CCCPA participated in the annual meeting of the Forum on the Challenges of Peace Operations from 7-11 December 2020. Held virtually for the first time, the meeting was co-organized by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, under the overarching theme "Framing Peace Operations in a Changing Global Landscape".

The Forum included three dialogue strands, led by the co-hosts of the forum, titled "AU-UN Partnership in Peace Operations", "Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace in Peace Operations", "Performance and effectiveness of Peace Operations". The strands aimed at formulating concrete policy recommendations on how peace operations can be framed in a changing global context and deliver better and adapt more quickly to changing needs on the ground.

CCCPA’s Director General, Ahmed Abdel-Latif, chaired one of the working groups under the first Dialogue Strand on "AU-UN Partnership in Peace Operations". He underscored the importance of the UN-AU partnership at both the strategic and operational levels. He pointed out that the 1st edition of the Aswan Forum For Sustainable Peace and Development and its Conclusions examined means of strengthening this cooperation and emphasizing the importance of ensuring mutual understanding of the opportunities and challenges for collaboration in a specific context. He also mentioned that leveraging the comparative advantage of both organizations and expanding their focus beyond traditional security and crisis management response should be with a view of sustaining peace.

Throughout the Forum’s discussions, CCCPA also highlighted the importance and relevance of the "Cairo Roadmap on Enhancing the Performance of Peacekeeping Operations: From Mandate to Exit" as it encompasses the entire cycle of the peacekeeping mission. 

For instance, during the second dialogue strand on "Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace in Peace Operations", CCCPA shed light on the Cairo Roadmap’s suggestion of "identifying and pursuing the necessary partnerships and cooperation frameworks with the UN Country Team as well as mobilizing support to the UN Country Team in order to increase and diversify its presence and engagement in addressing the root causes of conflict".

At the third dialogue strand on "Performance of Peace Operations", CCCPA underscored the importance of balanced and shared responsibilities between all peacekeeping stakeholders to make peace operations fit for purpose and capable of paving the way to sustainable peace and development, which was also highlighted in the Cairo Roadmap. 

The Challenges Forum is a platform for constructive dialogue between leading political, military, police, research and training institutions from all continents, on key issues and developments in peace operations. The Forum aims to shape the debate by identifying critical challenges facing peace operations, promoting awareness of emerging issues and generating recommendations for solutions for the consideration of the broader international peace operations community.