African Union / United Nations Joint Communiqué
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 24, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Commission of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) General Secretariat, represented by the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), jointly convened an “African regional workshop on security sector reform (SSR)” at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 23-25 March 2009. Also present at this event were representatives from the Regional Economic Communities as well as SSR experts from AU and UN missions in Burundi, Central African Republic, Liberia and southern Sudan.
In his opening remarks, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, recalled that, in January 2008, the Assembly of the African Union adopted decision Assembly/AU/Dec.177(X), which “encourages the Commission to develop a comprehensive AU Policy Framework on Security Sector Reform, within the context of the Policy Framework on Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development adopted by the Executive Council in Banjul in June 2006.”
The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions in the UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Mr. Dmitry Titov, noted that the January 2008 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General on SSR entitled ‘Securing Peace and Development: The Role of the United Nations in Supporting Security Sector Reform’ (A/62/659, S/2008/39) highlights a number of strategic steps for developing a coherent UN approach to security sector reform and identifies – as a priority – the establishment of a special partnership with the AU in this important area.
Having recalled the importance of the relationship between the UN and the regional organizations, including the AU, as articulated in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, the AU Commission and the United Nations Secretariat agreed to embark on a mutually beneficial partnership in the area of SSR. In this partnership, the UN will work with the AU toward the development and implementation of a comprehensive policy framework on SSR, including through a five-year plan jointly designed by the AU and the UN. This plan will be developed within the broader context of the AU’s Framework for the Ten Year Capacity Building Programme, as well as other relevant AU instruments on peace and security, including the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council and the AU Policy on Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development.
The workshop served as the launching pad for this important partnership, with the two Organizations expressing their strong commitment to this long-term initiative.
SOURCE : African Union Commission (AUC)
