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Romanian Ambassador to the UN, Dr. Ion Jinga, in the Security Council open debate on the UN – African Union peace and security cooperation
On 24 May 2016, the Permanent Representative of Romania to the UN, Ambassador Ion Jinga, delivered a statement during the UN Security Council open debate on the United Nations – African Union peace and security cooperation.
Pointing out that ”Romania has always emphasized the effective protection of civilians in armed conflicts increases if we engage and cooperate with regional and sub-regional organizations, as having a good knowledge of the geographic area they belong to, they understand the root causes of armed conflicts, which is useful for preventing or solving them”, Ambassador Jinga recalled that the first Security Council resolution on peace and security cooperation between the UN and regional organizations was adopted in 2005 based on Romania's initiative.
Highlighting the significant place Africa holds on the UN Security Council agenda, the Permanent Representative of Romania stressed the need for institutionalizing mechanisms of cooperation between UN and the African Union in fields pertaining to peace and security on the African continent: “No other region in the world holds such a prominent place as Africa on the Security Council agenda, as more than 60% of its activity is dedicated to this continent. Moreover, Africa is host to most of the UN peacekeeping operations, with 9 out of the total 16, while 80% of the UN peacekeeping personnel is deployed in missions to African states. The African Union has become a major player, asserting the leadership position in the field of peace and security on the continent, which is why we should reinforce the cooperation between the UN and the African Union, at the political, as well as operational and financial levels”.
Ambassador Ion Jinga mentioned Romania’s contribution to the stabilization of the African countries affected by conflicts: “In 25 years of active participation in peacekeeping missions, over ten thousand Romanian troops served under the UN flag. Today, Romania is present in ten peacekeeping missions, while over 90% of the Romanian personnel are in African countries. Romania ranks first among European contributors in terms of number of police officers in UN missions. At the request of the UN, the Romanian authorities confirmed the willingness to increase the number of military observers and staff officers in Mali and the Central African Republic and a Formed Police Unit consisting of 140 Romanian gendarmes has been recently operationalized and is ready to be pledged in the UN peacekeeping capabilities system. Lastly, the Romanian Gendarmerie offers the African francophone officers training courses in the field of peacekeeping missions. Acknowledging the crucial importance of the UN humanitarian dimension, Romania has recently endorsed the Kigali Principles on protection of civilians in peacekeeping missions.”
Reiterating that the three review processes from 2015 (on peace operations, peacebuilding architecture, and the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security) have conveyed the message that conflict prevention must play a key role in response to emerging crises, the Romanian diplomat welcomed the new roadmap of the African Peace and Security Architecture for the period 2016-2020, which mentions prevention as a main priority: “Resolutions recently adopted by the UN General Assembly and Security Council place prevention at the heart of our work. African problems require African solutions. From this perspective, Romania encourages a close cooperation for harmoniously implementing the Agenda 2063 of the African Union, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”