AU, UN officials meet in Ethiopia to discuss security challenges in Africa

Friday, March 13, 2015

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ADDIS ABABA -- Officials from the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday held an annual meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to discuss security challenges facing Africa.

The half-day meeting focuses on the situations in the Great Lakes Region, the Central African Republic, Mali and the Sahel, Libya, South Sudan, Somalia, Darfur, and issues related to combating the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Haile Menkerios, Special Representative of the UN Secretary- General, said poor governance is the root cause of insecurity on the continent.

"Military action should be integrated into feasible political processes and we should take steps to prevent crises from escalating into violence in the first place," said Menkerios.

The UN official expressed disappointment with lack of progress in the South Sudan peace process, adding the UN will in the weeks ahead strengthen collective mediation efforts with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa.

With regard to the move to counter Boko Haram, Menkerios said he is encouraged by the progress made by members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and Benin, with AU and UN support, towards the formation of a multinational task force.

"However, a military response must be part of an overall regional multidimensional strategy that tackles the underlying causes of the insurgency," he added.

The AUPSC and UNSC held their first consultative meeting in 2007 in Addis Ababa.

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