On the 17-18 October 2023, the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) hosted its 14thhigh-level retreat of the Special Envoys on the promotion of peace, security and stability in Africa under the theme, ‘Resetting Preventive Diplomacy and Mediation for the 21st Century’. The retreat was an in-person event held in Cairo, Egypt under the Chatham House Rule of non-attribution.
The event brought together high-level officials of the AU, United Nations, regional economic communities/mechanisms, members of FEMWISE, selected donor partners and experts working in the field of preventive diplomacy to evaluate current preventive diplomacy measures in the multilateral arena in the context of changing dynamics and complex threats to stability. The sessions held over the two day program examined how both formal and informal preventive diplomacy mechanisms could be strengthened. It provided an important opportunity to take stock of the efforts of the AU in a changing conflict landscape. It also created the space to exchange recommendations on how to innovatively reinvigorate preventive diplomacy and foster strategic partnerships at the multilateral and local levels.
Key challenges which impact on successful conflict management were identified as: inadequate funding commitments from the AU member states, the use blanket economic sanctions on member states and the detrimental impact on the citizenry and the tension that exists between the AU and member states around the sovereignty of member states. In these discussions, the tension between the AU and RECs in negotiating the technicalities around subsidiarity was noted as a serious cause of division in responding to conflict.
In reflecting on the theme, participants agreed that it was clear that the AU has the requisite conflict management tools but that these need to be sharpened for more effective implementation.
