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Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020: How Can we get there?

Dear Friends;

Invited by the Chair of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, I have had the opportunity today, to address the Council, to share my analysis and contributions on the implementation of the AU Master Road-map on Practical Steps to Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020.

The Master Roadmap rightly and comprehensively identified the challenges that our continent is facing in terms of conflicts. It also proposed pertinent and useful steps and mechanisms to silence the guns. However, the Roadmap seems to be generic in its approach. It needs to set targeted priorities for ongoing active & intense conflicts with benchmarks & time-frames, while keeping  eyes open on volatile areas & potential or at-risk situations.

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After looking at the various sources of conflicts in Africa my presentation proposed:

  • Complementary contributions on priority actions
  • Some additional modalities for mobilizing & actions
  • Some important additional steps and missing elements in the Roadmap

The Council, further in their close session,  followed a number of my proposals including the setting up of a panel of imminent personalities to monitor the Roadmap for silencing the guns by 2020.  This includes assessing regularly the state of  democracy,  human rights and rule of law in Africa. The Council called on the Heads of State to set up such a panel. The Council has also agreed to call AU Member States for the universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty among other decisions.

Get the PSC Statement here

You can download my presentation to the Council here

If you have trouble in downloading it, drop me a line on assogbavi@me.com; I will send you the file.

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