Shared U.N.-AU strategic vision needed

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 (UPI) -- A report on the United Nations-African Union joint missions called on leaders of both organizations to develop a shared strategic vision.

Former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, during an address to the U.N. Security Council, said that in order for the United Nations and African Union to strengthen their relationship and peacekeeping capabilities, developing a more effective partnership is essential, the United Nations reported.

Prodi heads a panel to support AU peacekeeping operations. He filed a report to the Security Council saying the United Nations and the African Union need a shared strategic vision "if the United Nations and the African Union are to exercise their respective advantages -- the African Union's ability to provide a rapid response and the United Nations' capacity for sustained operations," according to a news release.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who also addressed the Security Council, warned that a funding shortfall is limiting the capabilities of the African Union along with any expansion of its responsibilities.

"A peacekeeping mission that is under-resourced can imperil the initial benefits gained through its deployment and can raise expectations without providing the means of fulfilling them," Ban told the Security Council, according to the release.