United Nations-African Union Joint Task Force on Peace and Security

 

Holds Seventh Consultative Meeting in New York on 30 September

 

On 30 September 2013, the United Nations-African Union Joint Task Force on Peace and Security held its seventh consultative meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York, on the margins of the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.  The United Nations Secretariat and African Union Commission were represented by senior officials from the two organizations.

The Joint Task Force discussed issues of common interest and areas of collaboration in a number of countries, including in the Central African Republic, Mali and the Sahel, the situation between Sudan and South Sudan, and in the Horn of Africa.  The Joint Task Force welcomed the collaborative efforts of the United Nations and African Union in those countries and recognized some of the progress and positive developments achieved in the context of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter.  The Joint Task Force also exchanged views on unconstitutional changes of government.

The Joint Task Force discussed opportunities to deepen and broaden dialogue and joint actions in the areas of conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacekeeping.  Both the United Nations and the African Union reiterated the need to work towards a common understanding and appreciation of the root causes of crises in Africa.  The Joint Task Force agreed that each of the two organizations should add value and provide complementarity on the basis of its strengths in a coordinated, forward-looking and mutually-reinforcing manner.

The Joint Task Force agreed on the need to devise innovative approaches to peacemaking and peacekeeping underpinned by a shared strategic vision in order to more effectively address the peace and security challenges facing the continent.  The meeting also agreed on the need to achieve greater coherence on the positions and actions of the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission, including in support of regional efforts.  In that context, the Joint Task Force agreed to jointly initiate the development of a framework of cooperation on peace and security in line with General Assembly resolution A/67/L.67, Security Council resolution 2033 (2012) as well as the African Union Peace and Security Council decision on the partnership between the African Union and the United Nations in the areas of peace and security taken at its 397^th meeting held on 23 September.

The next meeting of the Joint Task Force will take place in Addis Ababa in early 2014, on the margins of the 22^nd Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit.

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For information media • not an official record