Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed today called for strengthening the relationship between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to deliver on promised development for Africa’s youth.<\/p>\n
Addressing her first African Union Summit since taking office, Ms. Mohammed said that the AU’s thematic focus this year on youth is a \u201cpowerful reminder\u201d of the core principle at the heart of the\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0for Sustainable Development, the AU’s strategic framework known as Agenda 2063 and other global agreements, namely, creating a better world for the next generation.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the 226 million young people aged 15 to 24 living in Africa today, these agendas address challenges and opportunities that are integral to their futures,\u201d she\u00a0said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cToday you are here taking decisions that will ensure that Africa benefits from the full potential of all its people, including young women and men,\u201d she added, in a nod to this year’s theme of\u00a0Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through investments in Youth<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cInvesting in our youth today reaps the dividend of a peaceful and prosperous Africa tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n Addressing leaders from across the continent who have gathered at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ms. Mohammed called for \u201cbuilding new bridges between us, and fortifying the ones that already exist\u201d to deliver on the promises of the development agenda for Africa and its people.<\/p>\n In April, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-AU annual conference in New York resulted in a joint framework for enhanced partnership on peace and security. The two organizations are now preparing a joint framework on sustainable development, focusing on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and of Agenda 2063, according to Ms. Mohammed.<\/p>\n She also noted that the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ will be collaborating with the AU on a new Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-European Union initiative to be launched at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly this September to end gender-based violence around the world.<\/p>\n The deputy Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ chief also highlighted some of the other areas where the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the AU are working more closely, including on efforts to enhance the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ’s partnership with Africa’s regional economic communities in areas of peacekeeping, elections and democratic transitions.<\/p>\n