Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The theme for 2017 is “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.” In support of this significant day, and as part of peace month, ACCORD has planned month of activities.
On 13 September 2013 ACCORD, in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Political Science Department, hosted its first ever Model African Union Conference in Durban, South Africa. The goal of the Conference was to familiarize students with the ideals and working principles of the African Union (AU) and to provide students with a platform to discuss issues of migration in the form of role plays as leaders of the AU.
From 18-22 September 2017 ACCORD will be conducting a Training for Regional Faith Women Peace Mediators in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa in Kigali, Rwanda. The 17 participants are drawn from five countries in the region and are part of a faith-based network. The training will reinforce the mediation capacities of the participants in order to equip them to continue with conflict prevention and mitigation efforts in their respective countries.
From 19-20 September 2017 ACCORD, in partnership with the AU Peace Support Operations Department, hosted the 2nd Annual Meeting of the Civilian Strategic Support Group (CSSG) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The CSSG was created to serve as a coordination hub that would assist in enhancing the operational effectiveness of the civilian component of the African Standby Force (ASF). The CSSG annual meeting was attended by representatives from the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and training centers of excellence from across the 5 regions of the AU.
From 19-21 September 2017, ACCORD conducted a training for political officers working in the African Union Situation room in the Conflict Early Warning Systems (CEWS) which was held in Durban, South Africa. The political officers from the Regional Economic Communities included Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development). The training was focussed on reinforcing these officials’ conflict analysis skills which are central to the work that they do in their different countries.
From 26-28 September 2017, ACCORD will co-host, with the UN Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (OSAA), an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on “Peace, Security and Development Nexus – Sharing research and knowledge on managing transition from stabilization to long-term peacebuilding and development”. The EGM will bring together 44 experts, practitioners, and policy makers on issues of peacekeeping and peacebuilding, drawn from key centres of excellence from Africa and other continents. This is not the first time ACCORD has worked with OSAA co-hosting activities in 2016 and 2015 respectfully.
For more information on the outcomes of the events, please follow our ACCORD social media sites on Twitter and Facebook, as well as the News Reports regularly shared on the ACCORD website or contact Stephanie de Freitas, Assistant Researcher, Executive Office for more information on the events at Stephanie@accord.org.za.
