United Nations Security Council Resolution 2033 – Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security

Resolution 2033 (2012)

The Security Council,

Recalling all its previous relevant resolutions and statements of its President which underscore the importance of developing effective partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant statutes of regional and subregional organizations,

Reaffirming its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security,

Reiterating that cooperation with regional and subregional organizations in matters relating to the maintenance of peace and security and consistent with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, can improve collective security,

Recognizing that regional organizations are well positioned to understand the causes of armed conflicts owing to their knowledge of the region which can be a benefit for their efforts to influence the prevention or resolution of these conflicts,

Stressing the utility of developing effective partnerships between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, in order to enable early responses to disputes and emerging crises and to strengthen the role of the United Nations in the prevention of conflict,

Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1894 (2009) and 1960 (2010) and its commitment to their full and effective implementation and reaffirming the important role that women play in mediation, conflict prevention, as well as in the peaceful resolution of conflict and peacebuilding as expressed in its Presidential Statement 2011/20 of 28 October 2011 and also reaffirming the importance of the prevention of and protection from sexual violence,

Reaffirming its resolutions 1379 (2001), 1612 (2006), 1882 (2009) and 1998 (2011) on the protection of children in armed conflicts and encouraging initiatives by regional and subregional organizations and arrangements for the protection of children affected by armed conflict and encouraging continued mainstreaming of child protection into their advocacy, policies and programmes,

Welcoming the increasing contribution being made by the African Union in efforts to settle conflicts on the African Continent and expressing its support for the peace initiatives conducted by the African Union, and through the African subregional organizations and stresses, in accordance with Article 54 of the Charter of the United Nations, the need for regional and subregional organizations at all times to keep the Security Council fully informed of these efforts in a comprehensive and coordinated manner,

Recalling the Constitutive Act of the African Union and its Protocol relating to the establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and expressing its support for the ongoing operationalization of the African Union Peace and Security Architecture,

Acknowledging progress made in the ongoing cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, and stressing the importance of further strengthening cooperation and developing effective partnership with the African Union Peace and Security Council consistent with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter to address common collective security challenges in Africa,

Recognizing the importance of strengthening the capacity of regional and subregional organizations in conflict prevention and crisis management, and in post-conflict stabilization,

Further recognizing that one major constraint facing some regional organizations, in particular the African Union, in effectively carrying out the mandate of maintaining regional peace and security is securing predictable, sustainable and flexible resources,

Noting with appreciation the collaboration between the good offices of the Secretary-General including his Special Representatives and the African Union in the area of conflict prevention,

Welcoming the contribution of the United Nations Office to the African Union in strengthening coordination and cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union,

Taking note with appreciation the efforts of the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission in developing common guidelines that outline a framework for mediation in Africa in an effort to make the United Nations-African Union partnership more coherent when undertaking joint mediation efforts,

Welcoming the United Nations support for the African Union in the field of peacekeeping, including by supporting the African Union’s efforts to develop policy, guidance and training in particular in the areas of Security Sector Reform, post-conflict reconstruction and the protection of civilians including the problem of sexual violence in armed conflict,

Noting the need for a comprehensive analysis of lessons learned from practical cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, in particular with regard to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) as well as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), recognizing the need to build upon lessons learned from practical cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union and further recognizing the benefits of coordination of policy and strategy in this regard by the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council,

Further taking note of the report of the African Union Chairperson entitled The United Nations-African Union Partnership on Peace and Security: Towards Greater Strategic Political Coherence on the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union on peace and security in Africa,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on United Nations-African Union cooperation in peace and security (S/2011/805),

1. Expresses its determination to take effective steps to further enhance the relationship between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations, in particular the African Union, in accordance with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter;

2. Encourages the continuing involvement of regional and subregional organizations in the peaceful settlement of disputes, including through conflict prevention, confidence-building and mediation efforts;

3. Further encourages regional and subregional organizations to strengthen and increase cooperation among them, including efforts to enhance their respective capacities, in the maintenance of international peace and security;

4. Reiterates the importance of establishing a more effective relationship between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council including in the area of conflict prevention, resolution and management, electoral assistance and regional conflict prevention offices;

5. Takes note of the respective strategic visions of the partnership between the African Union and the United Nations as contained in the reports of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (S/2011/805) and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and stresses that common and coordinated efforts undertaken by the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council in matters of peace and security, should be based on their respective authorities, competencies and capacities;

6. Encourages the improvement of regular interaction, consultation and coordination, as appropriate between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council on matters of mutual interest;

7. Stresses the importance of a coordinated international response to causes of conflict and recognizes the need for the development of effective long-term strategies and emphasizes the need for all United Nations organs and agencies to pursue preventive strategies and to take action within their respective areas of competence to assist Member States and regional organizations to eradicate poverty, strengthen development cooperation and assistance and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

8. Reaffirms the obligation of all Member States to settle disputes and resolve conflicts in accordance with the United Nations Charter and calls upon the international community to assist the efforts initiated by the African Union and subregional organizations aimed at the peaceful settlement of disputes and the resolution of conflict in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations;

9. Calls upon the Secretary-General to maintain close consultations with the African Union and Regional Economic Communities as well as with international partners on peace and security challenges in Africa, especially in prevention and resolution of conflicts;

10. Recognizes the important role of the good offices of the Secretary-General in Africa, and encourages the Secretary-General to continue to use mediation as often as possible to help resolve conflicts peacefully, working in coordination and closely with the African Union and subregional organizations in that regard, as appropriate;

11. Calls upon the United Nations Office to the African Union to continue its efforts to contribute to strengthening cooperation between the United Nations Secretariat and the Commission of the African Union including in the area of mediation efforts, and underscores the importance of expediting the implementation, in close consultation with other international partners, of the 2006 United Nations-African Union Ten-year Capacity-Building Programme for the African Union mainly focusing on peace and security, in particular the operationalization of the African Union Peace and Security Architecture; as an important contribution towards conflict prevention on the African Continent;

12. Reaffirms the vital role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, humanitarian response, and post-conflict reconstruction, and stresses the need for the United Nations and the African Union to work to ensure that women and gender perspectives are fully integrated into all peace and security efforts undertaken by the two organizations, including by building the necessary capacity;

13. Urges the Secretary-General to continue to work to ensure that the United Nations Office to the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations agencies working with the United Nations Regional Coordination Mechanism for Africa are delivering coordinated support to the African Union;

14. Welcomes regular interaction between the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission, through the United Nations-African Union joint task force on peace and security, and encourages the Task Force to continue to focus on strategic and country-specific issues of the African continent that are of interest to both organizations and requests that the Task Force consider ways to enhance United Nations and African Union cooperation on conflict prevention in Africa and that it provide updates to the Security Council subsequent to its meetings;

15. Supports further interaction between the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission to exchange information, and as appropriate coordinate in the preparation of recommendations, including through joint assessments, if appropriate, in order to assist the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council in formulating cohesive positions and strategies;

16. Further supports ongoing briefings by Senior United Nations Officials to the African Union Peace and Security Council and that of the African Union to the United Nations as an important contribution in strengthening consultation, information sharing and communication between the two bodies on issues of mutual concern;

17. Decides in consultation with the African Union Peace and Security Council to elaborate further ways of strengthening relations between the two Councils including through achieving more effective annual consultative meetings, the holding of timely consultations, and collaborative field missions of the two Councils, as appropriate, to formulate cohesive positions and strategies on a case-by-case basis in dealing with conflict situations in Africa;

18. Further decides to follow up on the Communiqués of the annual consultative meetings of the two Councils including through its Ad-hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa;

19. Stresses the need to enhance the predictability, sustainability and flexibility of financing regional organizations when they undertake peacekeeping under a United Nations mandate;

20. Reiterates that regional organizations have the responsibility to secure human, financial, logistical and other resources for their organizations, including through contributions by their members and support from partners and welcomes the valuable financial support provided by the African Union’s partners towards its peacekeeping operations including through the African Peace Facility, and calls upon all partners to continue their support;

21. Requests the Secretary-General in consultation with the African Union to conduct a comprehensive analysis of lessons learned from practical cooperation between the United Nations and the African Union, in particular with regard to the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) as well as the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in order to improve coordination when appropriate;

22. Further requests the Secretary-General to include, as appropriate, in his regular reporting to the Security Council, assessments of progress on the cooperation between the United Nations and relevant regional and subregional organizations;

23. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 6702nd meeting, on 12 January 2012.