United Nations and African Union hold important annual meeting
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday after a high-level meeting with African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf at the UN Headquarters in New York, Guterres said that the ninth annual UN–AU conference focused on joint action in peace, security, development, human rights and the implementation of ongoing cooperation initiatives.
Guterres said the world today is facing multiple challenges, including deadly conflicts, widening inequalities, climate chaos and unregulated technologies, making a strong partnership between the UN and AU more essential than ever.
The high-level discussion also covered financing for development, climate action, African strategies for women, and the implementation of the peace and security agenda. Guterres emphasised that Africa is deeply affected by these crises and urged the international community to prioritise the continent’s development, innovation and peace efforts, calling for decisive action in these areas.
He also called for reforms to the international financial architecture to better meet the needs of developing nations, particularly in Africa. According to him, this framework must become more inclusive, representative, fair and effective.
The UN chief stressed that sustainable development and peace are interlinked and reinforce each other. He reaffirmed his full support for the African Union’s “Silencing the Guns” initiative, noting that countries such as Sudan, the Sahel region, Mali, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to suffer from ongoing conflicts and severe instability.
In his remarks, Youssouf said that the annual AU-UN conference serves as a strategic platform for consultation and coordination between the two organisations. He noted that the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the UN’s Agenda 2030 have been aligned, and both bodies are jointly working on major peace and development programmes.
Youssouf added that the African Union remains committed to working with all parties and stakeholders at the United Nations to push for transparent, fair and equitable reforms in the Security Council. Despite financial challenges faced by both organisations, he emphasized the importance of continuing support for peace operations, counter-terrorism efforts and conflict prevention and resolution.
The first AU-UN annual conference was held in April 2017 in New York, during which both organisations signed a joint framework for enhanced cooperation in peace and security.
0 Comments