UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The heads of the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) Commission on Thursday underscored the need to deepen the two organizations' strategic partnership particularly with regard to the UN's financing for the AU's peace support operations.
In a joint declaration, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat stressed that the UN should embrace a future role of not only working alongside regional organizations but also enabling them to share burdens in accordance with the UN Charter.
The two leaders agreed that the UN should provide "enabling support" on a case-by-case basis, including through more predictable financing, to AU peace support operations authorized by the UN Security Council.
According to the AU Peace and Security Council, eight AU-led peace support operations have been deployed since 2003.
The funding arrangements of these operations vary for each mission but usually comprise funding from the AU Peace Fund, international partners and, in some cases, contributions from the UN peacekeeping budget. Some troop contributing countries bear their own costs.
