Discurso do Representante Permanente, Embaixador Ronaldo Costa Filho, em reunião do Conselho de Segurança sobre Operações de Apoio à Paz lideradas pela União Africana - 25 de maio de 2023 (texto em inglês)

Statement by Permanent Representative of Brazil Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho on on AU-led peace support operations
May 25th, 2023

Madam President,

Let me begin by thanking our distinguished briefers for their insightful presentations.

My delegation is also grateful to the Secretary-General for the preparation of his report on the financing of African Union peace support operations.

Today's meeting is timely as we celebrate Africa Day. And in this context, let me take the opportunity to extend very warm wishes to our many, many friends in Africa. It is a significant opportunity to engage in discussions that acknowledge the indispensable role played by the people of Africa, African countries, and the African Union in ensuring peace and security on the continent.

Also, our discussion today is timely to uphold the "African solutions to African problems" approach. From a pragmatic point of view, it recognizes the comparative advantages of the UN and the AU in the lead of peace operations.

Our unwavering support for the endeavors undertaken by African nations in addressing crises must also be translated into a more meaningful and consistent contribution from the UN to the African Union.

Madam President,

As recognized in the report, this debate has evolved significantly in the last few years. It takes stock of all the lessons learned and all progress made to date in terms of legal, administrative and doctrinal matters. Today we have more clarity in many of the aspects that have prevented a decision being taken in the past.

There are, however, some issues that still have to be adressed and refined.

First, peace operations that make use of UN assessed contributions should be subject to the appropriate oversight by the Security Council. The decision whether and to what extent to support any given operation ought to be taken on a case-by-case basis, always in accordance with the specific political, security and humanitarian features pertaining to each situation.

Second, there is a need for an adequate set of frameworks on human rights, international humanitarian law, troop conduct and discipline compliance to guide those forces. These standards become even more critical when AU missions perform tasks with higher risks, which can often be the case if the operation in question goes beyond peacekeeping. In this vein, we call for the completion of the work on joint guidelines for operational planning, deployment, review and transition of AU peace support operations.

Moreover, the application of the proper standards and regulations should encompass other areas such as strategic communication, to name one example, in order to equip the mission with the appropriate tools to tackle challenges like hate speech and disinformation.

Another key step would be the conduct of a thorough assessment of the operational support capabilities available and of the need to adapt them.

Madam President,

There are still many administrative and budgetary questions pending. We hope they will be addressed as the discussion progresses. 

Nevertheless, the focus on funding should not overshadow the need to have comprehensive approaches to address Africa's security challenges. Those must include effective political strategies aimed at conflict prevention and at addressing their root causes.

As stressed by the Secretary-General in his report, we must ensure that political solutions remain at the centre of the missions' mandates.

Madam President,

We have a unique opportunity of working towards the establishment of an innovative solution that can contribute significantly to improve the African security environment. Brazil is ready to engage with other Council members for the next steps in this discussion.

Madam President, distinguished colleagues,

As this is the last Council meeting I attend in my capacity as Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, I would like to extend to each and everyone of you my deep appreciation for the close collaboration and for the friendship througouth our current mandate as ellected member. The support and valuable lessons my team, and I personally, take from this period will remain with us. I sincerely hope our paths cross again in the future.

I thank you, Madam President