Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 31 May 2023

The ECCAS Commission is striving to give culture its letters of nobility, so that it can act as a tool for awakening consciences, a marker of our many and diverse originalities, a catalyst for unity in diversity and a vector of peace in a world exposed to aggression and other forms of violence.

The financing of the African Union (AU) peace support operations is a perennial issue, and it is one that has occupied immense scholarly discussion over the years. Currently it is receiving significant policy attention in both United Nations (UN) and AU Headquarters with the submission of Secretary-General Guterres’ report on the financing of AU operations, and the UN Security Council debate on peace and security in Africa under the Swiss Presidency on 25 May 2023.

What factors influence the effectiveness of peace operations? Looking back over the past 75 years of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, this is the most enduring question from researchers and policymakers. Historically, most peacekeeping operations have been successful. However, UN peacekeeping is now under new pressure because of a significant loss of trust between its three large stabilisation operations and their host countries of Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Mali.

Events in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and most especially in the eastern regions have yet again drawn media attention with the floods that have hit the south-eastern Kalehe territory of the DRC, killing about 400 people and leaving villages submerged. These events have once more dampened international and regional efforts to curb the country’s humanitarian crisis related to the ongoing war in the eastern regions of the DRC. It is important to underscore that peace and stability continue to be elusive in the eastern DRC and the region as the conflict goes back decades to the mid-90s following the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. The genocide involved several armed groups, some of which were formed by Rwandan Hutus who crossed the border into the eastern region of the DRC. These armed groups then threatened not only the population along the eastern region but also the population of neighbouring states, eventually leading to a full-blown conflict.

Borders are one of the universal traits that countries share in common. Although the formation of borders in Africa is contentious, the protection of states territorial sovereignty at an international, regional and domestic level has become the subject of much discussion over the years. Boundaries have had a considerable political, social and strategic impact on African states. The discussion of borders is an interdisciplinary one that examines the far reaching impacts that it has, as it shapes and informs the cultural, economic, environmental and social character of a people, and as such the nation state. Borders and borderlands in Africa have become spaces where the nexus of security, development, crime, conflict and politics often interface and collide.

Despite the strives that the continent has made in gender equality, it is important to highlight the increasing digital gender divide in Africa. Since the onset of the 4^th Industrial Revolution (4IR), in the mid 2000’s, Africa has struggled to advance and adapt to advancements in technological and digital systems. The 4IR allows for individuals across the globe to move between digital domains with the use of connected technology which enables people to better manage their lives. The adoption of the 4IR contributes to substantial economic growth and but also exacerbates existing environmental and security threats. Despite the prominent digital transformation, the United Nations Women have reported that globally 3.7 billion people do not have access to the internet in 2021 with more than 50 % of this number being women. Whilst some parts of the globe have been able to lessen the digital gender divide, this has not been the case for the African continent, as the data has indicated that the divide is instead growing.