The African Peace Support Trainers Association (APSTA) seeks to improve capacity for peace support operations in Africa, a key element in the implementation of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). ACCORD currently represents the APSTA Member Institutions from the Southern Africa region in the APSTA Management Committee (MANCO) and is committed to the objective of facilitating a collaborative approach to the development of African capacity for sustainable peace and security in the continent. To this end, the Training for Peace in Africa (TfP) Programme at ACCORD contributed to the discussions of the 10th APSTA Board of Directors meeting hosted by the Cairo Centre for Conflict Resolution & Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA), which holds the current Presidency of APSTA. The meeting was held in Cairo, Egypt from 8-9 February 2016.
The meeting was attended by the following institutions; ACCORD (South Africa); CCCPA (Egypt) the Institute for Peace and Security Studies – IPSS (Ethiopia); the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre – KAIPTC (Ghana); International Peace Support Training Centre – IPSTC (Kenya); Ecole de Maintien de la Paix – Alioune Blondin BEYE – EMPABB (Mali); and the APSTA Secretariat. ACCORD/TfP was represented by Mr. Senzwesihle Ngubane, the General Manager: Operations Division, ACCORD.
The meeting provided a platform for the Board members to be appraised on current institutional, governance and related developments within APSTA. The meeting also considered the annual report for 2015; the annual work plan for 2016; collaboration, networking and dissemination; financial and administration issues; and further discussion on the 14th APSTA Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) for 2016. A discussion point for the meeting was the relevance of building upon the ongoing collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), the regional Economic Communities/Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) and other key stakeholders in developing capacities for peace operations in Africa. The 14th APSTA Conference and AGM will be hosted by the CCCPA, in Cairo, Egypt, during September 2016.
The Training for Peace Programme at ACCORD is an initiative funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
