Addis Ababa, October 27, 2020, (ECA) - The UN Secretary General and the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson have committed to working together to implement the development plans , said Stephen Karingi , Director for Regional Integration and Trade Division at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

Mr. Karingi spoke on 27 October at the inception meeting on the studies in the five sub-regions of the continent to investigate the linkages between development, peace, security, human rights and humanitarian pillars.

The two principals have signed the Joint United Nations-African Union Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security and the African Union-United Nations Framework for the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he said.

A memorandum of understanding currently exists between the two organizations on humanitarian action and they would soon sign another joint framework on human rights, he said.

The collaboration, in recognition of the connection between peace, security, human rights and development in the five sub-regions, is with a view to promoting joint interventions in the search for lasting solutions to conflicts on the continent, said Mr. Karingi.

Cross-cutting issues to be considered in the studies include gender and youth, COVID-19, and trans-boundary matters for promoting intra-regional cooperation.

The reports are focused on the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in Africa as well as the RECs, the AUC, AUDA-NEPAD and APRM.

The studies were conducted in partnership with the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), with the Department of Global Communications (DGC), the UN Office to the African Union (UNOAU), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Office on the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

The issue of COVID-19 and its impact on the four pillars and their inter-linkages featured in the studies of many sub-regions, including socio-economic, health and humanitarian responses to the pandemic.

Equally noteworthy is the fact that conflict around land rights necessitates a thorough analysis of the land issue as it relates to growth, development and conflicts in Southern Africa.

Elsewhere, the reports observed that conflicts and cross cutting issues such as governance, leadership deficits, combating corruption and addressing climate and environment matters should be prominent. (ECA)