By Landing Ceesay
The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), has held its second stakeholder dialogue series in partnership with the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) and GIZ Ghana.
The theme of the event is ‘contributing to the Implementation of ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework: Promoting Partnerships with Civil Society Organizations on Peace and Security in West Africa’.
The stakeholder dialogue series is aimed at strengthening partnership with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in West Africa to dialogue on their relevant roles towards implementing the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF).
The dialogue also discussed identifying innovative strategies to support and complement ECOWAS’s conflict prevention and management effort, and identifying opportunities and entry points for deepening engagement and cooperation with CSO’s relevant actors in the peace and security sector.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the dialogue, Ms. Sylvia Horname Noagbesenu, Director, Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPMED) of Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) said the security climate of West Africa has seen a mixed of political gains and scores of political challenges.
She added that KAIPTC have been working progressively to contribute to peace and security in West Africa.
“Over the years, KAIPTC increasingly and strongly realized the need to cooperate and collaborate with other institutions on this front to increase the reach and maximize the needed impact of peace and security.
“As part of this effort and in line with KAIPTC’s strategic objective five of its strategic plan from 2019-2023, the Centre specifically committed to strengthening collaborations with CSOs, Think Tanks and the Private Sector to advance policy dialogues and contribute to improving peace and security in Africa,” she said.
Ms. Aseye Nani, Technical Advisor GIZ support to the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) said the civil society forms one of the three essential elements of a free nation and region, along with representative governments and properly functioning economy.
She said a stakeholder meeting like this is not only timely, but important for sustaining the peaceful future of West Africa.
“The increasing number of military coups and unconditional changes in West Africa, since 2019 poses a significant challenge to the Democratic order and the peaceful development of the sub region. The salience of insecurity in West Africa and the Sahel Region remains a source of concern for regional good governance and external intervention, and this is where civil society should play a role.
“A lot has evolved since KAIPTC launched its five year Strategic Plan (2019-2023), WANEP renewed its partnership with KAIPTC (2020-2025), by collaborating in multi-actor stakeholder dialogues as one of the tools for achieving the goals of the KAIPTC Strategic Plan,” she said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Festus Aubyn, Regional Coordinator, Research and Capacity Building at WANEP believed conflict prevention requires effective multi-stakeholder collaboration.
“Accordingly, beyond ECOWAS and its Member States, conflict prevention is the responsibility of all citizens, civil society activists, academics, the media, the training centres of excellence like the KAIPTC, and the International community. All stakeholders have roles to play that may be different, but definitely complementary and mutually reinforcing,” Dr. Festus said.
Dr. Festus further stated that recent developments in West Africa have raised a lot of concerns about the region’s long-term peace and stability.
He added that the combination of both old and new threats including violent extremism, terrorism, political violence, protracted ethnic conflicts, organized crimes, economic inequalities, food insecurity and climate change have compounded the failure of states to maintain optimism and live up to the expectations of their populations.
“Particularly, the resurgence of unconventional changes of government through military coups in the region has raised concerns about the fragility of political institutions and undermined the Democratic dividends achieved over the past decades,” he said.
The stakeholder dialogue series took place on Tuesday at a local hotel in Senegambia.
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