South Africa will use its presidency of the United Nations Security Council in March to push for the organisation to pay for African Union (AU) peacekeeping operations, the deputy foreign minister said on Friday.
Aziz Pahad said the chairmanship of the United Nations’ top decision-making body provided South Africa with an opportunity to promote a theme of particular national or regional importance.
”South Africa intends launching a thematic debate exploring the relationship between the Security Council and regional organisations in the maintenance of international peace and security in terms of Chapter VII of the UN Charter,” he told reporters in Pretoria.
”We do not expect to achieve everything in just one month, but we will put the issue firmly on the table.
”Experience has shown that African forces can be deployed quickly compared with UN forces that take longer to marshal. However, deployment of these African forces requires international financial assistance.”
The Security Council has agreed on a so-called hybrid force in Sudan which will comprise AU peacekeepers supported technically and financially by the UN.
The African Union is also struggling to put together an 8 000-strong peacekeeping force for Somalia which it wants to come under a UN mandate after an initial six-month period.
Pledges of funding from the United States and European Union have stopped way short of what is expected to the overall cost.
Pahad said it was important funds were made available to ensure UN operations did not have to be wrapped up prematurely.
”Sixty percent of issues before the council are African. We will continue to argue that the UN cannot prematurely leave countries in which it has achieved stability. ‒ Sapa-AFP