African Union and UN set follow-up plan for African peacebuilding
Regular exchanges, country consent and periodic progress updates form the core of a joint plan adopted by the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission.
The two bodies agreed the arrangements after their ninth annual consultative meeting in New York on 21 October. The joint communiqué is intended to turn priorities discussed at their annual meetings into practical follow-up before their next consultation in 2027.
A framework between annual meetings
The plan provides for regular information-sharing between the two secretariats on peacebuilding developments and priorities of common interest. That exchange can include analysis, experience, lessons learned and approaches to working with regional development banks and international financial institutions.
Designated focal points are to track the actions agreed in the communiqué and provide periodic informal updates to the two bodies. Those updates are intended to inform the next annual consultation. The work is to be carried out within existing resources, rather than through a newly announced funding programme.
Both sides said peacebuilding should be led and owned nationally. The communiqué says international support should align with priorities identified by the countries concerned, and should complement rather than duplicate or replace national and regional efforts. It also refers to the engagement of women, young people and local peacebuilders in support of national priorities.
Cooperation depends on the countries concerned
The agreement identifies several settings where closer cooperation and mutual learning may be pursued. These include the Central African Republic and South Sudan; West Africa and the Sahel; the Lake Chad Basin; the Great Lakes region; Southern Africa; and the Horn of Africa.
That list does not create a single programme for every area. The communiqué says cooperation in country and regional contexts may proceed only at the request and with the agreement of the countries concerned. It also says existing national, regional and international engagement, together with the different paths taken by each peacebuilding setting, should be taken into account.
Joint or coordinated engagement is similarly conditional. The two bodies may consider practical forms of common work in support of identified national priorities, including a possible joint field visit. Any such visit would require the consent of the country concerned. The communiqué therefore creates a route for cooperation, not a confirmed schedule of visits or interventions.
Coordination around existing support
The plan also gives a role to the African Union’s political affairs, peace and security department and the United Nations peacebuilding and peace support office. They are expected to support follow-up through exchanges of expertise and lessons, the identification of opportunities for complementary engagement, and the sharing of evidence and learning from existing tools and mechanisms.
In contexts mutually agreed by the two bodies, the offices are also expected to facilitate exchanges on existing peacebuilding, development and financial engagement. The stated aim is to identify where support can work together more effectively around nationally identified priorities. The agreement does not announce a pooled fund, a new financial allocation or a new operational mission.
The communiqué places the arrangements within a longer partnership between the African Union and the United Nations, including the 2025 review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture. It also refers to the need for early planning with national authorities where United Nations or African Union peace operations are changing, so that essential peacebuilding support can continue where appropriate.
The next joint consultation is due to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2027. By then, the periodic follow-up is intended to show whether the agreed exchanges, country-led cooperation and coordination of existing support have produced practical progress.
