UNOAU met with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Team Leader for the African Union Compliance Framework (AUCF) to share views on how the AUCF implementation should progress. The meeting was held on 30 May. UNOAU briefed on efforts undertaken by the office to support the AUCF project and underscored the need for UNOAU and OHCHR to see the implementation of the project as a common objective need to should be seen as delivering as one. The AUCF Team leader expressed concerns the need to have political buy-in by the AUC and underscored the need to collaborate with UNOAU at all levels of the implementation to ensure synergies. UNOAU underscored the need to engage AU Member States at the appropriate level and to strengthen advocacy efforts to ensure buy-in.

Earlier in the month on 23 May, UNOAU SRSG Onanga-Anyanga invited African Ambassadors to a working breakfast meeting during the visit to Addis Ababa of the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Permanent Missions to the African Union of various African Member States. The meeting with African Ambassadors was an opportunity to raise awareness for the AU Compliance Framework project, being supported by the UN and European Union, as well as the importance of compliance of troop/police contributing countries (T/PCCs) with internationally acceptable human right compliance and conduct standards. During the meeting, SRSG Onanga-Anyanga recalled that the AU itself has a core set of provisions that deal with the issue of human rights, conduct and discipline in AU PSOs. The collaboration in this regard further builds on, and enhances, the UN-AU Joint Partnership for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security. The ASG for Human Rights explained in her remarks that the Compliance Framework encompasses the whole cycle of actions that need to be taken in peace operations, from the selection and screening of personnel, to the development of doctrine such as policy, guidelines and SOPs, as well as effective monitoring, reporting and response to violations. She reiterated that it is also aimed at building trust with the authorities and populations that are served. She welcomed the work with the AU, in complementarity with the UN, based on the comparative advantages of the two organizations.