Tag: peace support operations

The African Union and the United Nations have renewed agreements to strengthen their strategic partnership in operational support, in a ceremony held at UN Headquarters in New York. Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Selma Malika Haddadi, and Under Secretary General for Operational Support, Atul Khare, signed the renewed Memorandum of Intent on cooperation in operational support and a Memorandum of Understanding on the Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme. Both officials underscored the importance of moving beyond coordination toward greater strategic alignment, shared priorities and practical cooperation between the two institutions going forward. They highlighted sustained knowledge exchange and institutional capacity development as essential to strengthening the AU’s ability to plan, deploy and sustain peace support operations across the continent. Haddadi said the partnership must continue to evolve from coordination to strategic alignment, guided by shared priorities, mutual accountability and measured impact, as global and continental challenges grow increasingly complex. Khare said the cooperation has demonstrated the value of sustained and practical capacity development, adding that the renewed agreements provide an important foundation for the next phase of the partnership. The renewed agreements build on nearly a decade of cooperation under the Knowledge and Expertise Exchange Programme, established in 2016 and revitalised in 2022, with a growing focus on mission planning, supply chains and ICT. The inaugural STAR Programme, held in Algiers in July 2026, further demonstrated the value of this cooperation, bringing AU and UN expertise together to strengthen institutional capacity and operational readiness. The renewed frameworks reaffirm the importance of networked multilateralism and the AU UN commitment to African ownership and preparedness for future peace support operations. By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed