CCCPA organized a virtual side event on 29 August 2022 titled: “Strengthening Institution Building to Advance Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa", on the margins of the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8). The side event comes in the context of strengthening synergies between TICAD and Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, for which CCCPA acts as the Secretariat, bearing in mind Japan’s strategic partnership with the Forum since 2019 and with the Center since 2008.
The side event brought together officials from African countries and development partners providing a platform to share experiences in designing and implementing effective approaches towards institution building that contribute towards achieving sustainable peace, security, and development.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Director General of CCCPA, stated that “No advancement towards lasting peace and development can happen without strong resilient institutions.” He highlighted that the discussions held during the third edition of Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development and its respective conclusions underscored the importance of strengthening African institutions in face of the cascading risks and threats in Africa including armed conflict, terrorism, food crisis, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The conclusions also highlighted institution building as a key priority to be considered within the work of the new African Union Center for Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development hosted by Egypt. He stressed that CCCPA, in its capacity as the Aswan Forum Secretariat will actively work towards advancing the implementation of the Aswan Conclusions on Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa, in collaboration with partners, chief among them Japan as a long-standing partner of CCCPA and the Aswan Forum.
Ambassador Jainaba Jagne, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of The Gambia to the AU, outlined The Gambia’s experience in institution building and the enhancement of the government’s national structure, in accordance with its National Development Plan (2018-2021), highlighting some of the significant steps in this regard, including the establishment of a reconciliation and reparation commission; drafting a new constitution; strengthening the independence and autonomy of the judiciary branch; and launching of the African Union Technical Support to The Gambia (AUTSTG) in 2018, which provides advice to The Gambia’s government on the rule of law, democracy, transitional justice, and security sector transformation.
Regarding Rwanda’s experience, CEO of the Rwanda Governance Board, Dr. Usta Kaitesi, stated that “consensus and dialogues were key elements for national reconstruction” and highlighted that Rwanda’s key strategic pillars for national construction include accountability mechanisms, transforming the security sector, and improving the trust between citizens and the government. In addition, she underlined that as national unity is the foundation of national leadership transformation rendering it crucial to focus on citizen engagement.
LTC Mr. Norihisa Urakami, Associate Professor at the National Defense Academy of Japan, highlighted the progress made since the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) and the adoption of the New Approach for Peace and Stability in Africa (NAPSA). He noted the peacebuilding initiatives and programs which have been carried out in a number of African countries under the NAPSA framework. He also emphasized the importance of future action plans to build upon the progress achieved, including through capacity building, and promoting women and youth participation, among others.
Ag. Head of Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) Unit in the AU, Ms. Sandra Adong Oder underscored the distinctive ways of engagement for PCRD and peacebuilding on the continent, while also outlining lessons learned since the adoption of the PCRD policy, which has led to four pillars for review: (i) national ownership, (ii) coherence, (iii) implementation, and (iv) strong institutions and resource mechanisms. During her intervention, she emphasized the importance of coherence and synergies between the UN and other actors, as well as the need to plan for short- and long-term projects and interventions. She also discussed plans, including the expansion of the PCRD policy framework and mandate.
Dr. Ben Messaoud, Lead Coordinator, Transition States Coordination Office at the African Development Bank (AfDB), highlighted that AfDB’s Transition Support Facility (TSF)’s aims to address root causes of conflict and fragility and build state resilience, as well as provide funding through support to national governments in conflict or post-conflict settings, debt relief programs, and targeted capacity building and technical assistance to strengthen regional and national institutions.
Moreover, Dr. Roselyn Akombe, Governance and Peacebuilding Regional Coordinator at UNDP's Regional Service Centre for Africa, asserted that governance is key in an era of cascading risks, both for institution building and resource management, and that the focus of all efforts should not only be on institution building, but also on building resilient institutions and gaining the trust of the people, pointing to examples of UNDP support to African countries in these areas.
Throughout the side event, discussions aimed to identify African best practices and lessons learned in the context of institution building to better guide efforts in this area, provide an opportunity for regional and international stakeholders to draw on these lessons and reflect on how to more effectively provide support, identify action points for strengthening national ownership, the resilience of national and local institutions, as well as provide recommendations for strengthening partnerships, creating synergies, and ensuring complementarity on national, regional, and international levels.
