Youth participation should be inclusive and integrated deeply in dialogues, so young people do not inherit socio-economic and political problems that could have been negated through their involvement.
During the COVID-19 crisis ACCORD’s analysis is focused on the impact of the pandemic on conflict and resilience in Africa.
Africans realised early on in the pandemic there was a tough period ahead – repeating the long pattern of Africa feeling the worst impacts of global dynamics.
Eastern Africa has two primary terrorism hotspots. The first is Somalia. It has experienced continuous instability since 1991, due to clan-based warlords and the lack of a functioning central government. Secondly, similar to Somalia, the eastern part of the DRC has been a hotspot since its own civil war from 1997 to 2003.
On 24 November 2021, news about the ‘Botswana Variant,” now known as Omicron, which is said to have 32 mutations, was reported by Mail Online and other international news media. While the global north is already inoculating booster shots, Botswana is one of the countries in the continent playing catch up trying to attain herd immunity.
Since October 2017, an insurgency emerged in Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, resulting in numerous terrorist attacks, claiming nearly 3,000 lives, and displacing some 800,000 people since 2020. In addition to the current military reprisals, a more comprehensive approach should recognise both the fact that the insurgents are the “sons of Mocímboa da Praia” and that at a certain point in time, they became radicalised and turned towards violent extremism.
During the COVID-19 crisis ACCORD’s analysis is focused on the impact of the pandemic on conflict and resilience in Africa.
China’s reputation game in Africa is of strategic and vital importance as Chinese engagements (investments, infrastructure, and other projects) typically receive positive ratings on the continent while generating controversy and outcry in other parts of the world.
Malawi has quietly progressed in developing its formal National Peace Architecture (NPA). The NPA’s pilot structures stand Malawi in good stead to handle potential regional contagion effects deriving from instability in northern Mozambique.
The “strongly-worded statement” has always been a foreign policy instrument for diplomats responding to situations of concern. There is a growing awareness that statements issued by intergovernmental organisations at the onset of crises play a catalytic role in setting the tone for the international response.