank you, Madam Minister, for having taken the initiative to organize this public debate on the relationship between the Security Council and regional organizations, particularly, today, with the African Union. I also welcome the presence here with us of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo, Mr. Rodolphe Adada. Cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, as well as with subregional organizations in Africa, has increased considerably in recent years. Belgium welcomes this development. The same is true for cooperation between the United Nations and the European Union. How to better determine the respective roles to be played by regional and subregional organizations and the Security Council in the management of crises remains an important challenge. In practice and on the ground, the same questions arise again and again. Who should take the initiative: the United Nations or the regional organization concerned? How do we incorporate the regional dynamic in the United Nations management of a crisis, and conversely, how do we take account of the United Nations dynamic in regional action? The management of the crisis in Darfur demonstrates the complexity of this exercise. Belgium trusts that today’s discussion will help in the formulation of an answer to those questions, with particular emphasis on the specific role of the Security Council as a driving force. I would also underscore that for Belgium, this exercise will also help clarify the framework for the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), especially with regard to the support that the EU can usefully provide to AU peacekeeping operations, in particular through the Peace Facility. Here I refer to the statement to be made shortly by my German colleague in Germany’s capacity in the presidency of the European Union. Cooperation, coordination and capacities are the key concepts determining the success of joint action between the Council and regional and subregional organizations. In resolution 1631 (2005), the Security Council underscored the importance of closer cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in all phases of managing a crisis. To that end, regional and subregional organizations must be able to play their roles effectively. It is in this context that the question arises of reinforcing their capacities, especially military. Clearly, better coherence between the action of the regional organization and the action of potential financial donors and contributors will reinforce the opportunities for joint action that Chapter VIII of the Charter offers us. Regarding the coordination of joint efforts, it is clear that the United Nations must not hold the monopoly. Regional organizations have an important and sometimes even the primordial role to play. The question then is to determine what paths can be explored in order to better coordinate our joint efforts. Increased participation by regional and subregional organizations in the work of the Security Council, through their participation on a case-by-case basis in Council meetings, is certainly one element to consider. Prior consultation on the Council’s output — such as resolutions, presidential statements and others — can also contribute to better coordination of efforts of all. But, as others around this table have said this morning, we must consider better coordination between the work of our Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. However, any action by regional and subregional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security must, in accordance with the Charter, have the prior authorization of the Security Council. It is therefore essential that decisions of regional organizations not prejudge any action by the Security Council. Coordination, cooperation and capacities are certainly the three parameters of our discussion today. Must these parameters be confined to rigid and predetermined scenarios? We do not think so. Belgium believes that a pragmatic approach that focuses on practice rather than on doctrine and that takes particular account of lessons learned from ongoing operations can be used as a framework for continuing to reinforce and refine the relationship between the Council and regional organizations.

Let me first express my warmest welcome and heartfelt thanks to you, Madam Minister, for convening this meeting, which gives us a precious opportunity to focus on a very crucial issue. We welcome the South African initiative, and we hope it will be a first step towards a constructive discussion on how best to exploit the potential of Chapter VIII of the Charter. Let me also welcome the presence here today of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo, Mr. Rodolphe Adada, and of the Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Mr. Cotan. Italy aligns itself with the statement that will be made later by the representative of Germany on behalf of the European Union, but I wish to add some remarks in my national capacity. In this debate, which aims above all to explore relations between the United Nations and the African Union, I wish to recall the remarks made on 29 January by the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Romano Prodi, at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. On that occasion, he recalled the words of one of the fathers of Africa, Léopold Senghor. Senghor used to say that anyone who wishes to work with Africa disinterestedly must approach it with humility, knowing that while one may have much to give, one may have even more to receive, to listen to and to learn. Senghor’s sentence captures perfectly the sentiments underlying today’s debate. The United Nations certainly has a lot to offer the African Union, especially in terms of technical assistance, capacity-building and lessons learned in more than 50 years of peacekeeping and peacebuilding around the world, and possibly also in financial terms. But we in the United Nations also have a lot to learn from the African Union. I am referring in particular to the impressive progress made by the African Union in managing and settling African conflicts as well as to the way in which the Union’s Peace and Security Council is structured and conducts its work. Cooperation between our respective organizations is therefore mutually enriching and beneficial and certainly must not be a one-way process. So far, the interaction between the United Nations and the African Union has mainly been need-driven and has been developed on a case-by-case basis. Italy welcomes recent steps towards a more strategic and systemic approach, such as resolution 1625 (2005), resolution 1631 (2005), the Ten-Year Capacity-building Programme and last year’s statement by the President of the Security Council (S/PRST/2006/39). We also look forward to further steps that might stem from this debate, and in particular from the presidential statement that will be adopted later. Here, I wish to stress a few points. First, the main responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security in Africa, as elsewhere, rests firmly in the hands of the Security Council of the United Nations. That basic principle has twofold implications: on the one hand, organizations with mandates from the Security Council have the responsibility to keep the Council fully abreast of their activities in accordance with Article 54 of the Charter and to act within the guidelines provided by the specific mandate. On the other hand, delegating does not mean disengaging, and the Security Council should continue to provide support and guidance to regional actors in the implementation of its mandate. Secondly, we should explore the possibility of drawing up guidelines flexible enough to apply to various forms of collaboration. No one formula or solution is right for every crisis that might arise. But this does not mean forgetting the importance of homogeneous standards and respect for certain basic shared principles. The adoption of some predetermined criteria would enable the Security Council to avoid the perception of any possible double standards. The third point is the importance of the cooperation and assistance that the African Union might get from other regional organizations. The European Union, for instance, will continue to do its part, as recalled most recently in the conclusions of the Ministerial Council meeting held earlier in this month. I am sure that the representative of Germany will have the opportunity to elaborate further on this. Finally, in our view, strengthening the capacity of the Commission of the African Union and the executive branches of subregional African organizations is paramount for the success of any strategy aiming at ensuring increased regional ownership of peace and security in Africa. Italy welcomes the important efforts of the United Nations Secretariat, particularly the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, in this regard and will continue to actively support them, notably in the areas of training and capacity-building. Structured reflection on these matters could be continued also in existing bodies, namely the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, the Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and the Peacebuilding Commission. Involving somehow representatives from interested regional and subregional organizations by giving birth to a new joint working group could also be explored to that end.

It gives me pleasure, Madam Minister, to welcome you as you preside over the work of the Security Council and to congratulate you on South Africa’s successful presidency of the Council for the month of March, which is culminating in today’s open debate. My delegation also welcomes the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo and the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. Identifying the joint approaches needed to effectively overcome today’s threats and challenges requires steadily increasing cooperation between the United Nations and its Security Council on the one hand and regional partners on the other. As stated in the 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1), such cooperation must be firmly based on the Charter of the United Nations, in particular Chapter VIII. In recent years, the Security Council has repeatedly addressed the theme of enhancing practical cooperation with regional organizations. Today’s debate, which focuses on interaction with the African Union, offers further confirmation of the serious attention the Security Council is paying to the important task of developing an effective strategy for peacekeeping, stability and security in Africa. Here, priority must be given to political and diplomatic methods of conflict prevention and settlement, in which Africans themselves have a key role to play. In a large number of cases, the peacekeeping efforts of the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the Southern African Development Community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, along with mediation missions by eminent African political leaders, have made it possible to make significant progress in strengthening regional stability. Russia has consistently promoted the view that the efforts of African organizations should be fully backed by the authority of the Security Council and by the logistical and technical capacity of the United Nations. That is particularly relevant to the work of the African Union mission in Darfur, which we fully support. Efforts to build Africa’s peacekeeping capacity — including exchanging information, conducting joint manoeuvres and carrying out demining programmes — are of great significance. To be sure, feedback is important, first and foremost in effectively planning and conducting regional operations and properly ensuring accountability to the Security Council. That is most relevant when the Council not only supports but also takes decisions sanctioning such operations. Russia is contributing to the training of African peacekeepers, and it intends to expand such activities. A significant and useful discussion on the problems of Africa, with the participation of the Presidents of the Congo and the Republic of South Africa, took place at the Group of Eight Summit chaired by Russia last year at Saint Petersburg. Post-conflict reconstruction and development assistance constitute an integral part of the international strategy to secure peace and prevent conflict in Africa. Here, the Peacebuilding Commission — which already has Burundi and Sierra Leone on its agenda — has a key coordinating role to play. We hope that today’s discussion will enable us to move forward in implementing the decisions taken at the 2005 World Summit and will give further impetus to the process of enhancing multifaceted interaction with the African Union and other regional organizations with a view to strengthening collective international security on the basis of the Charter. I wish in conclusion to express our appreciation to you, Madam President, and to the entire South African delegation for preparing the draft presidential statement, on which we have all agreed and which will be adopted later today. Sir Emyr Jones Parry (United Kingdom): I wish to thank you, Madam President, for organizing this debate on such a vital and current issue. It is an honour to have you and other ministers present with us, especially Commissioner Djinnit from the African Union (AU). I would align myself with the statement to be made subsequently by Ambassador Matussek on behalf of the European Union. Cooperation between the United Nations and African regional and sub-regional organizations is an issue that goes right to the heart of the current challenges, dilemmas and opportunities facing peacekeeping in Africa. Let me pose some questions. First, how can the dimensions of violent conflict be best understood? Many recent African conflicts have been civil wars, layered with regional issues such as the flow of arms, refugee movements, trade in conflict resources, links between rebel groups in different countries and wider political dynamics between Governments. When an international peacekeeping operation deploys in these situations for the first time, it has to assess and understand the complexities within a matter of months. Regional organizations, on the other hand, usually have a shared history with the local actors and a deeper knowledge and understanding of the conflict. From a practical standpoint, therefore, partnership between the United Nations and African regional organizations makes sense. Partnership is also important on the full range of work against threats to international peace and security. In that context, I would like to highlight the work being done on the counter-terrorism front between the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee and the African Union. Secondly, how can a peacekeeping operation be structured and designed to ensure political will to support the mandate of the operation? Here, we need to be realistic. The sort of peacekeeping operation deployed will depend on the political and geographical context. Often, either for logistical and/or political reasons, a United Nations operation with a regional component will be needed. Such hybridity — if I can use that word — has become commonplace. In 2006, we saw partnerships for peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan and Timor-Leste, each case taking a different form. In Africa, it is the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union that have worked together in several different and often difficult configurations. That kind of cooperation is here to stay and, certainly in the United Kingdom’s view, in no way undermines the prerogatives of United Nations peacekeeping, but it does draw on the political and practical advantages of cooperation. Thirdly, how can the capabilities of regional organizations best be deployed in the framework of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter? The United Nations Charter provides for regional organizations to undertake interventions in matters of peace and security within its framework, but there is no one-size-fits-all Chapter VIII model. We need to consider the specifics of how that is to be done in each case. It might be useful for the United Nations to work with the AU and other regional organizations on a framework for cooperation in the most likely hybrid scenarios. We would then have a clearer understanding of the possible options available — indeed a template for such operations — and this should help us reach agreement faster on the kind of operation to deploy. Fourthly, how should the international community ensure a sustained resource base for regional efforts? Without question, we have to find a way of ensuring predictable and sustainable support for regional efforts in matters of international peace and security. Here I have the example of Darfur in mind, where the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) operation has necessarily received substantial international support, including from the European Union. However, it has always been a struggle to keep resources flowing for more than a matter of months. We need a better way of doing this, serious debate and an earnest search for a solution, respecting the respective competencies of the different bodies involved. That is why I welcome the request in today’s presidential statement, for a report from the Secretary- General on how the United Nations can support arrangements under Chapter VIII. Formal funding from the peacekeeping budget for a strictly regional organization may not be possible, but other assistance should be automatic. Finally, my fifth question: how can the international community support the development of the African Union’s peacekeeping capabilities over the longer term, in particular the African Standby Force? Because there is no doubt that we need to develop an effective partnership between the international community as a whole and the AU, geared to delivering effective AU peacekeeping capacities on the continent. Making the African Standby Force and its five constituent regional brigades an operational reality by 2010 is a real challenge. Currently the efforts of the Group of Eight, the United Nations, the European Union and major bilateral donors are not as effectively coordinated as they should be. Time is not on our side, and so we need to address this issue as a matter of urgency in 2007. I hope, therefore, that the newly established AU support cell within the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) will play an important role in facilitating that coordination. I would like to finish by addressing quickly three current challenges facing the United Nations and African regional organizations. First, the architecture for dealing with partnerships, both within and between the AU and with the United Nations must be more clearly defined and resourced. We have an opportunity, with the realignment of DPKO, to ensure that structure and resources for partnership work and are given the right attention. Within the AU, there is also an urgent need for an enhanced staffing structure in order to be able to plan and manage future operations. I hope that that can be agreed upon soon. The United Kingdom, along with many other partners, is providing substantial support to the AU as it develops its peace and security architecture, and we remain committed to supporting the AU and the regional economic communities in this area as well as to continuing our substantial operational training support. Secondly, the United Nations and the AU should ensure that where we are dealing jointly with situations, we work hand-in-glove together as the situation evolves. I am pleased that this issue is highlighted in today’s presidential statement — which we absolutely support — because it is so pertinent to the situation we face in Darfur. We welcome there, the excellent, unprecedented institutional cooperation between the United Nations and the AU. In your intervention, Madam President, you recalled the AU appeal to the United Nations to become involved in Darfur after 30 June 2007. Let me simply say that in August 2006, this Council adopted resolution 1706 (2006) under which 17,300 United Nations peacekeepers would have been deployed to Darfur. President Al-Bashir denied consent for that operation and continues to do so. The three-phase approach was then agreed by the African Union, the United Nations and the Sudan in Addis Ababa in November. I know, Madam Minister, that you played a direct hand in those negotiations in Addis, but implementation is again being blocked by President Al-Bashir. I think that the time has come when the United Nations and the African Union must stand together and insist — very clearly — that President Al-Bashir fulfil the commitments he has repeatedly made but not actually implemented. Otherwise, Madam President, as you said in your opening address, there will be an acute security problem in Darfur at the end of June. Thirdly, taking another example, we believe that the United Nations, and specifically this Council, should accelerate action on Zimbabwe to match that of the African Union and other regional organizations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In this regard, the United Kingdom welcomes the discussions to be held on Zimbabwe at the SADC summit tomorrow. We hope that summit will send a strong message about the human rights and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe, where daily the news seems to get worse. We need to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation and inter-operability between the United Nations and the African Union on operational and tactical issues as well as at the strategic level. That sounds like jargon. It is not. It is at the heart of whether troops put into theatre can actually do the job together, working together. It is basic and absolutely essential. Joint training and simulation exercises, sharing of lower-level doctrines, joint best practices work are all crucial in ensuring that the two organizations are capable of working together on the ground. In this regard, I am encouraged to see that the African Union is intending to adopt the model of senior mission leadership training recently instituted by the United Nations. The United Kingdom has great hopes for the future partnership between the African Union and the United Nations. We have seen great progress in recent years, both between us and within the African Union. For our part, the United Kingdom stands ready to maintain our support for the partnership and for the African Union and to help both of them to work even better in the years to come.

At the outset, allow me to welcome your presence here with us, Madam Minister, and also to welcome your country’s initiative to organize this debate dealing with one of the most sensitive areas in the work of the Security Council. I would also like to welcome the participation of the high-level officials from the Congo and Indonesia, and the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security. I would also thank the Assistant Secretary- General for Peacekeeping Operations for being here. I thank all of them for their presence. It is an expression of the importance that this forum gives to this discussion. In this statement, I will first touch upon the general principles that Peru believes should guide our cooperation with regional organizations. I will then refer to some specific aspects of this cooperation with regional organizations, in particular in Africa. Regarding principles, I wish to underscore the following points. First, I would note the importance of conflict prevention and of early warning and rapid response systems. That includes creating the capacity to respond appropriately, depending on the nature of the problem, when crisis situations arise, relying on one of the three basic pillars supporting peace — which is the focus of our work here in the Security Council — I refer to development, security and human rights. Secondly, I wish to reaffirm that, for Peru, the framework for the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, such as the African Union, in the task of maintaining international peace is Chapter VIII and in particular Article 51 of the Charter. Peru and other Latin American countries participated actively in the drafting process to arrive at the present wording which reconciles the prime responsibility of the Security Council in the fulfilment of its responsibilities in the area of international peace and security, with the recognition of the purview of regional agreements consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter. We believe that discussions in the Council since 2003 have further contributed to the updating and thinking of the Council in this area. Thirdly, the United Nations must finance peacekeeping operations which are within the mandate of this Organization, and it must grant all Member States access to these operations because participation in peacekeeping operations is not just a duty, it is also a right for Member States. Fourthly, for Peru, the universal nature of the participation by States Members of the United Nations in these operations must not be undermined on the basis of geographical origin, language or cultural environment. Fifthly, the best way to guarantee effective international action is to maintain a credible standby force which can be deployed rapidly in a crisis situation, in order to contain, in internal conflicts, any escalation of violence, massive violations of human rights, ethnic cleansing or genocide, to mention but a few scourges. Sixthly, and finally, another fundamental principle for us is that cooperation with regional organizations must be flexible and must evolve because every circumstance demands particular treatment. As to the specific aspects, I wish to say that, for Peru, the way in which cooperation among international, regional and subregional organizations has been carried out represents different realities. On the one hand, it is clear that they have broad scope for developing their joint action to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts. They also have a comparative advantage because of their capacity to recognize and deal with structural problems in specific regions, such as the problems that are at the root of many of the conflicts in Africa. Similarly, regional organizations have a holistic vision which covers security, development, human rights and even personal contacts. That is a comparative advantage in peacekeeping operations, in institution-building and in post-conflict reconciliation. We therefore need to have greater operational interrelationship between the United Nations and these regional organizations. However, at the same time, we must recognize that, in some cases, difficulties in this interaction do arise, sometimes because of the constituent instruments of the regional organizations or their institutional strength and at other times because of the political will of the protagonists. That explains why,, on the ground, this cooperation finds dissimilar forms of expression. In point of fact, we have cases where cooperation has been beneficial for the discharge of the functions and mandates of both the United Nations and the regional organizations. By way of example in this category, we could refer to the experience of the cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in Burundi. As Latin Americans, we are also mindful of the fruitful cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization of American States in the stabilization of Haiti. Then, we also have cases where, together, we are still seeing how far participation, in this case with the African Union in cooperation with the United Nations, can go. That is the case with Somalia or the discussions between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. These are situations where we have a real expectation of progress. At the other extreme are the situations where we have had the most difficulties, and where, despite the willingness of organizations, we have not yet been able to cooperate in a sustained fashion to protect civilians and restore political dialogue among all of the parties. I am referring, of course, to the situation in Darfur. The African continent requires our greatest attention, because cooperation with the African Union is of great importance and value for peace and security. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that peace is much more than the absence of hostilities. In this respect, cooperation in peacekeeping should, from the start, consider exit strategies based on long-term stabilization that does not rely solely on the use of force. Therefore, priority attention should focus on the need to enhance our cooperation to ensure long-term stability in the region through institution-building, strengthening democratic governance and ensuring economic viability. In that way, we will be laying the groundwork for sustainable development making it possible for the men and women living on the African continent to achieve their aspiration to peace and security, to enjoy human rights and economic growth for all inhabitants. In conclusion, like previous speakers, I would simply express Peru’s support for the draft presidential statement that will be adopted at the end of today’s discussion. I would also thank the South African delegation for drafting it.

First of all, Madam President, I would like to welcome you to New York and to thank you for personally presiding over today’s public debate. The selection of the topic of the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security, is a vivid indication of South Africa’s great interest in this important issue. In recent years, South Africa has made unremitting efforts and important contributions in promoting the development of the African Union and maintaining peace and security on the African continent. We would like to express our admiration and appreciation for this. Allow me also to thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Congo, the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union and the Secretary-General of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia for their presence at today’s meeting. I would like to make the following comments on the subject of today’s open debate. First, China firmly supports full cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security. How to further strengthen coordination and cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of peace and security is a new issue facing United Nations Member States. The United Nations is like one big family comprising the international community. Matters that come before this big family should be managed by all. As the old Chinese saying goes, joint efforts to collect firewood will build a blazing fire. And another tells us that close neighbours are dearer than distant kin. Peace and harmony in this big family of the international community rest on cooperation and mutual assistance among its members. This is even more the case among neighbouring countries. In recent years, China and neighbouring Asian countries have been exploring various ways to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and have achieved some positive results. The 10 + 3 cooperation accord among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan and the Republic of Korea has played a prominent role in promoting peace, stability and development in the region. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has also provided an effective platform for carrying out a multilateral dialogue on security in the region and is widely acknowledged by the international community. On the basis of those ideas and practices, China fully understands and respects the wish of the African countries to play a greater role in resolving their regional issues through intensified cooperation with the international community. This, in itself, is a great contribution to international peace and security. Secondly, strengthening cooperation with regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in the area of peace and security, can contribute to the Council’s efforts to carry out its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Under Chapter VIII of the Charter, the Security Council should encourage the development of pacific settlement of regional disputes through regional arrangements. Regional organizations, owing to the comparative advantage they enjoy because of their geographical location, can also play a unique role in settling regional issues and maintaining peace and stability in the region. By strengthening cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security, we can not only react more rapidly and effectively to conflict situations, but also ease the ever-increasing United Nations peacekeeping operations burden. Over the past 10 years, the United Nations and regional organizations have engaged in a variety of cooperation and coordination efforts in the areas of conflict prevention, peaceful settlement of disputes and peacebuilding, thus contributing effectively to strengthening the United Nations role and to the maintenance of international and regional peace and security. It has been shown through many years of practice, on the basis of respect for the United Nations Charter, that regional organizations can fully develop and play an active role in maintaining regional and international peace and security and can fully tap their own potential for taking actions. Thirdly, sufficient and explicit policy statements exist on strengthening mutually reinforcing cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and the African Union. What is needed now even more is concrete action. Over many years, the General Assembly and the Security Council have adopted a number of resolutions and presidential statements. The 2005 World Summit reaffirmed the importance of strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union. As regards promoting cooperation and interaction between the United Nations and the African Union in the area of the maintenance of peace and security in the region, what is more important is to take more tangible action and help the African Union resolve certain specific issues. The African Union has now deployed peacekeeping missions in various parts of Africa and has played an important role in easing tensions and resolving disputes there. At the same time, African Union peacekeeping operations are faced with a multitude of challenges in terms of personnel and financing, which have constrained the Union’s ability to play its unique role in this area. The United Nations and the international community should continue to provide the African Union with increased assistance in the form of training and logistical support. It should help the African Union to improve its early warning and integrated peacekeeping capacities, so that the Union can bring fully into play its unique role in settling issues specific to Africa. China hopes that the Secretary-General will be able to provide us with concrete and practical recommendations relating to the division of responsibility between the United Nations and the African Union in the area of peacekeeping and to the promotion of dialogue and cooperation between the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. China welcomes and supports the draft presidential statement provided by South Africa. We support its adoption at the end of the meeting.

The United States delegation welcomes Minister Dlamini Zuma, Minister Adada, Ambassador Imron Cotan and Commissioner Djinnit to New York and to the Security Council. I would like to thank the South African delegation for having raised this important topic for debate in the Security Council. The issue of peace and security in Africa is of pressing concern for the members of the Council, and the African Union (AU) and its subregional organizations have played an invaluable role in bringing many of Africa’s conflicts towards peaceful resolution. The African Union has designed and is starting to resource its own peace and security architecture to prevent and resolve conflict and to respond to other security challenges on the continent. Over the past few years, the AU has made great strides in implementing those designs, and it has done so with the support of the international community. We recognize the efforts of the African Union throughout the region, but particularly in the conflicts in the Sudan and in Somalia. The international community looks to the African Union for leadership in preventing and responding to conflicts in the region, through both political mediation and peacekeeping. For the past two years, the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) has had up to 7,700 personnel in Darfur to try to end the genocide and create conditions conducive to a lasting political solution to the Darfur crisis. The AU played a crucial role in brokering the 2004 humanitarian ceasefire agreement and the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement and has worked hard to implement it on the ground. AMIS has done an excellent job, but its mission in Darfur is overmatched by the challenges that it currently faces. In Somalia, the AU stabilization mission stepped into a difficult environment to provide essential on-the- ground security for Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions as part of a wider political reconciliation process for the Somali people. Cooperation between regional organizations and the United Nations is essential. The United States supports continued efforts by the United Nations to strengthen the AU’s peace and security architecture across the full range of the conflict-management spectrum, from early warning and conflict prevention to peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction. International efforts cannot succeed if they are not coordinated and complementary. Coordination between United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in West Africa has expedited transition from conflict to stability and from authoritarianism to democracy. Effective AU-led peacekeeping in Africa is not only about a consistent funding base — and, of course, it is not the role of the United Nations to provide funding for non-United Nations operations; assessed United Nations peacekeeping contributions must be used only for Security Council-mandated operations under clear United Nations command and control, with full accountability, ensured through the financial and administrative procedures of the United Nations. Effective planning and mission management are also essential for effective peacekeeping, and the United Nations and the AU can and should work more closely together on improving those areas of AU operations and on building long-term institutional capabilities. Advice and experts from other major partners, including the United States, the European Union, NATO, the United Kingdom, Canada and others, can also provide valuable support to the AU. In the Sudan, United Nations and partner personnel should be quickly integrated into AMIS forces and sector headquarters. The United States contributes generously to the operations of regional organizations, demonstrating our support for their efforts to resolve regional conflicts. We initially contributed almost $20 million to support the AU Mission in Somalia, including support for the rapid deployment of the Ugandan contingent as the lead element that mission, which now has 1,680 troops on the ground in Somalia. We expect troops from other contributing countries to begin arriving in the coming weeks. We have also provided over $350 million to AMIS over the past two years and are committed to assisting it in its transition to a United Nations-AU force. We call on others to generously contribute to those critical efforts. We will continue to assist regional organizations by providing resources directly where they can be most effective. We will also continue to provide capacity- building assistance to the AU peace and security architecture through training, equipment, advisers and other logistical support.

I now give the floor to the representative of Egypt.

I would like personally to welcome you, Madam, to New York, to preside over this important meeting. I would also like to welcome Mr. Adada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Congo, as well as the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. (spoke in Arabic) The Security Council is meeting today to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between the United Nations and international organizations in order to strengthen the international collective security system and the United Nations capacity to resolve conflict and to achieve peace and stability, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter on the role of regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security, provided that that role is consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Chapter VIII also provides that the Council shall encourage the pacific settlement of disputes through regional organizations, either on the initiative of the States concerned or by reference from the Security Council. There can be no doubt that the current increase in the number of peacekeeping operations and the growing role played by regional organizations in dealing with the root causes of conflict make it necessary for the United Nations to step up its efforts to create much-needed mechanisms for cooperation and coordination with such organizations — whether in Africa, where the African Union (AU) plays a leading role, or in other areas of the world — with a view to integrating their actions and objectives and to promoting efforts aimed at stabilization and sustainable development. Concrete measures have been taken in recent years by several regional organizations to develop their capacities and mechanisms in the field of conflict resolution so as to address challenges to peace and security and to keep up with the evolving role of the United Nations in this field. Acknowledging that evolution, the 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1) recognized the contribution of regional organizations to peace and security and supported a stronger relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations. Furthermore, Security Council resolutions 1625 (2005) and 1631 (2005) highlighted the importance of strengthening the effectiveness of the Security Council’s role in conflict prevention, particularly in Africa, and the need to develop an effective partnership between the Council and the African Union and other regional organizations, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter. In addition, a presidential statement issued by the Security Council on 19 November 2004 in Nairobi (S/PRST/2004/44) recognized the importance of strengthening cooperation with the African Union in order to help build its capacity to deal with collective security challenges. On the basis of those considerations, Egypt has worked to consolidate the pillars of cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and the African Union, especially with regard to the problems faced by the African continent. In December 2006, Egypt presented to the AU Peace and Security Council an initiative that aims to enhance the existing relationship between the two organizations through the creation of a coordination and cooperation mechanism for the relevant peacekeeping and peacebuilding structures in the AU and the United Nations, focusing on building African capacities in order to increase the continent’s ability to deal with African problems in all their dimensions. Such a relationship should be based on mutual respect, not domination. This initiative was endorsed by the AU Peace and Security Council, which also welcomed, in a decision dated 14 December 2006, the concept paper submitted by Egypt at Addis Ababa and the ideas it expresses regarding such cooperation. Therefore, we reiterate our call for the establishment of a better relationship of cooperation between the United Nations and the AU in the areas of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, in accordance with the proposals contained in the Egyptian concept paper, at three levels of coordination and consultation. The first level is between the United Nations Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council, through intensifying the meetings between the councils. The second level is cooperation between the relevant departments of the United Nations Secretariat and its counterpart, the African Union Commission, similar to that which has developed in addressing a number of African problems. The third level of cooperation is between the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and the AU Peace and Security Council, in keeping with the provisions of Chapter VIII and the principles and objectives of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, which authorized the Peace and Security Council to promote and develop a strong peace and security partnership with the United Nations through efforts to promote peace and development in Africa. We stress that, in order to ensure the attainment of those objectives, it is essential that the Security Council send a clear political message reaffirming its willingness to revitalize joint cooperation frameworks with regional organizations in the areas of conflict prevention and resolution, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. That should be carried out within clear parameters and in a way that keeps options open for establishing a mechanism to that end, in consultation with the relevant regional organizations and United Nations Member States. In that regard, we must take into consideration the relevant provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter and the guiding principles for United Nations peacekeeping operations. We reaffirm the importance of adhering to those principles in any joint cooperation framework between the United Nations and regional organizations, whether with regard to the consent of the parties before implementation, impartiality, non-interference in States’ internal affairs or respect for their territorial integrity and political independence. Egypt, as a member of the AU Peace and Security Council and in accordance with the main features of its initiative, is willing to cooperate fully with Security Council members, including the States representing Africa in the Council, to promote that initiative and all other ideas that will help to achieve a permanent framework for cooperation and consultation between the two councils.

I now give the floor to the representative of the Sudan.

Permit me at the outset to thank you personally, Mr. President, and your fraternal country. I wish to express our appreciation for the professionalism with which the South African presidency has conducted the work of the Security Council during the month of March. Its effective guidance of the Council’s deliberations has highlighted South Africa’s pioneering and constructive role in international and regional affairs and its firm commitment to moving forward. This presidency has also shown that Security Council reform and support for the Council have a positive impact on international peace and security. In addition, I wish to welcome the presence of Madam Dlamini Zuma, and of Minister Adada of the Congo and of Ambassador Djinnit, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union. Finally, we thank you, Mr. President, for having taken the targeted and constructive initiative of organizing today’s Council meeting on an issue of high priority for this body. The Security Council is very much interested in the maintenance of international peace and security. Therefore, it undertakes measures that truly reflect the Articles of the Charter of the United Nations related to cooperation with regional organizations, including the organizations referred to in Articles 52 and 53, in Chapter VIII. That brings us to the issue of the relationship between the United Nations and the African Union, which is under consideration by the Council, and to the possible mission to the Sudan. As members are aware, international texts have referred to the importance of promoting cooperation aimed at the maintenance of international peace and security, including cooperation between the Security Council and regional organizations. The 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1), on the Millennium Development Goals, also referred to this in its paragraph 170: “We support a stronger relationship between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, pursuant to Chapter VIII of the Charter, and therefore resolve: (a) To expand consultation and cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations through formalized agreements between the respective secretariats and, as appropriate, involvement of regional organizations in the work of the Security Council”. At the inception of the United Nations 60 years ago, the founders of the Organization, in drafting the Charter, strove to provide for such a complementarity of roles in order to achieve the hoped-for collective security. Therefore, today, we are not seeking new points of reference; we need only look to Chapter VIII of the Charter and to implement its provisions. When we speak of cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, we must refer to the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and to the Council’s mandate. The Protocol calls for creating the conditions necessary for cooperation with the United Nations’ Council, based on the idea that security is an indivisible and integral whole. Therefore, as regional organizations address challenges related to international peace and security in their geographical areas, the international peace and security system must be strengthened as a priority, and regional organizations must act on behalf of the international community. They are not there to replace or to substitute for the United Nations; there is no validity to that. Nor should there be a confrontation between the prerogatives of these organizations. To the contrary, these organizations must seek to overcome regional technical or logistical shortcomings. But their practical experiences on the ground have enabled them to acquire expertise and to build their capacities. We should benefit from their expertise and capacities; we should not just discuss their fragility, their incapacity or their lack of financing. The idea that the United Nations is worthwhile only when it leads an operation is not true and must be rejected. Chapter VIII is clear, and it precisely refers to the role of regional organizations, a role that must be played without any conditionalities. In cooperating with the African Union, the United Nations must go beyond specific cases — such as Darfur, Somalia and others — and establish an effective strategic partnership limited to the provisions of Chapter VIII of the Charter. In that connection, the United Nations must honour its commitments as regards cooperation with regional organizations, especially since regional organizations are best equipped with specific knowledge of local social, political and cultural conditions and entities. They are the most familiar with the root causes of the problems at hand and are in the best position to prevent crises. Regional organizations can also provide the United Nations with geographical and political information on which to base future undertakings. Such information is crucial: in a crisis it is important to stabilize the situation. It is possible to bring about collective security in this way. With regard to partnership with the African Union, given that 60 per cent of the items on the agenda of the Security Council pertain to African countries, the AU should be enabled to resolve crises in Africa by optimizing its resources and efforts to that end. The African Union has experience in Darfur. It has a Mission there and has taken substantial steps, along with other regional organizations, in an effort to maintain peace. The AU has unambiguously proven that it can provide assistance to the United Nations. For its part, the United Nations can provide financing and logistical and technical support through the partnership provided for under the Charter. The Security Council must therefore develop a mandate for the African Union Mission covering issues related to financing, institutional and logistical capacity-building and an assessment of needs pertaining to expertise in the information and communications areas. That was reaffirmed at the Addis Ababa meeting held on 16 November 2006. The African Union carried out negotiations in Abuja with a great deal of wisdom and patience, with a view to achieving the Darfur Peace Agreement. We appreciate the laudable efforts that have been made by all partners, including the African Union and the United Nations. My country unreservedly welcomes United Nations support for the African Union Mission in the Sudan in Darfur, as evidenced in the decisions taken at Abuja and Addis Ababa. In that connection, I would like to comment on the statement by the representative of the United Kingdom, specifically his remarks regarding the Sudan’s position. The Sudan did not object to the Abuja and Addis Ababa decisions. To the contrary, it welcomed them while expressing some reservations regarding a number of points that were contrary to the Darfur Peace Agreement. The Government of the Sudan accordingly asked that those points be brought in line with the Agreement. We proposed that the tripartite mechanism comprising the African Union, the United Nations and the Sudan should proceed to harmonize those points. No reply is possible to the statement made by the representative of the United States about what she called “genocide” in Darfur, given that the United States lives in a fragile glass house. I should like to cite what was said about Darfur last February by Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett of the United Kingdom in an article on the threat to unity posed by a changing situation. She wrote that instability in the region would fuel tension. There were a number of reasons for the conflict in Darfur, among them changing rainfall, which had made the existing competition between nomads and shepherds more acute. I should like to say that, given that lasting peace and security in Darfur is a priority for the Sudan — an absolute priority for Sudan — we welcome the efforts made by Mr. Jan Eliasson, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Darfur, and by Mr. Salim Ahmed Salim, his counterpart from the African Union. Those efforts have also been welcomed by the entire Government of National Unity. Mr. Eliasson’s visit was a promising one. We therefore hope that all parties that have yet to sign the Abuja Agreement on the peace process will do so. Support for the peace process in Sudan must be a priority for the Security Council. Given that we are debating cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union with a view to strengthening international peace and security, it is our hope that support for peace will be comprehensive. We also hope that all United Nations bodies, and especially the body responsible for establishing the agenda for sustainable development, will participate in the efforts to strengthen peace in the Sudan. We must also get to the root of the evil. To that end, we must be innovative, especially as regards something over which we have no control: climate change. As has been so clearly demonstrated with regard to Darfur, this has a negative impact upon a country’s resources. I hope that this meeting of the Security Council will be the starting point for greater cooperation under Chapter VIII between the United Nations and the African Union. I also hope that the necessary financial resources will be provided. That should not depend upon negative political considerations. Support must be provided in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. It would also be advisable for the Security Council to devote a meeting to consider how to benefit from the recommendations made in the various statements delivered today.

There are still a number of speakers remaining on my list for this meeting. I intend, with the concurrence of the members of the Council, to suspend the meeting until 3 p.m.