On Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Esmeralda Mendonça, expressed Angola’s concern about the peace and security situation in Africa, in particular the spread of terrorism and violent extremism in various regions.
Esmeralda Mendonças was speaking at the thematic session on “The Global Threat Scenario: Assessment of Current and Emerging Trends”, as part of the 3rd United Nations High-Level Conference for Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies.
In this context, Esmeralda Mendonça stressed that the situation is jeopardizing the implementation of the African Union’s (AU) Agenda 2063 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the continent, adding that terrorism poses a major challenge to international peace and security, as it represents one of the most dangerous existential threats to any country.
To mitigate these risks, it is essential to promote good governance, fight corruption, strengthen state institutions, and set up early warning systems, she added.
In this regard, Ms. Mendonça said that Angola defends the relevance of implementing the decisions of the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in 2022.
She also called on the United Nations, in particular the Security Council, to use its statutory contributions to AU-mandated peace support operations (PSOs) to step up efforts to combat terrorism.