Peace and security in Africa took center stage during Germany’s sixth term as an elected member of the UN Security Council from 2019 to 2020. Issues including mediating peace and implementing sanctions in Libya, supporting Sudan’s fragile transition process, and peacekeeping in Mali were of strategic importance to German and European foreign policy. Challenged by major geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council’s work on Africa oscillated between animosity and collaboration. At the same time, the African Union aspired to play a greater role as the primary guarantor of African peace and security.
In this public online debate, we will discuss the challenges for the UN’s peace and security work in Africa as well as Germany’s experience addressing them during its two years on the Council. We will focus on the extent to which Germany was able to achieve its objectives, use its room for maneuver as an elected member, and embed its UN diplomacy in its larger foreign policy activities. The speakers will also discuss the role of the African members of the UN Security Council and UN-AU relations.
Speakers:
Dr. Christoph Heusgen
Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations
Bintou Keita
Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, United Nations Secretariat, New York
Dr. Gerrit Kurtz
Research Fellow, Conflict Prevention and Diplomacy in Africa, DGAP
Moderator:
David Schwake
Secretary-General, German Africa Foundation
If you would like to attend this event, please send an e-mail to events@dgap.org.