Governments need to go beyond the rhetoric and take concrete action to prevent and resolve conflicts, according to the Luanda Declaration read by African Union Chairperson Évariste Ndayishimiye.
The Luanda summit confirmed that sustainable peace must be backed by African resources and that cooperation with international partners must respect sovereignty and African-led solutions.
The African Peace Fund is tasked with mobilizing resources for African-led peace and security efforts through a more predictable, member-funded, financing.
The AU Peace Fund, established in 1993, is the main financing instrument of the Union for peace operations, mediation and institutional capacity.
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The fund has been chronically under-financed and long relied on external donors, leading to repeated calls for greater African ownership.
The extraordinary summit identified terrorism, violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of government, political crises, online dangers and geopolitical rivalries as key challenges to stability on the continent.
The declaration stressed accountability through AU mechanisms, including the Peace and Security Council, and the need for political will to ensure that decisions by heads of state lead to results.
It also underlined the need for women and youth involvement in peace processes and called for better protection of children affected by conflicts.
