Security, Development Intertwined — Lasting Peace Demands Both, Says Deputy Secretary-General, in Remarks to African Chiefs of Defence Summit
Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks on the occasion of the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit, in Abuja today:
It is an honour to join you for this first-ever African Chiefs of Defence Staff Summit. I thank General Christopher Gwabin Musa and the Government of Nigeria for your warm invitation and welcome.
I speak as a proud African, and as someone who has seen the cost of insecurity in families and communities across our continent, from Boko Haram in Maiduguri to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan and the conflict in Ethiopia.
This gathering marks the birth of a new era in African security cooperation at such a critical moment. It is the first of its kind to represent the boots on the ground and a rare opportunity to connect their realities with the policy decisions that shape our continent’s security.
Nearly one in every five people on Earth call Africa home. Each one deserves to live in safety and dignity, that means protecting civilians, respecting borders, and standing by the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Above all, it calls for a united approach against our common threats.
We know that Africa is the epicentre of global terrorism deaths. Al-Qaida and Islamic State affiliates coordinate across our continent, with attacks in West Africa’s coastal countries surging 250 per cent in two years. Violent extremism is back again in the Lake Chad Basin, in Somalia and beyond.
By last year’s end, over 14,000 schools were closed in the Central Sahel due to conflict. Aside from the children forcibly recruited, we see young people drawn by fear, money or false promises of belonging. When young people see no path to education or justice, extremist propaganda finds an audience and we risk losing an entire generation.
In this new era of technology where it should be advancing as a human endeavour, these groups are using new technologies like unmanned aerial systems and improvised explosive devices to wreak havoc. We cannot afford to be bystanders. Africa must take ownership, be proactive and shape how these tools are used.
Cyberspace is now a battlespace. Elections manipulated. Institutions undermined. Lies spread until neighbour turns against neighbour.
We have seen this before. Once it was radio carrying messages that ignited genocide. Today it is social media, amplifying hate at terrifying speed.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming the landscape of security. AI tools are helping countries suffering from conflict and insecurity: identifying food insecurity, predicting displacement caused by climate shocks, even detecting and clearing landmines. Soon, they could help spot patterns of unrest before violence erupts.
But, the same technology that offers solutions also carries profound risks. AI’s expansion into security systems raises fundamental questions about human rights, dignity and the rule of law — from autonomous border surveillance to predictive policing.
It creates fertile ground for misunderstanding, miscalculation and mistakes. AI-enabled cyberattacks could cripple critical infrastructure and paralyse essential services. Algorithms are already being used to make life-and-death decisions.
Climate change is also reshaping the geography of security across our continent. Fuelling food scarcity. Endangering our people. Extreme heat, sea-level rise and shifting rainfall patterns are driving displacement, exacerbating resource competition and fuelling instability. Shrinking water levels in the Lake Chad Basin have displaced 3 million people. I saw this first-hand when I was Minister of Environment. The evidence is overwhelming: [climate change] is destabilizing our world.
The UN Security Council has acknowledged that climate change is a threat multiplier that fuels conflict, displaces populations and undermines State stability. The International Court of Justice recognized climate change as an urgent and existential threat to our world. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has left no room for doubt: Africa is among the most exposed regions in the world.
The ripple effect is rising displacement and migration, putting food systems and infrastructure under even more pressure and creating more openings for instability and exploitation. The result speaks volumes: climate change is a clear and present danger to peace.
Our seas are also becoming a new front line. Organized crime on our waters is feeding violence on our land. In the Gulf of Guinea, piracy and illicit trade are funding terrorism. In the Red Sea, maritime insecurity is undermining stability far beyond the shoreline.
Each of these threats all share one characteristic: they are transnational. Our response must be, too. When we act in isolation, we hand our adversaries their greatest advantage: our division. Regional cooperation is the linchpin of African security and defence. But, we also know this is easier said than done.
Defence collaboration is not simple. We are talking about 54 countries, each with their own policies, histories and priorities. That makes it all the more remarkable that through that complexity and diversity African forces find ways to act together, and you have.
From the African Union’s peace support operations, to Algeria’s African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, Cape Verde’s Centre for Security and Transnational Organized Crime and Cameroon’s International School for Security Forces.
The African Union deploys peace support operations where others cannot or will not. The Multinational Joint Taskforce in the Lake Chad Basin coordinates regional efforts against Boko Haram. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in West Africa and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Horn [of Africa] are coordinating troops, logistics and political engagement. The G5 Sahel [Group of Five for the Sahel] and the Accra Initiative have also played important roles.
But, too often, such initiatives are being held back by mistrust, tensions and gaps in coordination. Trust is not built overnight, but without it, every effort to strengthen our partnerships and our response in defence of our people will fall short. Collaboration must be targeted and intentional. I see three pillars where our unity can tip the balance.
First: Resources. Pooling our budgets for joint responses makes us stronger than scattered spending. We proved this when Nigeria helped in the Gambia and Liberia. We must find that spirit again.
At the same time, we need to think bigger about financing. National security budgets must be complemented by international support. We can leverage the prevention components of other budgets to reinforce stability and reduce the costs of conflict before they spiral.
Cutting off illicit financing is part of this battlefront. The Intergovernmental Action Group against Money-Laundering in West Africa’s anti-money laundering work, and cooperation through the Multinational Joint Task Force and the Lake Chad Basin Commission, are vital to choke off the money flows that sustain conflict.
Second: Intelligence and innovation. We need the right tools and mapping in place to plan and drive strategy. Reinforcing the Accra Initiative, the ECOWAS Standby Force and giving the Joint Threat Fusion and Analysis Cell the support it needs will ensure data becomes decisions. The same applies at sea — joint patrols that make the Yaoundé Architecture real protection for people and infrastructure.
And innovation must be part of our defence. Collaborating on AI, from drones to cybertools and building on the African Union’s new AI Strategy, can help us set common standards to keep technology serving people.
Third: People and partnerships. Our continent is full of military and academic centres of excellence. We need to harness that training capacity, use it more efficiently and deploy it where it is most needed — and we must unite the public and private sectors. Soldiers learning side by side with engineers, technicians and innovators. Regular fora with business to share cutting-edge knowledge. This is how Africa’s own labs and companies can power our security future. In turn, the private sector benefits from access to credit to grow their companies and feed their bottom line.
History has shown that African military collaboration has already proven itself on the world stage. Three decades ago, Ghana and Nigeria pioneered the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group ECOMOG in Liberia when regional interventions were untested. African military diplomacy stepped into the breach when others hesitated. From those West African origins, the tradition expanded across Sierra Leone, Mali and beyond. Rwanda transformed from recovery to becoming the number two global contributor of peacekeeping forces.
Today, 9 of the world’s top 15 contributors to UN peacekeeping are African nations and African troops are active in Somalia, in the Central African Republic and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So, we are not only recipients of support from the international community — we are contributors of support, and without African leadership there would be no effective peacekeeping.
Now, peacekeeping is entering a new era. However, this era is facing serious headwinds. Politically, the UN Security Council is deadlocked and political support is eroding. Meanwhile, external actors are pursuing their own agendas on African soil, complicating our security landscape.
Financially, missions are underfunded. This makes resolution 2719 (2023) so vital. With this resolution, the UN Security Council acknowledged a simple truth: African crises demand African leadership, backed by global financial support.
This new era of peacekeeping also brings with it an opportunity for a new face. It has to be younger, more diverse in people and skills that will work with communities on the front and the day after. That includes women. On the day after, women are the anchors of recovery helping to rebuild trust and heal communities long after the guns fall silent.
The day after also demands something else from us as military leaders. Justice and accountability matter the day after. Everyone deserves their day in court — even accused terrorists, as difficult as it may be to accept, must face justice in a court of law. These are some of the issues the international community will raise, and as leaders you will have to have a position that you can defend.
Let’s be reminded why we need peace — for development. Without it, neither the Sustainable Development Goals nor Agenda 2063 can be achieved. Farmers cannot farm without security. Energy systems cannot be built without protected infrastructure. Every school, every hospital, depends on security. We cannot have girls in fear of kidnapping.
Without security, development is impossible. Without development, security cannot hold. Lasting peace must be built on both. Both are the foundation of the 2030 Agenda and Africa’s vision in Agenda 2063. They connect the dots between prosperity, good governance and peace: food security, education, healthcare, decent work, social protection, green technology, resilience, justice and institutions people can trust.
We know that every additional year of schooling reduces the likelihood of a young person joining armed groups by up to 13 per cent. This evidence begs the question: How do we invest in peace? Is it military spending? Is it development spending? Is it both? That is the discussion we need to have in this room.
That means tackling root causes. It means democracy that is robust and representative. Not unconstitutional changes dressed up as solutions. While this might seem legitimate in many eyes, in the longer term, democracy, and by extension security, is weakened.
Instead, strong institutions underpinned by strong democracies and a strong security apparatus are the safeguard against instability. Let’s give some deep thought to the resources we are allocating to achieve stability. Last year, the world spent $2.7 trillion on the military — more than at any point in history. Yet insecurity has not diminished. Conflicts are spreading, not shrinking.
At the same time, the world fell short by $4 trillion each year for basic development needs. Four trillion missing for schools, jobs and clinics. That imbalance raises a clear question: what kind of spending truly delivers the peace you are fighting to protect?
This is at the heart of the African Union’s call to silence the guns. Because silencing the guns is not only about weapons laid down. It is about investing in people, tackling root causes and creating societies where stability is built on justice, opportunity and trust.
Success will only be possible if we create fiscal space for investment in people and stability. We need fairer finance: debt relief, affordable credit and a global system that works for Africa as it is today. We need a global financial architecture that reflects today’s realities. And we need African countries strong and united in calling for these changes.
Strategic defence collaboration is not a slogan, it is the bridge between the threats we face today and the peace we promise tomorrow. I have seen the challenge. I have also seen what’s possible when we find common ground.
The outcomes of this week must be heard beyond this room. They must be carried into every international forum where decisions on defence are made. That is how we shape Africa’s security on Africa’s terms.
But, reshaping security also means changing mindsets. We must see women not only as victims of war, but as partners in peace. Just as women look for peace in their homes, they must be part of the search for peace on the warfront. This is not only about winning wars. It is about winning peace, together.
As Nelson Mandela [Madiba] said: “I dream of the realization of the unity of Africa, whereby its leaders combine in their efforts to solve the problems of this continent.” That dream calls on us to act, with resolve, with trust, and with shared purpose to safeguard the future of Africa, for Africans.