Opening remarks

Excellencies, Distinguished Members of the Peace and Security Council, dear colleagues,

It is an honor to address this year’s joint meeting of the Peacebuilding Commission and the African Union Peace and Security Council. I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to the Chair of the AUPSC, H.E. Ambassador Churchill Ewumbue-Monono, for the kind invitation extended to the Peacebuilding Commission. It’s a pleasure to be here with you in Addis.

These annual consultations have become a tradition and they are a vital forum for deepening the partnership between our two institutions. The UN and AU share a common mandate: to prevent conflict, sustain peace, and support countries along the complex path from fragility to resilience. In a time of multiplying crises and shrinking resources, closer cooperation between the PBC and AUPSC is not a choice — it is an imperative.

And it is very clear, that in particular the UN Peacebuilding Architecture shares many priorities of the work of the African Union: the AU’s Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) Policy Framework sets out African-led principles of national ownership, inclusivity, and coherence — principles that closely mirror the UN’s peacebuilding architecture. A close exchange and strategic dialogue between the AU PCRD Policy and the UN’s Peacebuilding Architecture like the one we’re having today provides an opportunity to listen to and learn from each other, and can serve as a platform to discuss new ideas for our continued collaboration.

Over the past years, the PBC has benefitted greatly from the leadership and experience of African member states, who continue to bring to the Commission a wealth of peacebuilding knowledge grounded in local realities. At the same time, the majority of country and regional discussions in the PBC relate to Africa. I wish to commend the many African countries — from Liberia to The Gambia, from Chad to the Central African Republic — that have voluntarily shared their national peacebuilding priorities and challenges with the Commission. This openness has helped shape our collective understanding of what works in sustaining peace and, equally importantly, what does not.

Allow me also to commend the African Union’s leadership in advancing youth inclusion in peace and security. The AU Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security, together with the AU Youth Ambassadors for Peace initiative, is setting an inspiring global example. It demonstrates that young people are not only beneficiaries of peace processes, but co-creators of peace, bringing creativity, legitimacy, and renewed energy to our collective efforts. As the Peacebuilding Commission, we fully share this conviction. In 2021, the PBC adopted its Strategic Action Plan on Youth and Peacebuilding, aiming at systematically integrating youth perspectives into our discussions.

Excellencies, today’s meeting provides a timely opportunity to deepen our collaboration, to discuss concrete avenues for follow-up, and to ensure that our shared commitment to peacebuilding translates into sustained impact in the lives of people and communities across Africa. By aligning our efforts and pooling our comparative strengths, we can make a tangible difference on the ground.

Thank you.

Closing remarks

We will now hear the closing remarks. I would like to first deliver my closing remarks, followed by Ambassador C. Ewumbue-Monono, Permanent Representative of Cameroon.

As we conclude today’s discussions, allow me to extend my sincere thanks to all delegations for their valuable insights and constructive engagement. From youth inclusion to the implementation of the AU PCRD framework, from regional stabilization in the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin to post-conflict recovery in South Sudan, this meeting has once again confirmed the strong convergence between the AUPSC and the UNPBC.

However, our exchanges must not end here. Follow-up to these annual meetings is crucial. The strength of our partnership lies in what we do between these gatherings — in our ability to maintain regular contact, to align our support to national priorities, and to ensure that our shared commitments translate into meaningful, measurable progress on the ground.

I welcome that our next joint meeting will take place in New York in 2026, when the members of the Peace and Security Council will visit the United Nations. We look forward to continuing these discussions there and to showcasing the progress achieved through our collective efforts.

Let me once again thank our hosts, the African Union Peace and Security Council, for their warm hospitality and partnership, and all of you for your continued dedication to sustaining peace — in Africa and beyond.