The African Union (AU) was established in 2002 with a broad political mandate for dealing with all issues related to peace and security in Africa, so as to establish a viable environment for sustainable development. The AU adopted a legacy Peace Fund that had been formed in 1993 but in 2016 the AU Assembly decided to create a revitalised Peace Fund with enhanced corporate governance and financial management structures. The Peace Fund Instrument was adopted in 2018 and provides the framework for the development of the dedicated Peace Fund Board of Trustees as part of the governance structure to ensure that the Peace Fund is able to deliver timely and effectively support in the areas of mediation and preventive diplomacy, AU led peace support operations, and the development of core institutional capacities. The Peace Fund is intended to become the primary instrument for support to operational peace and security activities in Africa.
The Trustees, who represent the five regions of the continent, are Zainab Ahmed, from Nigeria, Kamel Morjane, from Tunisia; Elene Makonnen, from Ethiopia; Tito Mboweni, from South Africa and Anicet Dologuele, from the Central African Republic. In addition to these African members, the European Union and the United Nations will occupy two seats on the Peace Fund Board that have been allocated for international partners.
Our consultant Kerry Kopke specializes in the design of funds to deliver African development priorities. Kerry has been a consultant on the USD 295 million African Union Peace Fund since 2018. Her work has seen her developing financial and corporate governance rules and co-ordinating financial and investment rules with various Ministers of Finance across Africa. Currently she is assisting the African Union in the secretarial duties of the Peace Fund while a new Secretariat is being appointed.
The picture (as posted by Tito Mboweni on his Twitter feed) features the recent African Union Peace Fund Board of Trustees meeting held on 29 April 2022, which our consultant Kerry Kopke was invited to attend.
