Kigali, 18 July 2016: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, welcomes the groundbreaking decision of the Assembly of the African Union to institute a levy of 0,2 percent on eligible imports, in order to address the funding challenges the African Union has faced since its inception.

The Chairperson of the Commission particularly welcomes the decision of the Assembly to operationalize the Peace Fund, in order to finance the peace and security operations of the Union, through the provision of USD65 million by each of the continent’s five regions per year through the import levy, increasing to USD80 million per region by the year 2020. This is in fulfillment of the commitment by the Heads of State and Government, made in 2015, to finance 25 percent of the cost of African Union peace support operations.

The Chairperson of the Commission also stresses that, in addition to the financial commitments made in relation to the Peace Fund, the Heads of State and Government have also endorsed the concept of the Peace Fund with three windows, namely Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation, Institutional Capacity, and Peace Support Operations, as well as the non-financial aspects, including the decision-making process for seeking funding from UN assessed contributions for the remaining 75 percent of the cost of peace support operations, and the human rights and code of conduct compliance framework for Peace Support Operations.

The Chairperson of the Commission would like to extend her gratitude to the AU High Representative for the Peace Fund, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, for the work he has put into conceptualizing a sustainable and predictable funding mechanism for the Peace Fund, and looks forward to his continued support, both in the implementation of the Peace Fund, and securing additional sources of funding for peace and security on the continent.

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