The Peace Fund was established in 1993 as the principal financing instrument for the peace and security activities of the Organization for African Unity and was launched on November 17th November 2018 at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa
The Peace Fund is one of the five pillars of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The overall legal basis for the Peace Fund is set out in Article 22 of the Protocol on the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council.
In July 2016, the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government decided to endow the Peace Fund with $400m in Member State contributions to be drawn from the 0.2% levy that has been instituted to finance the overall African Union budget. The full endowment level will be reached in 2021.
Since 2017, the Fund has received the highest levels of Member State contributions (currently over $55.9m) since the establishment of the Fund in 1993.
The AU Assembly decided to structure the Peace Fund around three thematic windows:
- Window 1: Mediation and Preventive Diplomacy
- Window 2: Institutional Capacity
- Window 3: Peace Support Operations
Governance and Management Structure
A Board of Trustees, made up of five African members representing the 5 AU Regions and two international partners will be established. The role of the Board of Trustees is to ensure strategic coherence and enhanced governance, financial and administrative oversight of the Peace Fund.
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.
The Chairperson of the AU Commission, supported by an Executive Management Committee will provide strategic management oversight of the Fund.
An Independent Evaluation Panel will be established to regularly review the effectiveness and impact of the Fund.
A Fund Manager will manage the finances and a Peace Fund Secretariat will manage the day to day operations of the Fund.
Board of Trustees
The Trustees, who represent the five regions of the continent, are:
- Zainab Ahmed, from Nigeria, former Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, who previously served as the Executive Secretary and National Coordinator of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)
- Kamel Morjane, from Tunisia who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence in Tunisian and held senior positions in the United Nations
- Elene Makonnen, from Ethiopia, who has worked in various senior advisory levels with the African Development Bank, World Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
- Tito Mboweni, from South Africa, a former Governor of the South African Reserve Bank and currently a non-executive Director for South Africa at the New Development Bank (BRICS Development Bank)
- Anicet Dologuele, from the Central African Republic, who served as the President of the Central African States Development Bank, as well as Prime Minister of and Minister of Economy Planning and Finance in his country.
