Consultation on the Year for Peace and Security

(AU Monitor)-- In a series of pre African Union (AU) summit activities of the civil society, the Centre for Citizens’ Participation in the African Union (CCP-AU) organised yet another consultation of civil society organisations (CSOs) on the Year for Peace and Security in Africa.

With objectives of becoming familiar with the Tripoli Declaration and Plan of Action of the AU special assembly on the ‘Elimination of conflicts in Africa and the promotion of sustainable peace’, knowing the role of regional economic communities and their linkage with the AU peace and security architecture, having in-depth discussion and analysis of the state of peace and security and related issues on the continent, formulating concrete recommendations to the AU summit and brainstorming and planning of CSOs’ activities for 2010 to mark the Year for Peace and Security in Africa, the consultation was graced by a delegation from the peace and security directorate of the AU commission.

Aissatou Hayatou-Tall, an expert of the peace and security directorate of the AU Commission said that the AU counted on CSOs to take initiatives that promote peace and security in Africa and she highlighted the urgent need for member states to ratify treaties, charters and conventions that promote peace and security in Africa.

The head of the peace and security council (PSC) secretariat, Admore Kambudzi, underlined traditional challenges such as extreme poverty, proliferation of small and illicit arms and the lack of good governance on the one hand and non traditional ones such as the adequate share of natural resources, the protection of the environment and HIV/Aids on the other hand that cause major threats to peace and security in Africa. He called on members of the civil society to help the PSC, especially in areas of providing elaborate research and intelligence on the real situations on the ground. Kambudzi challenged as well AU member states to be lead actors in preventing and settling conflicts in Africa.

A number of speakers who represented the civil society mentioned the need to involve international private actors in peace building processes as they are the ones who sell arms to the continent and support corrupt governments to stay in power. They also came back to the need for economic independence of Africans, as poverty is one of the major causes of conflicts in Africa.

The Tripoli declaration on the elimination of conflicts in Africa and the promotion of sustainable peace was agreed on by the heads of State and government of the AU on 31 August 2009 on the occasion of their special session on the ‘Consideration and Resolution of Conflicts in Africa’.

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