Implementation of the Recommendations Contained in the Report of the Secretary-General on the Promotion of Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in Africa

A/RES/75/327View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 66b Causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, published in 2020.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2022

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2022	A/77/644 S/2022/959	Promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/75/327

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Africa Peacebuilding Peacekeeping Operations Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regional Security Sustainable Development War Prevention

What’s in this document?

31 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the recommendations contained in his report on promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa;⁴

⁴A/75/917-S/2021/562.

Also takes note of the advice submitted for the first time in 2021 by the Peacebuilding Commission on the item on the causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, as contained in the letter from the Chair of the Commission addressed to the President of the General Assembly, and further encourages the Commission to continue that good practice with a view to enhancing cooperation and synergies in support of addressing root causes of conflict in Africa;

Recalls the adoption of the African Union Agenda 2063 and its first 10-year implementation plan (2014–2023), which outlines key African flagship projects, fast-track programmes, priority areas, specific targets and African strategies and policy measures at all levels, and urges further efforts to support the implementation of the plan;

Welcomes the progress made by African countries, the African Union and subregional organizations in conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development, calls for intensified efforts, support and a coordinated approach among national Governments, the African Union, subregional organizations, the United Nations system and relevant partners in addressing those challenges, with a view to achieving further progress towards the goal of a conflict-free Africa, and in this regard recognizes the important role played by civil society organizations, including women’s organizations;

Reiterates that we are setting out together on the path towards sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner, including through international cooperation and partnership on the basis of mutual trust and the full benefit of all, in a spirit of global solidarity, and for the common future of present and coming generations, focusing on the needs of African countries and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognizes the need for African countries to make continued efforts to create enabling environments for inclusive growth in support of sustainable development, and calls upon the international community to enhance support and fulfil its commitments to take further action in areas critical to Africa’s economic and social development;

Urges continued support for measures to address the challenges of poverty eradication and hunger, decent job creation and sustainable development in Africa, including, as appropriate, domestic resource mobilization, debt relief, improved market access, regional integration and intra-African trade, including through the African Continental Free Trade Area, support for the private sector and entrepreneurship, fulfilment of commitments on official development assistance and increased flows of foreign direct investment and transfer of technology on mutually agreed terms;

Urges Member States to commit to enhancing public health cooperation with Africa, supporting Africa in strengthening and improving health systems, namely, through capacity-building;

Recognizes the adverse effects of climate change, ecological changes and natural disasters on the sustainable development of African Member States, including through drought, desertification, biodiversity loss, land degradation, flooding and food insecurity, emphasizes the importance of sustainable use of natural resources and the need for adequate risk assessment and risk management strategies, highlights the importance of supporting efforts to strengthen the implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing resilience in Africa, in particular the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme and other initiatives launched under the leadership of the African Union Commission such as the Great Green Wall and the Land Policy Initiative and the African Union Green Recovery Action Plan, as well as initiatives launched by African countries such as the Adaptation of African Agriculture and the Security, Stability and Sustainability initiatives, and welcomes the efforts and initiatives of the African Union on addressing climate change on the continent;

Reaffirms the need to promote and protect effectively the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all migrants, regardless of their migration status, especially those of women and children, and to address international migration through international, regional or bilateral cooperation, recognizing the roles and responsibilities of countries of origin, transit and destination in promoting and protecting the human rights of all migrants, calls for respect for the principle of refugee protection in Africa and the resolution of the plight of refugees, including through support for efforts aimed at addressing the causes of refugee movement and bringing about the voluntary, dignified, safe and sustainable return and reintegration of those populations, and also calls for respect for the principle of non-refoulement of refugees in Africa;

Reaffirms the convening of the intergovernmental conference held on 10 and 11 December 2018 in Marrakech, Morocco, and recalls that it adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, also known as the Marrakech Compact on Migration;⁵

⁵Resolution 73/195, annex.

Notes the opportunities and challenges presented by Africa’s demographic structure, and stresses the importance of addressing the socioeconomic dimension of youth unemployment as well as facilitating the enhanced participation of youth in decision-making processes, reaffirms the important and positive contribution of youth to the efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security and the role young people play in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, including through the promotion of narratives of peace, and as a key aspect of the sustainability, inclusiveness and success of peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts, and further notes with concern the tragic plight of children in conflict situations in Africa, in particular the unlawful recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflicts, sexual violence as well as other violations and abuses committed against children;

Expresses grave concern about the growing threat posed by terrorism, and violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism to the peace, security and social and economic development of Africa, and calls upon the Office of Counter-Terrorism and relevant Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, within their existing mandates, to intensify cooperation, assistance and capacity-building, for African Member States, the African Union and African subregional organizations, while ensuring compliance with international law, and encourages the United Nations system and Member States to support the efforts on the establishment of the African Union Special Fund on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Africa;

Calls upon the Office of Counter-Terrorism and relevant Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, within their existing mandates, to intensify cooperation, assistance and capacity-building, for African Member States, the African Union and African subregional organizations, while ensuring compliance with international law, upon their request, in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism, through the implementation of relevant international and regional treaties and protocols, and in this regard welcomes in particular African initiatives, namely the African Union Plan of Action on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism in Africa, the African Centre for Studies and Research on Terrorism, based in Algiers, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Centre of Excellence in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in the Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti, as well as the Community of Sahel-Saharan States Counter-Terrorism Centre, based in Cairo;

Takes note of the establishment of regional programme offices of the Office of Counter-Terrorism in Africa, in Rabat, Morocco, and Nairobi, Kenya, and welcomes their efforts in this regard, further takes note that the offices have been established to prevent and counter violent extremism conducive to terrorism and enhance counter-terrorism training and capacity-building support to Member States of the region, upon request and with the consent of the relevant Member States and in coordination with them, for delivery of programmes closer to the beneficiaries, and invites the Office of Counter-Terrorism to work in close coordination with relevant local, subregional and regional institutions working to counter terrorism as well as with relevant Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities, and further invites relevant institutions dealing with counter-terrorism to coordinate, with the regional programme offices of the Office of Counter-Terrorism, in order to ensure updated and tailored training materials and programmes, while underlining the need for upholding the principle of consent of the host countries in the context of all such United Nations field engagements, in line with respective mandates, and in cooperation with the respective host countries;

Notes the decision taken at the fourteenth extraordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, within the context of the African Union Agenda 2063, to extend the implementation of the African Union Master Road Map of Practical Steps for Silencing the Guns in Africa for a period of 10 years (2021–2030), with periodic reviews every two years, and to extend the commemoration and conduct of Africa Amnesty Month during September of each year for a period of 10 years (2021–2030), and calls upon Member States and the United Nations system, as appropriate, to intensify their support and cooperation with African countries, the African Union and the African regional economic communities and relevant regional mechanisms towards the timely realization of this goal;

Emphasizes that the illicit flow of arms, particularly small arms and light weapons, to rebel armed groups, terrorists and criminals contributes significantly to insecurity and violence in various parts of Africa and undermines social cohesion, public security, socioeconomic development and the normal functioning of State institutions, underlines the importance of promoting the implementation of relevant international instruments and strengthening law enforcement mechanisms, and in this regard urges Member States to take effective measures to holistically address all root causes of conflicts and redouble efforts to effectively curb the illicit flow of conventional weapons into and within Africa, including by taking the necessary steps at the national level to implement the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects;⁶

⁶Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 9–20 July 2001 (A/CONF.192/15), chap. IV, para. 24.

Stresses the critical importance of a regional approach to conflict prevention, including early action to address rising conflict risk and emerging violent conflict and, in particular with respect to cross-border issues such as transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration programmes, the prevention and combating of illegal exploitation of and trafficking in natural resources and high-value commodities and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects, and emphasizes in this regard the central role of national Governments, the African Union and subregional organizations in addressing such issues;

Notes that in some armed conflict situations, the illicit exploitation, trafficking and trade in natural resources has contributed to the outbreak, escalation or continuation of such conflicts, and calls for the implementation of resolutions adopted on this issue to support the prevention of the illegal exploitation of natural resources;

Welcomes the ongoing efforts of the African Union and subregional organizations to strengthen their capacity in peacekeeping operations on the continent, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations and in close coordination with the United Nations, through the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, and in this regard takes note of the Cairo Road Map on Enhancing Peacekeeping Operations: From Mandate to Exit that was endorsed by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union as an African contribution to advance United Nations peacekeeping reform efforts related to the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, and further welcomes language from the communiqué as well as the ongoing efforts to develop a continental early warning system, strengthen the readiness of the African Standby Force and enhance mediation capacity and preventive diplomacy, including through the Panel of the Wise;

Recognizes the role of the Peacebuilding Commission in ensuring that national ownership of the peacebuilding process in countries under consideration is observed and that nationally identified priorities are at the core of international and regional efforts in peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the countries under consideration, welcomes the bridging role of the Commission as a dedicated intergovernmental advisory body to bring together all the relevant actors in the United Nations system as well as international and financial institutions, representatives of national Governments, representatives of civil society and regional and subregional organizations consistent with its mandate to promote a strategic approach and coherence in international peacebuilding efforts, calls upon the Peacebuilding Commission to further enhance its relationship with regional and subregional organizations in Africa, welcomes the Peacebuilding Fund’s engagement, as a timely, catalytic and risk-tolerant instrument for enhancing the impact and coherence of United Nations peacebuilding support, including with respect to cross-border initiatives that recognize the complex dynamics and regional impacts of conflicts in areas such as the Sahel, and calls upon the entirety of the United Nations system to develop cross-border initiatives that are coherent with one another (including funding from international financial institutions) and address underlying causes of regional tensions and conflict;

Recalls, in this regard, decision Assembly/AU/Dec.729(XXXII) of 11 February 2019 of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union on revitalizing and operationalizing the African Union Policy on Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development, while aligning it with the evolving international discourse on peacebuilding and sustaining peace and the actual needs of countries emerging from conflict in Africa, and calls upon the United Nations system and Member States to support the peace consolidation mechanisms and processes, including the African Peace and Security Architecture, the African Governance Architecture, the African Union Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Framework and the African Union Centre for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development, in order to fully contribute to conflict prevention, peacemaking initiatives, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction;

Notes with concern that sexual violence in conflict continues and may increase even as armed conflicts draw to an end, urges further progress in the implementation of policies and guidelines relating to the protection of and assistance to victims of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations in Africa, including more systematic monitoring and reporting, notes the adoption by the General Assembly and the Security Council of relevant resolutions, including Council resolution 2467 (2019) of 23 April 2019, and encourages the entities that compose United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, as well as other relevant parts of the United Nations system, to assist the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in the implementation of her mandate, including in Africa;

Reiterates the calls for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention and resolution, and peacebuilding, consistent with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) of 31 October 2000 and subsequent Security Council resolutions on women and peace and security, recalls the ongoing efforts of African countries and the African Union, including the work of the African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security, to ensure the protection of the rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations, also recalls the adoption and entry into force of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, as well as all other relevant instruments for strengthening the role of women in peace and conflict on the continent, and further recalls in this regard the adoption of national action plans on women, peace and security by several African countries and the various initiatives of the African Union, and urges the provision of adequate international support for the implementation of these plans;

Recognizes the important contribution of the African Peer Review Mechanism since its inception in improving governance and supporting socioeconomic development in African countries, takes note of the decision adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in January 2017 on the revitalization of the African Peer Review Mechanism, expanding the monitoring and evaluation mandate of the Mechanism, and invites the United Nations system and Member States to provide voluntary substantial financial and capacity-building support to the revitalization of the Mechanism and to advance its activities;

Urges all stakeholders to consider ensuring appropriate financing of digital development and adequate means of implementation, including strengthened capacity-building of African developing countries in support of increasing domestic resource allocation;

Recalls the adoption of its resolution 71/254 of 23 December 2016 on the Framework for a Renewed United Nations-African Union Partnership on Africa’s Integration and Development Agenda 2017–2027, and calls upon the Secretary-General to provide, as appropriate, predictable support for full, effective and efficient implementation of the Framework;

Also recalls the commitment of the African leaders to Africa’s political, social and economic integration agenda and to the ideal of pan-Africanism and African renaissance, as well as their effort to achieve the goal of a conflict-free Africa as affirmed in the solemn declaration adopted on 26 May 2013 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization of African Unity/African Union, expresses its readiness to contribute, and calls upon all, in particular relevant United Nations entities, to help to achieve this goal;

Calls upon the United Nations system and Member States, bilateral and multilateral partners and new partners to deliver expeditiously on their commitments and to support the full and speedy implementation of the provisions of the political declaration on Africa’s development needs,⁷ as well as the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the African Union Agenda 2063;

⁷Resolution 63/1.

Welcomes the convening of the fourth United Nations-African Union annual conference at the level of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission at United Nations Headquarters on 9 December 2020, and reaffirms the commitment to continue to deepen the strategic partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in addressing peace and security, sustainable development and human rights and implementing Agenda 2063 in Africa;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to monitor and report to the General Assembly on an annual basis on persistent and emerging challenges to the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa, including the root causes of conflict and conditions to promote sustainable development, as well as on the approach and support of the United Nations system.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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