PRESS RELEASE Nº 006/2011
AFRICA UNION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT IN TALKS TO SUPPORT AU PEACE AND SECURITY EFFORTS
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 9 February 2011- Africa is working to address the root causes of conflict in order for it to grow and prosper. "Causes of conflict on the continent come down to the basics i.e. access to resources, food, pasture, water etc", and in some cases, these issues have not been resolved. However, Africa is continuing to make progress in resolving conflict as evidenced by the decline in the number of active conflicts on the continent, and the adoption of good governance mechanisms. In addition, the AU needs the continued support and cooperation of partners in order to succeed in ensuring peace and security.
This was said at the AU Commission today by the Commission's Deputy Chairperson Mr Erastus Mwencha when he met a US delegation led by Ambassador Vicky Huddleston, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of Defense for Africa. The delegation also included the US Ambassador to the AU, Mr Michael Battle.
Mr Mwencha said in efforts to stabilize the continent, the AU is working to resolve the conflict in Somalia and allow the country to become a nation state; it is working with Sudan in the post referendum period to resolve border disputes and to make sure South Sudan benefits from its independence; and it is also heavily involved in efforts to bring stability to Cote D'Ivoire. In fact, at the time of the meeting, he said that a delegation of the Panel of 5 selected by the AU Assembly in January this year, as well as the Chairperson of the Commission Dr Jean Ping, was in Cote D'Ivoire to meet the two parties to the stalemate in efforts to ensure that the country goes back to normalcy. But, he said, continued support and cooperation was required from partners to capacitate the AU to continue engaging in peace efforts. In this regard, he highlighted the importance of making sure the African Standby Force becomes operational as well as the need to secure African coastlines from conflict and piracy.
Mr Mwencha's comments were made in the context of the ongoing collaboration between the AU and the US, through its US Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the stated objective, by Ambassador Huddlestone that the US Department of Defense and AFRICOM were looking to the AU to see how they can structure their activities around AU priorities. The discussions were also informed by President Obama's strategy where the US supports African solutions and builds the capacity of African institutions so that they can spearhead development.
The talks with Ambassador Huddleston also touched on the need to counter terrorism and to prevent internal conflicts from spilling over into neighbouring countries.
WZM/
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