High-level Thematic Debate on the Multifaceted Aspects of Peace and Security in Africa and the Future of Peacekeeping Operations

Peace and security in Africa are more critical than ever as the number of conflicts and crises and their geographic spread and humanitarian and socio-economic impacts have alarmingly increased.

Conflicts and crises in Africa are driven by different factors like underdevelopment, poverty, ethnic-based disputes, terrorism and climate change. The scale and consequences of these conflicts have reached unprecedented levels. They have claimed many lives and caused displacements of large numbers of people.

In addition, these conflicts have fueled instability resulting in significant economic losses.

These complex drivers of conflict and the multifaceted aspects of peace and security in Africa require an approach that links peacekeeping and peacebuilding with development, humanitarian assistance, and human rights efforts to ensure long-term peace and stability. Conflict prevention and resolution in Africa also require collaboration between the United Nations, the African Union, sub-regional organizations and
other international partners.

Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations explicitly provides for the involvement of regional organizations in the maintenance of international peace and security. The New Agenda for Peace also emphasizes the importance of cooperation and collective action and recommends support to African Union and subregional peace support operations. The Security Council recognized that collective security could improve through cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations on the maintenance of international peace and security.

Moreover, the Security Council also acknowledged the mandate of the African Union Peace and Security Council for the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa.

On 21 December 2023 the Security Council adopted resolution 2719 (2023) through which the Security Council agreed to consider access to United Nations assessed contributions by African Union-led peace support operations. The adoption of this landmark resolution is widely regarded as a significant milestone in United Nations-African Union cooperation and the acknowledgment of the need for more reliable,
flexible, predictable, and sustainable funding for African Union-led peace support operations.

This landmark resolution is a significant milestone in the collaboration between the United Nations and the African Union and a historic opportunity to strengthen the African Union’s operational capacity, particularly in mission planning, logistics, and force generation through technical cooperation, knowledge-sharing and training standardization.

In the Pact for the Future adopted in September 2024, Member States decided to ensure adequate, predictable and sustainable financing for African Union-led peace support operations mandated by the Security Council in line with resolution 2719 (2023). At the 7th Annual Consultative Meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in October
2024, the need was, however, underscored to also explore other innovative funding mechanisms.

To advance long-lasting peace, sustainable development and human dignity in Africa it is key to strengthen regional ownership and responsibility in addressing conflicts in the continent and to rely on the expertise and better understanding of the African Union as a regional organization. Further capacity-building initiatives should be designed to support the African Union in strengthening its peace support operations and political missions, including joint planning and operational collaboration with the United Nations.

This high-level thematic debate, in cooperation with the African Union, aims to discuss the multifaceted aspects of peace and security in Africa and the future of peacekeeping operations, emphasizing the role of United Nations funded African Union-led peace operations and their potential contributions to the maintenance of international peace and security. 18 months after its adoption in December 2023 and ahead of the mandated implementation review in December 2026, the debate aims to take stock of the implementation of Security Council resolution 2719 (2023) at this mid-term.

It will also provide an opportunity to discuss the role of the General Assembly in this regard and to promote further support for

African Union-led peace support operations financed through United Nations assessed contributions. The discussion should also address how to enhance coordination mechanisms between the African Union, the United Nations, and regional partners to ensure that peace operations are designed with a long-term perspective on peacebuilding and stabilization.

The high-level thematic debate will consist of an opening segment and a plenary segment. Additional
information, including the programme of the meeting, will be circulated in due course.

The meeting will be open to Member States and Observers.  Delegations wishing to deliver statements are invited to inscribe on the list of speakers for the plenary segment through e-deleGATE.

The list of speakers will be opened on Tuesday, 20 May 2025 at 10 a.m.

The United Nations Webcast services will provide live streaming coverage of the high-level meeting as well as on-demand coverage (recorded video) in all 6 UN official languages plus floor language, through the UN Web TV website at: http://webtv.un.org.

1. What specific joint measures can the United Nations, African Union and African sub-regional
   organizations take to address the complex drivers of conflict and insecurity in Africa?
2. Considering the Pact for the Future, what mechanisms can be utilized to strengthen collaboration
   between the United Nations and the African Union as well as monitoring and assessment of peace
   operations in Africa to measure their impact, particularly on the drivers of conflict?
3. Security Council resolution 2719 (2023) foresees that 25% of African Union-led peace support
   operations budget will be jointly mobilized by the African Union and United Nations from the
   international community as extra-budgetary resources and commits to consider all viable options
   in the event of significant shortfalls in resource mobilization. What joint steps could be undertaken
   by the United Nations and the African Union to identify a significant number of voluntary donors
   to ensure the predictability and sustainability of financing for African Union-led peace support
   operations?
4. What role can the 2025 Review of the Peacebuilding Architecture play regarding addressing
   conflicts in Africa in a comprehensive manner?

The President of the General Assembly will prepare an informal summary of the high-level thematic
debate, which will be circulated to all Member States

Delegations are requested to inform the Secretariat of the accessibility requirements of their delegates to facilitate participation in meetings. Upon request, adjustments can be made to three seating arrangements with a view to enabling the participation of persons with disabilities. For individual requests, please contact the Meetings Support Section of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (email: accessibilitycentre@un.org; phone: 212 963 7348/9) no later than three working days prior to the meeting.

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