PSO roundtable: African Directions – Towards an Equitable Partnership in Peace Operations

Background

In February the report “African Directions: Towards an Equitable Partnership in Peace Operations” was published. This is the final report of the second phase of the New Geopolitics of Peace Operations initiative, a collaboration between the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

 The report argues that the global-regional partnership between African and external actors (the UN, other international organizations, donor countries, and non-African troop contributing countries) on peace operations is not sufficiently equitable and balanced. This is particularly relevant as some 75% of all uniformed personnel in peace (support) operations are deployed on the continent, and of these more than 65% is African. The report outlines pathways to improve future collaboration between African and external actors, and to strengthen their mutual understanding. It is based on dialogue meetings in five African sub-regions, and a global dialogue meeting organized in Brussels, in which a variety of African and external stakeholders participated

Download the publication here.

The FES is organizing a round table in Addis Ababa in order to present the findings of the report and discuss them with stakeholders in Africa. The round table discussion aims to contribute to a frank exchange of ideas on the future of POs and how the existing challenges can be best addressed.

Specific objectives of the conference include:

•  To have the report presented to multiple stakeholders including the African Union, UN member states, and other international organizations


• To discuss challenges and identify possible approaches to improved PSOs


• To foster a common understanding of future PSOs between stakeholders


• To strengthen the African Voice in matters pertaining to PSOs

 The meeting will take place in a closed informal setting held under the Chatham House Rule.

Please see the program for further <link file:7910 download>details here.

Place and date: Addis Ababa, 21st March 2017
Venue: Hilton Hotel