S/PV.8043 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear a briefing by the lead of the Security Council mission to Ethiopia, namely, Ethiopia. I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of Ethiopia. It gives me great pleasure to brief the Security Council on the successful conduct of its mission to the African Union (AU), which took place from 5 to 9 September in Addis Ababa. Allow me to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to Under-Secretary- General Haile Menkerios, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the African Union, and the Secretariat for their full support and assistance during the preparation and holding of the Council’s visit to Addis Ababa. As stated in the terms of reference of the mission, the purpose of the Council’s visit to Addis Ababa was to strengthen partnership and enhance cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union in the areas of peace and security. It was undertaken within the framework of cooperation between the United Nations Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations. During the delegation’s stay in Addis Ababa, members of the Security Council held discussions with the AU Peace and Security Council for the eleventh joint annual consultative meeting, which took place on 8 September. The consultative meeting was preceded by an informal meeting between the two Councils, which took place on 7 September. Both meetings were co-chaired by the Chairperson of the African Union Peace and Security Council and Permanent Representative of Botswana to the African Union, and myself. Both Councils had lead members to introduce each topic or respond to introductions made by a designated member of the other Council. Both the informal meeting and the eleventh joint consultative meeting provided an opportunity for the two Councils to exchange views on matters related to peace and security in Africa. The meetings were conducted in a frank manner, while the discussion was also substantive and very enriching. I believe that I reflect the sentiments of Council members who took part in the mission when I say that we found the meetings to be very useful and that they enabled us to better understand the positions of the African Union on some of the issues that are of great importance to the work of the Security Council. During the informal meeting, the two Councils held discussions on three thematic issues: partnership between the United Nations and the AU, funding for African peace and security activities, and post-conflict peacebuilding. The informal meeting was found to be very meaningful to both sides, as it provided them with an opportunity to hear the views of the other side on some of the issues on which there are diverging views, such as on the issue of the funding of AU peace-support operations. Here, one noted the deep disappointment of the African side — justified or not — with respect to what, in its view, has been a huge deficit in burden- sharing, the effect of which has been to give short shrift to the sacrifices made by the African side. That was also stressed in a notably passionate manner by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security. During the eleventh joint consultative meeting, the two Councils exchanged views covering three country- specific and regional issues: the situations in Somalia, South Sudan and the Lake Chad basin. The discussion demonstrated that there are many points of convergence between the two Councils, especially on most aspects of the situation in South Sudan and some of the issues concerning Somalia and the Lake Chad basin. On South Sudan, both Councils expressed their concern on the continued violence and suffering of the South Sudanese people; urged the parties to the conflict to respect the ceasefire and implement the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan; commended the leading role played by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in helping to stabilize the country; expressed support, including for the latest IGAD initiative to revitalize the 2015 peace Agreement; underlined that there is no military solution to the problems in South Sudan; and urged the parties to commit to peaceful dialogue, while also calling for the urgent deployment of the Regional Protection Force. On the Lake Chad basin, the two Councils stressed the need to address the underlying cause of the conflict in the subregion, including challenges resulting from climate change, underdevelopment and unemployment, among others; recognized the regional dimension of the security threats and their cross-cutting nature, and called for an integrated approach; commended the crucial role being played by the Multinational Joint Task Force and the resulting progress achieved thus far in fighting Boko Haram. On Somalia, both Councils recognized the key role played by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in degrading the capabilities of Al-Shabaab; underlined the importance of supporting the capacities of the Somali National Army so that it can take over from AMISOM; and called for concerted efforts among the United Nations, the AU and subregional countries to help address the fragile situation and bring last solutions to Somalia. The meeting that members of the Security Council held with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, His Excellency Mr. Hailemariam Dessalegn, and senior officials of the African Union Commission was also extremely useful. The Prime Minister briefed Council members on the latest developments in the peace and security issues in the Horn of Africa, and an exchange of views was held on situations including Somalia and South Sudan. Finally, I should like to raise a point about the outcome of the joint consultative meeting. Last year, it took the two Councils one year to agree and adopt a joint communiqué. We had originally hoped that we would be able to avoid such an unnecessary delay this year. Although negotiations were undertaken among the experts of the two Councils, there are some pending issues in the draft joint communiqué that are subject to further negotiation, and it is my hope that it will be finalized as soon as possible. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. On behalf of the Council, I should like to express appreciation to all of the members of the Security Council and the Secretariat who participated in the mission for the manner in which they discharged their important responsibilities.