COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE TWENTIETH MEETING OF THE PEACE AND SECURITY COUNCIL

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU), at its twentieth meeting held on 15 November 2004, adopted the following decisions:

A) ON THE MEETINGS OF THE UNITED NATIONS (UN) SECURITY COUNCIL SCHEDULED TO BE HELD IN NAIROBI, ON 18 AND 19 NOVEMBER 2004

Council,

1. Welcomes the decision of the UN Security Council to hold meetings in Nairobi on 18 and 19 November 2004, pursuant to resolution 1569 (2004) adopted by the Security Council on 26 October 2004, and underlines the importance of this initiative;

2. Encourages the Security Council to seize the opportunity of these meetings to address the various conflict situations on the continent, including the peace process in Somalia and the efforts to support the transitional institutions established within the framework of the now concluded Somali National Reconciliation Conference organized under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD);

3. Notes that the Draft Presidential Statement on the institutional relationship between the United Nations and the African Union, including between the UN Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the AU, which is due for consideration in Nairobi, urges the UN to work with the African Union in a new and genuine partnership, based on the principles of the UN Charter and the AU Constitutive Act, and expresses the readiness of Council to work in close coordination and cooperation with the PSC and to consider ways and means to strengthen and formalize such cooperation;

4. Emphasizes the importance of the provisions of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council on the need for a close collaboration and cooperation between the UN and the AU in general, the Security Council and the Peace and Security Council in particular, in the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa;

5. Mandates its Chairperson for the month of November 2004 to join the AU delegation that will participate in the Security Council meetings in Nairobi and requests the AU Delegation to seize the opportunity to undertake consultations with the Security Council members on the ways and means to strengthen and formalize the cooperation between the PSC and the Security Council, including the establishment of appropriate mechanisms of interaction, in order to give effect to, and operationalize, the relevant statements of the Security Council and provisions of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council.

B) ON THE PROTECTION FORCE FOR THE POLITICAL LEADERS IN BURUNDI

Council,

1. Recalls the decision adopted by the 91st Ordinary Session of the Central Organ of the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, held in Addis Ababa, on 2nd April 2003, mandating the deployment of the African Mission in Burundi (AMIB) for an initial period of one year, pending the deployment of a UN Peacekeeping Mission [Central Organ/MEC/AMB/Comm.(XCI)], as well as the subsequent decisions that extended the mandate of AMIB;

2. Further recalls resolution 1545 (2004) adopted by the Security Council on 21st May 2004, authorizing the deployment, as from 1st June 2004, of a Peacekeeping Operation in Burundi (ONUB), in order to support the efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in Burundi, and deciding that ONUB would initially be composed of existing AMIB forces;

3. Notes that the mandate of ONUB, as articulated in resolution 1545 (2004), does not provide for the protection of political leaders, as a result of which the Protection Force, which was part of AMIB, was not integrated within ONUB when the United Nations took over the responsibility of the peacekeeping operation in Burundi;

4. Stresses the indispensable role that the Protection Force continues to play in the promotion of a climate of security and confidence, particularly in the context of the forthcoming elections that would mark the end of the transition in Burundi, in April 2005;

5. Decides, to authorize the Protection Force to operate under the mandate of the AU to continue to provide protection services to political leaders in Burundi and other support as may be required, during the transition in Burundi and in close collaboration with ONUB;

6. Requests the Commission to undertake consultations with the United Nations to examine the possibility of integrating the Protection Force within ONUB;

7. Requests the Chairperson of the Commission to undertake the necessary consultations with the relevant South African Authorities, in order to determine the modalities under which the Protection Force will continue to fulfil its responsibilities and tasks within the framework of the AU and agree all other relevant aspects, and to submit to it periodic reports on the steps taken and the activities of the Force.

C) ON THE SITUATION IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE

Council

1. Reiterates its grave concern at the prevailing situation in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as its conviction that the crisis in that country can only be resolved through peaceful and political means;

Welcomes the convening of the Summit of African Heads of State and Government in Abuja, Nigeria, on 14 November 2004, and expresses its support for the decisions taken on that occasion;

3. Takes note and supports the call for the early convening of a meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union at the level of Heads of State and Government to review developments in Côte d’Ivoire and agree on the steps to be taken to contribute to the restoration of lasting peace and security in that country.