AU leader says unilateralism could be serious threat to global peace, security

UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, said Wednesday that unilateralism could be a serious threat to global peace and security.

Speaking at the "Collective Action to Improve UN Peacekeeping Operations" open debate of the UN Security Council via teleconference from Nouakchott, capital and largest city of Mauritania, Mahamat said he advocated that everything should be done to protect multilateralism.

Noting that peacekeeping operations mandated by the Security Council are a cornerstone of international efforts to promote peace and security, they illustrate the value of multilateralism and symbolize global solidarity.

Africa is profoundly attached to multilateralism and its institutions, viewing them as the only way to ensure a lasting response to peace and security challenges, he said.

Noting that about half of all peacekeeping operations are in Africa, with the goal of ridding the continent of war by 2020, he said many are deployed in volatile environments amid the absence of an effective political process, testifying to the challenges at hand.

As such, peacekeeping missions must be endowed with resources needed to properly and fully deliver on their mandates, he said.

"It seems we are overly focused on budgets and financing, but that should not distract from the over-arching goal of peace," he said, stressing that spending on peacekeeping is a mere fraction of global arms expenditures.

In addition, there must be closer cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, he said, adding that peacekeeping operations risk being long-term in the absence of political processes. Solving political issues take time and the mere presence of a peacekeeping operation helps stabilize a situation.

By the same token, it is morally reprehensible to challenge the presence of such an operation, he said.

In that context, he emphasized the importance of partnership between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council, through joint field visits and sending a single unified message to the parties in a conflict.

He said the Security Council must also take on board the views of the African Union and openly receive its input.

He suggested that the African Union Commission and the UN Secretariat ramp up joint field visits at the highest possible level with the aim of taking a joint stance.

There is a need for complementarity between UN peacekeeping and AU missions, he said, stressing that the bloc and its regional mechanisms have demonstrated their determination to take risks for the cause of peace.

Given financial and logistical shortfalls, the Security Council must ensure sustained and predictable funding for the operations it authorized.

Whatever the criticism of peacekeeping, the international community must not "throw out the baby with the bathwater" when addressing the issue.

The debate was chaired by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefed the meeting. Fatimata Toure, director of the GREFFA (Groupe de Recherche d'Etude de Formation Femme Action), a Malian non-governmental organization, also spoke.

The objective of the debate was to discuss ways to improve engagement of all actors in support of UN peacekeeping operations. Enditem