UNOAU SRSG participates in the fourth Strategic Dialogue on the UNSG’s Peacebuilding Fund

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) to the African Union and Head of UNOAU, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga speaks at the fourth Strategic Dialogue on the UN Secretary-General’s Peace Building Fund (PBF) in The Hague, the Netherlands

14 Jun 2022

UNOAU SRSG participates in the fourth Strategic Dialogue on the UNSG’s Peacebuilding Fund

On 14 June, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) to the African Union and Head of UNOAU, Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, participated in the fourth Strategic Dialogue on the UN Secretary-General’s Peace Building Fund (PBF) in The Hague, the Netherlands. The meeting which was organized by the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the Fund’s top donors the opportunity to engage with the PBSO and various partners in an informal discussion on the Fund’s priorities, direction and its role in the overall peacebuilding architecture. In her opening remarks, the Director of the Department of Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marriet Schuurman, commended the partnership and collaboration between PBSO and the donors. She acknowledged that the partnership had positively impacted the realization of the PBF objectives and enhanced the success of major peacebuilding priorities in general. The UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Elizabeth Spehar, in her remarks encouraged the participants to reflect on creative ways to enhance peacebuilding funding and align peacebuilding interventions with the emerging global threats emanating from the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and pre-existing challenges, such as the effect of climate change, expanding terrorism and violent extremism as well as governance dysfunction and unconstitutional changes of government in Africa. The meeting received presentations from civil society groups on their engagement and experience with peacebuilding initiatives and highlighted the challenges and opportunities.

In his keynote address, SRSG Parfait Onanga-Anyanga noted that the emerging global crisis and the current demand for peace signals the criticality of peacebuilding. In this regard he noted that nine of the 12 countries on the PBC’s programme of work for 2022 were African. He commended the efforts of the Fund’s top donors and recognized their sustained commitment and contribution to peacebuilding interventions globally and particularly in Africa. He acknowledged PBC’s successes in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan. Elaborating on some of the new challenges confronting the African continent, he highlighted food insecurity and the high cost of energy resulting from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, institutional and structural deficits, and increasing fragility of African economies exacerbated by the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He further noted mass population displacement and grave humanitarian crisis perpetrated by terrorist attacks and violent extremist groups as a threat for peace on the African continent.

He further stressed that multilateralism, preventive diplomacy and mediation were key imperatives for mitigating conflicts and encouraged the PBF not to relent in providing the necessary funding support to undertake initiatives that will accelerate peacebuilding and promote sustainable peace and development. He added that for peacebuilding priorities and initiative to enjoy success, partnership was critical as well as Member States’ ownership and leadership. In conclusion, he stated that peacebuilding support and post conflict reconstruction would enhance the capability of the AU Member States to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and enjoy lasting peace and stability.

On the margins of the dialogue, SRSG Parfait Onanga-Anyanga met with officials of the African Department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They informed that the Dutch government was in the process of drafting an African strategy to define their engagement with the AU. SRSG Parfait Onanga-Anyanga shared perspective on the AU-UN Partnership on peace and security and on some of the AU’s current priorities, including support to pending political transitions in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Libya.