The African Union is slated to operationalize the Peace Fund which is earmarked to promote peace across the continent.
The fund when fully operational will be the principal instrument for financing peace and security activities across the 50 member states of the AU.
The fund will be responsible for funding operations in three areas: Mediation and Preventive Diplomacy, Institutional Capacity and Peace and Support Operations.
Promoting peace and security is one of the core functions of the Africa Union, however the organisation has lacked a credible mechanism to fund operations in this domain and the continent has been reliant on external sources to end conflicts.
The Africa Union General Assembly decided to fund a quarter of all the peace and security efforts of the organisation and has so far raised US$131 million since 2017, with an intended target of $400 million by 2021.
Chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki, restated his commitment to ensuring strong accountability and financial governance for the effective, transparent and prudent use of resources in the organisation.The Board of Trustees is made up of five African members representing the five AU regions and two of the African Union’s international partners: the European Union and the United Nations. The role of the Board of Trustees is to ensure strategic coherence and enhanced governance, financial and administrative oversight of the Peace Fund.
The Peace Fund is the first endowment fund to be established by the pan African bloc. The Board of Trustees mainly works to ensure strategic coherence and enhanced governance, financial and administrative oversight of the Peace Fund.
The AU’s campaign on “Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020” aims to achieve a conflict-free Africa, prevent genocide, make peace a reality for all and rid the continent of wars, violent conflicts, human rights violations, and humanitarian disasters.
