Nigeria has urged the African Union (AU) to accelerate efforts to build a $1 billion Peace Fund and develop innovative financing mechanisms to reduce the continent’s dependence on external funding for peace and security operations.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the call on Saturday at the 26th Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union in Luanda, Angola, convened on the theme, “Strengthening Mechanisms for Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa.”
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said sustainable and predictable financing was critical to enabling African countries to take greater responsibility for preventing and resolving conflicts on the continent.
She commended progress recorded in strengthening the AU Peace Fund, noting that member states had collectively contributed about $350.2 million, representing 87.5 per cent of the original $400 million capitalisation target, while the Fund’s balance had exceeded $405 million.
The minister said the disbursement of about $39 million for mediation, preventive diplomacy, peace support operations and other interventions demonstrated the growing importance of the Fund in addressing Africa’s peace and security challenges.
She urged AU member states to honour their assessed contributions and make additional voluntary contributions where possible, describing such contributions as investments in collective security and sovereignty.
“We therefore call on all Member States to honour their assessed contributions and make additional voluntary contributions where possible, viewing these not merely as obligations but as investments in our collective security and sovereignty,” the minister said.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu stressed that African-led peace operations required predictable and reliable financing to meet the costs of personnel, logistics, equipment and other operational requirements.
She warned that uncertain funding could undermine the effectiveness of peace support operations and other interventions designed to address conflicts on the continent.
The minister called for a gradual transition from dependence on external assistance to greater African self-reliance, while acknowledging the continuing contribution of international partners to peace and security efforts.
“External assistance should complement African ownership; it should not substitute for it. African resources should remain the foundation of African peace and security financing,” she said.
She advocated the progressive capitalisation of the AU Peace Fund towards its $1 billion target, alongside increased resource mobilisation from African financial institutions, the private sector and strategic partners.
The minister also called for the full implementation of the 0.2 per cent levy under the Kigali Financing Decision, urging the AU Commission to explore additional innovative financing mechanisms capable of generating predictable, long-term revenue.
As part of the proposed alternatives, she suggested that member states could voluntarily provide strategically located land for development by capable private-sector companies and African multilateral financial institutions.
According to her, mutually agreed arrangements could generate annual royalties for the AU while simultaneously stimulating investment, infrastructure development and stronger partnerships among African institutions and businesses.
She, however, stressed that any innovative financing mechanism adopted by the AU must be supported by transparency, accountability, sound financial management and effective oversight.
“Africa has the institutions, the financial capacity and the political vision to take greater responsibility for its own peace and security. What is required now is the collective political will to translate that capacity into action,” she said.
The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to collective African efforts towards peace and security, noting that a peaceful and secure continent was essential to achieving the objectives of Agenda 2063.
“Let us make the African Union Peace Fund not merely an instrument that we endorse, but an institution that we own, finance and sustain. Let us demonstrate through our contributions that African peace is an African responsibility,” Odumegwu-Ojukwu stated.