On the 4th of March 2016, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Cairo Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping (CCCPA) convened an Africa Regional Consultation on the UN General Assembly Debate on Peace and Security. The Consultation was held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) offices in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ACCORD Chaired and presented at two of the Sessions respectively.
The consultation was organised in support of a High-Level Thematic Debate (HLTD) that will be undertaken by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) from the 10th to the 11th of May 2016. This Debate will consider the role and coherence of the United Nations’ (UN) institutional architecture in support of the comprehensive, efficient and effective management of international peace and security. This HLTD forms one of the key initiatives led by the President of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mogens Lykketoft, to operationalise the theme of the 70th Session – “A New Commitment to Action”. The Consultation Programme and Final Report are available for downloading below this news item.
Significantly this debate will specifically consider the three key peace- and security-related review processes undertaken by the UN in 2015, namely:
- The Report of the High Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations and the Secretary-General’s report on the Future of UN Peace Operations;
- The Peacebuilding Architecture Review and the Challenges of Sustaining Peace; and
- The Global Study on the Implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) and the Secretary-General’s Report on Women, Peace and Security.
ACCORD, in collaboration with NUPI and CCCPA, and in recognition of the critical importance of this debate therefore organised and facilitated an African Regional Consultation in support of this initiative. The event brought together a number of African Union Commission (AUC), UN, and Regional Economic Community (REC) representatives, as well as representatives from AU Member States, think tanks and civil society.
The consultation specifically aimed to provide a platform for reflection and deliberation on the three above-mentioned UN review processes undertaken in 2015, and to more concretely identify the particular perspectives emerging from the continent concerning the UN’s efforts to refine its peace and security response architecture in light of new challenges and threats. The key emergent ideas and recommendations of the day’s proceedings were captured and will subsequently be used to better inform the General Assembly’s High-Level Thematic Debate in May this year.
