The Luanda Declaration, read by African Union Chairperson Évariste Ndayishimiye, said governments must move beyond rhetoric and take concrete action to prevent and resolve conflicts.
The Luanda summit reaffirmed that sustainable peace must be supported by African resources and that cooperation with international partners should respect sovereignty and African-led solutions.
The African Peace Fund will mobilize resources for African-led peace and security efforts through a more predictable, member-funded, financing.
The AU Peace Fund, which was established in 1993, is the Union’s main financing instrument for peace operations, mediation and institutional capacity.
The fund has long suffered from a lack of financing and has depended on external donors, resulting in repeated calls for greater African ownership.
The extraordinary summit identified terrorism, violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of government, political crises, cyber dangers and geopolitical rivalries as the key challenges to stability on the continent.
The declaration underscored accountability across AU mechanisms, including the Peace and Security Council, and the need for political will to ensure that decisions by heads of state lead to results.
It also highlighted the value of involving women and youth in peace processes and called for enhanced protection of children affected by conflicts.