Algiers, 20 August 2021 (SPS) - Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad, Ramtane Lamamra, on Thursday stressed the necessity to scrupulously respect the principle of intangibility of boundaries inherited at the time of independence in the settlement of border disputes in Africa, the ministry said in a statement.
The statement by Lamamra was made at a video-link meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, devoted to the assessment of the implementation of the AU strategy for integrated border management between the member states.
The head of Algerian diplomacy insisted on the commitment of the African Union and most of the member countries to this principle, established by the founding fathers of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1964, and subsequently consecrated as a constant and authentic principle, in the AU constitution.
Lamamra said that the "strict application" of this principle is the only guarantee of peace, security and stability in the continent and a sine qua non condition for the success of the integration and complementarity project that African countries aspire to achieve, through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The head of Algerian diplomacy called for speeding up the pace of demarcation of member states' borders, being a "crucial step for conflict prevention," in addition to stepping up cooperation in border areas to address the various challenges posed by the current scourge of terrorism, human trafficking networks and drug trafficking.
The minister also expressed Algeria’s willingness to share its long experience in securing border areas and boundary demarcation, stressing that Algeria has completed the delimitation of its borders with all neighboring countries, including the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) recently.
At the end of its deliberations, the African Union Peace and Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution incorporating the proposals of Ramtane Lamamra on the imperative of enshrining the principle of the intangibility of borders inherited from at the time of independence or the establishment of a unit assigned with the border plan at level of the African Union Commission's organizational structure.
The unit, according to the resolution, should be provided with the necessary financial and human resources to enable it to contribute to border dispute resolution efforts, at the local level, without recourse to courts or international bodies. (SPS)
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