Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations,

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has commended the African Union and its leadership for the progress achieved on institutional reform adopted at the recent AU Assembly meeting.

Guterres, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, described the 55-nation continental body as a UN peace partner.

Guterres said the AU’s key decisions on new infrastructure and leadership “send a strong message” of its membership commitment to a union guided by “accountable and effective leadership”.

The 11th Extraordinary Summit of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government was held in Addis Adaba, Ethiopia on Nov. 17 and 18.

Guterres said the AU’s decisions brought to the forefront new commission structure, election of senior leadership and chairpersons, among other key financial and administrative reforms for the regional union’s 55-member countries.

“The decisions of the African Union Assembly of Heads of States and Governments on the new structure of the Commission and on the selection of its senior leadership send a strong message of the commitment of its membership to underpin the work of the Union with accountable and effective leadership.

The Secretary-General also welcomed “the further operationalisation of the African Union Peace Fund and the appointment of its Board of Trustees to facilitate flexible, predictable and sustainable financing of the African Union peace and security activities.”

The Secretary-General reiterated the commitment of the UN to support the African Union Commission in these efforts.