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7750th Security Council Meeting: Peacebuilding in Africa - Part 1
The Security Council underscored the importance of long-term institution-building as a critical part of peacebuilding in Africa, as it held an open debate today on the topic where speakers emphasized the importance of addressing the root causes of conflict, the need for predictable and sustainable financing, and closer cooperation with the African Union and subregional organizations.
Issuing presidential statement S/PRST/2016/12, it noted the need for comprehensive approaches to institution-building, bearing in mind African countries’ national development strategies. It also recognized that peacebuilding as an inherently political process, aimed at preventing the outbreak, escalation, recurrence or continuation of conflict.
It reaffirmed the importance of national ownership and leadership in peacebuilding, with responsibility broadly shared by Governments and all other national stakeholders. It also recognized the critical role of the African Union, seeing opportunities for partnership with that entity.
“The Security Council stresses the importance of long-term national capacity development through institution-building, human resource development and confidence-building among the national actors, which are key to sustaining peace,” it said through its statement.
It went on to reaffirm the importance of addressing the root causes of conflicts, encouraging efforts to ensure the engagement and empowerment of women, and stressing the potential benefits of innovative approaches such as the use of science and technology.
The Council further reaffirmed the importance of the Peacebuilding Commission and the need for predictable and sustained financing to United Nations peacebuilding activities, including through increased contributions.
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, speaking at the outset of the debate, called peace in Africa a top priority. While expressing grave concern about the situations in South Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya and Mali, he said there was another, largely untold African narrative of growing economies, improved living standards and expanding democratic space.
“Our shared responsibility is to nourish these seeds of peace and prosperity,” he said. Nurturing institutions that were inclusive, transparent, effective and accountable would not be easy, but they were the cement that bonded States and citizens — and while the effort might take decades, he said communities emerging from conflict would be looking for early and tangible results.
Amina Chawahir Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Kenya, speaking as Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, outlined measures that Africa had taken in response to various challenges. She told how African countries had revitalized their economic integration initiatives while seeking institutionalized strategic partnerships with the United Nations.
Describing peacebuilding as the main focus of policymakers in Africa, she said the Commission brought national and international actors together in pursuit of that goal. She also stressed the need for greater investment in governance, security and development, and early warning systems. The Commission could only be effective if policy and political discussions were complemented by predictable financial support.
Smail Chergui, the African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security, discussed lessons learned from recent relapses of post-conflict countries into violence. There needed to be a greater focus on coordination among all actors and integrating planning and operations. If properly calibrated, post-conflict reconstruction and development interventions would be critical to African Union conflict-prevention strategies, he said, calling for institutionalized annual meetings between the United Nations and African Union to share lessons learned.
In the course of the debate, speakers agreed that institution-building must be a priority and that a coordinated approach was needed to address diverse challenges, from democracy and security to governance, public administration and national reconciliation. African problems required African solutions, many said. Solutions must be tailored, and both owned and led by the countries concerned.
On that point, Georges Rebelo Chikoti, Minister for External Relations of Angola, cautioned that peacebuilding encompassed many priorities and numerous stakeholders. Elections were not, by themselves, a solution for consolidating peace, and relapse into conflict was probable unless institutional capacity-building and economic recovery were dealt with first.
Addressing the challenges required redefining strategies, said Mankeur Ndiaye, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Senegal. More must be invested in prevention by tackling the root causes of conflict. Many tools were available, but political resolve was lacking. Greater support for the African Union and subregional organizations was critical, as they could defuse tensions early on.
Many discussed national and regional initiatives taken to secure peace.
South Africa’s representative said the African Union had developed a Post‑Conflict Reconstruction and Development Policy, as well as the African Solidarity Initiative, which was aimed at mobilizing support from within the continent for peacebuilding measures. The development of national capacities in the aftermath of conflict would not succeed without the provision of adequate, predictable and coherent funding.
Among speakers from African States emerging from conflict, the representative of Côte d’Ivoire said his country had put in place a national peacebuilding plan aimed at restoring State authority and community security, supporting national reconciliation, social cohesion and conflict reduction, and identifying vulnerable populations.
Rwanda’s delegate, noting that her country had moved from a failed State in a post-conflict situation to a key contributor to peacekeeping operations, said that, as the review of the peacebuilding architecture had shown, peacebuilding was both a political and technical process. She regretted that the Council had been reactionary, pressing it to play a more proactive role in countries on its agenda or where peacekeepers had been deployed.
The representative of Sierra Leon recounted how his country had become a “storehouse of lessons” on transitioning towards peace and development. Since the closure of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), he said, Sierra Leone had worked to resolve tensions, monitor and promote human rights, and consolidate good governance and lessons learned as it left behind its “blood diamond nation” label.
Among donor countries, the United States’ representative said national ownership of peacebuilding processes must not be pretext for inaction on the part of the Council or the international community. Too often, she said, that was the case. Political leaders needed to be held to account to halt violence and uphold the rule of law, she added.
The European Union’s representative said regional integration initiatives had been undermined by the fact that States often belonged to regional groups with identical or overlapping mandates. Another challenge was that regions’ political ambitions were not sufficiently underpinned with operational capacity and resources, which, in turn, limited their absorption of aid.
Anifah Aman, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, conveyed lessons learned by his country, saying developing States could learn much from their peers. Despite its distance, Malaysia considered Africa to be a close neighbour, and despite its modest resources, it would contribute to its development.
Morocco’s representative emphasized good governance and solid, accountable institutions, calling them essential preconditions for reducing tensions, alleviating poverty and bringing about a positive impact on development. Reinforcing the obligation of those in public office to be accountable for their actions allowed for a balanced system of power, he said, adding that protecting and promoting human rights were also critical.
Also speaking today were representatives of Japan, France, New Zealand, China, Venezuela, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Spain, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Pakistan, Thailand, Switzerland, Guatemala, Germany, Belgium, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Denmark, Canada, Poland, Indonesia, India, Israel, Ireland, Slovakia, Portugal, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Uganda, Turkey and Cyprus.
A representative of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See also spoke.
The meeting began at 10:08 a.m. and ended at 4:19 p.m.
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