AU peace fund increases by $141mn, becomes operational from 2020

The African Union (AU) Commission on Tuesday disclosed that the financial contribution from AU member countries to the AU Peace Fund has surpassed 141 million U.S. dollars during the past three years period and that its operations would begin this year.

Chairperson of the 55-member pan African bloc, Moussa al Faki Mahamat said in a statement that “solid progress is being made in delivering on the 2015 Assembly decisions on financial autonomy,” during an ongoing high-level retreat on the operationalization of the AU Peace Fund.

Mahamat also stressed that “the full operationalization of the African Union Peace Fund in 2020 is one of the top priorities that I will personally lead on,” a Xinhua news agency report said.

According to Mahamat, the growing financial contribution “demonstrates AU member states’ commitment to ensuring predictable and sustainable financing for peace and security activities in Africa.”

The AU Commission Chairperson also stressed that the financial contribution to the AU Peace Fund is expected to “gradually increase to 400 million U.S. dollars by 2021.”

The AU, which aspires the Peace Fund to finance activities in three thematic areas that include mediation and preventive diplomacy, institutional capacity and peace support operations, envisaged that the continental Peace Fund, once fully operational, would “become the principal financing instrument for peace and security activities on the continent.”

African leaders had also back in November 2018 approved a sanctions regime against member states that would fail to make their annual financial contributions to the continental body.

The set of sanctions, among other things, include a total suspension of a member state from the AU assembly and other gatherings.