Panapress
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
The call followed a high-level meeting on challenges to peace and security in Africa, organised by France, which holds the rotational presidency of the council for September.
PANA reports heads of state or government, senior ministers of the council's 15 members, as well as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, attended the meeting.
AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Konare also participated in the event.
"The aim of strengthened ties between the UN and the AU is to enhance the capacities to address conflicts,'' President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said.
"Together, we must respond in a more timely and complementary manner to the crises in Africa," he added.
The speakers at the meeting stressed the importance of bringing a sustainable peace to Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
The council had recently authorised the formation of the first UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur, to be known as UN and African Union Mission In Darfur (UNAMID).
The force will comprise 26,000 troops, police personnel and civilians, making it the largest peacekeeping operation in the world.
Ban described the meeting as ``an expression of our collective commitment to end the tragedy of Darfur''.
Voicing support for the hybrid force, U.S. President George Bush lamented the loss of over 200,000 Darfurians and the displacement of two million others.
He stressed the need to ``collectively end the violence and ensure peace and security''.
However, Ghanaian President John Kufuor urged the council ``to show equal commitment to the protracted conflict in Somalia as in Darfur'' and also called for the deployment of UN troops to Somalia by next February.
``We must encourage an inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation,'' President Denis Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo said in his contribution.
He also said he expected the UN to support the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and welcomed the AU-UN partnership, as well as the participation of regional organisations such as the European Union (EU) and the League of Arab States.
President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa underscored the importance of Africa finding solutions to African problems.
He also cited the need for greater resources to allow the continent to tackle key challenges to establish a far-reaching framework for peace and security on the continent.
Wrapping up the session, Konare noted the continent needed the support of the international community in training its troops and improving its information and communication technology.
Most importantly, he said, Africa needs financial support to promote growth and development.
Source: Panapress, Sept 26, 2007