The Federal Government has called on African Union (AU) member states to increase their contributions to the AU Peace Fund to strengthen the continent’s ability to prevent and resolve conflicts.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, made the call at the 26th Extraordinary Session of the AU Executive Council in Luanda, Angola.
She said African-led peace operations require reliable and predictable funding to cover personnel, logistics, equipment and other operational needs, warning that funding gaps could weaken their effectiveness.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu said member states had so far contributed about $350.2 million, representing 87.5 per cent of the initial $400 million capitalisation target, while the Peace Fund’s balance had surpassed $405 million.
She added that about $39 million had already been disbursed for mediation, preventive diplomacy, peace support operations and other interventions.
The minister urged African countries to gradually reduce dependence on external funding and take greater responsibility for financing peace and security on the continent.
“African resources should remain the foundation of African peace and security financing.”
She called for the Peace Fund to be progressively capitalised towards its $1 billion target, while encouraging greater contributions from African financial institutions, private-sector organisations and strategic partners.
The minister also called for full implementation of the 0.2 per cent levy under the Kigali Financing Decision and urged the AU Commission to explore innovative ways of generating predictable, long-term revenue.
Among the proposals was allowing strategically located land provided voluntarily by member states to be developed by qualified private companies and African multilateral financial institutions, with agreed royalties potentially generating income for the AU.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu stressed that any new financing mechanism must be supported by transparency, accountability, sound financial management and effective oversight.
Source: Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
