Africa
"As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I shall continue to call on Africa's development partners to fulfill their commitments to the continent, even in this time of crisis. With your strong leadership, matched by strong partnership from the international community, Africa will be transformed for the better in the future."
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Address to Summit of the African Union
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 2 February 2009
At the end of World War II in 1945, nearly every country in Africa was subject to colonial rule or administration. With the founding of the UN in 1945 and its massive decolonization effort, Africa is independent. Today, the African Union boasts 53 independent member States.
This newly autonomous Africa faces massive challenges, including extreme poverty, illness, desertification, malnutrition and the awful toll taken by ongoing regional conflict. It has been a long hard struggle. And as good neighbors, the global community is there to help.
Through its unique capacities as the world’s premiere vehicle for international cooperation, the UN system plays a crucial role in coordinating assistance of all kinds — to help Africa help itself. From promoting the development of democratic institutions, to the establishment of peace between warring nations, the UN is present on the ground supporting economic and social development and the promotion and protection of human rights.
In this effort, the UN works closely with Africa’s regional cooperation mechanisms and has seven active peacekeeping operations at present. UN peacekeepers serve, at the cost of life and limb, in Chad and the Central African Republic, Darfur (with the African Union), the Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Western Sahara.
