On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the “Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict” report, the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), jointly with the United Nations Department of Peacebuilding and Political Affairs (DPPA)/the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), and the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) Group, organized a virtual expert workshop titled “Perspectives from Africa on Pathways for Peace: 5 Years of Prevention” on 21 March 2023.
The workshop comes within the context of the policy initiative, organized by the UN DPPA/PBSO and the World Bank (FCV Group), which aims to assess the relevance of the report and its findings as well as the necessity to review it, through a series of reflections and discussions from relevant stakeholders through research and convening activities. It included two sessions, "Pathways for Peace in 2023: Research Perspectives from Africa" and "Between Knowledge and Practice: Insights from Peacebuilding Actors in Africa," which brought together representatives from DPPA/PBSO, the World Bank's FCV Group, the AU, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and Regional Mechanisms, and the workshop aimed to share experiences in a forward-looking, action-oriented, and thought-provoking manner to feed into upcoming discussions during the Fourth Edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development.
H.E Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif of CCCPA highlighted the importance of Pathways for Peace reports in terms of showcasing the economic value and cost-effectiveness of prevention while noting how the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development underscores the need for conflict prevention and implementing of the peace and security architecture.
Assistant Secretary-General Elizabeth Spehar emphasized the importance of the report's 5th anniversary and the New Agenda for Peace's support for prevention efforts, which would serve as a basis for long-term investments in sustainable developing. Ms. Soukeyna Kane, Director for Fragility, Conflict and Violence of the World Bank Group, emphasized the need to invest in supporting countries in addressing core governance challenges and constraints before development into drivers of conflict, including through the financing instruments of the World Bank.
The sessions were moderated by Dr. Cedric de Coning and Ms. Hafsa Maalim, and featured experts from the Institute for Economics and Peace, the International Crisis Group, the UN University Centre for Policy Research, the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion in Sierra Leone, the UN Peacebuilding Support Office, the African Development Bank Group, the World Bank, UNDP, and the African Union Commission (AUC).
The workshop concluded with a reiteration that the findings of the Pathways for Peace report still ring true five years later, with reflections on how to translate the key messages and recommendations into practice, programming, and activities geared towards long-term and sustainable conflict prevention. Priorities for enhanced implementation of the report and its recommendations include providing support to policies that address root causes of conflict and advance durable and long-term solutions in fragile and conflict-affected.
