Building Strong Africa Threatened by Security Challenges: AUC Chairperson

ENA,February 6/2020 The 36^th ordinary session of the Executive Council kicked off today under the theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”.

In his opening remark, AUC Chairperson Faki Mahamat said “the rise of terrorists and extremist Jihadist posed distinct threat to the peace and security of Africa, which is evident by the repeated deadly attacks.”

This forces survivors into exile and displacement, he said, adding that ‘this constitutes a permanent source of concern for Africans.”

The emerging resurgent of conflicts in different member states strengthens continental conviction that “silencing the guns and establishing conducive conditions to the development of Africa is more than pertinent.”

The deadline for silencing the guns in Africa as part of the Agenda 2063 has passed, the Chairperson said, and stressed “this reveals further the complex nature of security problem in Africa.”

Africa is currently facing entirely distinct security threats, one from the rise of radical Islam, the other from increased natural resource extraction, whereas African security forces are inadequate to meet these threats.

He noted “we should question our security doctrine and look into the root causes. We need to build peace in a different manner by implementing innovative solutions.”

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, said “to silence the guns we need to continuously focus on building an ecosystem that creates for whole with institutions whose role is to guard against the abuse of any group.”

Citing the Peace Research in Oslo, she pointed out that during 2005-2018 the African countries with armed conflicts has risen from 6-17 and armed conflicts has escalated from 7-21.

Democratic elections are under threat in many parts of the continent, Songwe said, adding that “there is an inherent tension in our society.”

“For a strategy on silencing the guns to be successful, we must honestly seek to build more inclusive societies and this Union has an important yet untapped role to play in this quest,” the Executive Secretary stressed.

Today over 77 percent of all arms imported into the continent are from 4 countries, she said, and emphasized “the economics of the arms sector does not favor the continent as more and more of our young perish at the end of the gun.”