Dr. Donald Kaberuka, outgoing President of the African Development Bank, appointed as High Representative for the AU Peace Fund

The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has appointed Dr. Donald Kaberuka, as the AU High Representative for the Peace Fund. It is to be recalled that, at its meeting held on 26 September 2015, in New York, the Peace and Security Council, meeting at the level of Heads of State and Government, expressed its support to the initiative of the Chairperson of the Commission to appoint a High Representative for the Peace Fund, whose mandate shall include mobilizing additional resources for AU peace and security-related activities, and requested her to expedite this appointment.

The Chairperson of the Commission, through the appointment of Dr. Kaberuka, is sending a strong signal to the international community on the AU's commitment to work towards finding sustained, predictable and flexible funding mechanisms to support AU-led peace operations, as expressed in the Common African Position on the Report of UN High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) and subsequent Report of the United nations Secretary General entitled the future of UN Peace Operations: implementation of the recommendations of the High Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations.

Donald Kaberuka, a Rwandan economist and former Minister of Finance, is also the outgoing President of the African Development Bank Group, and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Kaberuka is currently serving on the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum, the Mandela Institute (Minds) and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. He has also joined the Center for Public Leadership Community as a Hauser Leader-in-Residence. Dr. Kaberuka will bring to the AU his globally appreciated knowledge on Development financing, as well as his well-known dedication to Africa.