Addis Ababa — Angolan president João Lourenço defended Saturday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the urgent need for adequate and sustainable funding for peace and security activities in Africa.
The Angolan statesman, who spoke on the first day of sessions of the African Union Summit, taking place in Addis Ababa, considered the effects of political conflicts, religious, ethnic and cultural intolerance and the weakening of State institutions to be worrying.
João Lourenço, who chairs the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), and is the African Union (AU) mediator in the crisis between Rwanda and the DRC, said it was necessary for the forces in Peace Support Operations to be able to develop action without difficulties.
He defended, in fact, the full operational of the African Union Peace Fund and the Crisis Reserve Mechanism, "to ensure the reduction of the external dependence of the African bloc in terms of security and peacekeeping, paving the way for the application of solutions to African conflicts on the continent".
On the other hand, he considered it essential to adopt forms of governance in Africa that are increasingly participatory, inclusive and genuine, so as to reinforce trust in institutions and contribute to the promotion of an African culture of peace and respect for the principles of human rights.
"We must seek to implement national education policies that include education for peace and tolerance for diversity, promoting and disseminating values, attitudes and behaviors that reflect respect for life and human dignity", he emphasized.
He said he was convinced "that if we work together and focus on what we want to do for our continent, we will be able to achieve in a short time this important objective of Agenda 2063 of the African Union and create the bases for economic growth and development in Africa" .
Economic and social crisis
The Statesman expressed deep concern about the fact that Africa continues to experience a serious economic and social crisis, aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and with the effects of political conflicts, religious, ethnic and cultural intolerance and the weakening of State institutions.
The president said that the threats of instability arising from these socio-economic trends should require pragmatic political initiatives within the framework of the continent's peace and security perspectives for 2023.
He explained that in the last decade, instability in Africa has worsened as a result of the intensification of terrorist actions, violent extremism and the unconstitutional changes of democratically elected governments, often resulting from the non-acceptance of the results from the polls by some competitors.
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This situation, he said, "justifies the urgency of working together, seeking the best mechanisms that help us comply, with greater speed, the resolutions, measures and decisions resulting from the various meetings on the matter, held in our continent ".
In the discussion of topics on Peace and Security in Africa and the paths that should lead to the silencing of weapons on the continent, President João Lourenço defended the need to work together in order to more quickly implement the measures approved in various forums to regarding this topic.
He congratulated the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union Commission, Bankole Adeoye, "for the excellent presentation of the Reports on the Activities of the Peace and Security Council, with emphasis on the enlightening approach taken on the common threats that hinder the peace and security in Africa.
"From the content of the reports presented, we perceive that there is greater complementarity between the AU, the Regional Economic Communities and the Regional Mechanisms, through a better alignment of interests and objectives, with a view to achieving the goals outlined in Agenda 2063, so that the continent becomes free of weapons in a short period of time (...)", he stressed. DC/AL/ADR
