South Africa's ambassador to the United Nations vowed Wednesday to use his time as rotating president of the Security Council to strengthen relations between the council and the African Union and to pay special attention to the situation in Somalia. “The South African government decided to dedicate this Security Council presidency to strengthening the relationship between the United Nations including the Security Council with the African Union (AU) and other regional organizations,” said Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo. Kumalo said his April presidency would include “two major events” for the UN-AU relations, including “a historic meeting” between the 15-member Security Council and the African Union peace and security council on April 16. Darfur, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be among the issues that will be discussed, he said. The other event involves “a debate between regional organizations and the United Nations” to be chaired by South African President Thabo Mbeki. Kumalo said several African heads of state had already confirmed their attendance, including Chadian President Idriss Deby, Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The meeting will be at the Security Council on April 17.
