United Nations and African Union representatives are meeting in Pretoria on Monday to discuss how the world body can support regional peacekeeping efforts, the Foreign Affairs Department said.
Spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the UN-AU Panel of Distinguished Persons and Southern African Development Community (SADC) experts would discuss ways in which the UN could support peacekeeping operations of regional organisations such as the AU.
The roundtable discussions in Pretoria were part of ongoing consultations between the panel and sub-regional organisations in Africa.
The panel would report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon before the end of 2008.
The panel was created by resolution 1809 of the UN Security Council adopted at the April 2008 summit chaired by former president Thabo Mbeki.
Panel chairperson, former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi and deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sue van der Merwe would participate in the discussion.
The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
The role of regional organisations in peacekeeping operations is stipulated under Chapter Eight of the UN Charter. The AU has initiated peacekeeping missions in Burundi, Darfur and Somalia but lacks adequate resources to make these missions more
effective, said Mamoepa. – Sapa