The Department of Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission is holding a 3-day regional meeting with ECOWAS Member States’ National Peace Commissions to promote the strengthening, collaboration, networking and partnership on peace mediation. The regional meeting is holding from 28th to 30th April 2025, in Accra, Ghana.
Mindful of the ever-changing nature of conflict in the region, the regional meeting presents a critical and timely opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of National Peace Commissions and Councils; exchange insights on best practices; and strengthen networking and collaboration, with the ultimate aim of securing long-lasting peace and security across Member States.
The regional meeting aligns with the relevant provisions of ECOWAS Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Security (1999), as well as Article 36 of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001) calling on Member States to institutionalize a national mediation system.
Welcoming the participants, the Commissioner for Political Affairs Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah (PhD), represented by Mr. Constant Gnacadja, Ag Head of Division, Mediation and Coordination of Regional and Political Affairs (MCRPA), recalled the processes that led to the establishment of national peace infrastructures in Member States, reaffirming the commitment of ECOWAS to continue to support the work of these structures in Member States. Goodwill Messages from the representatives of the European Union Delegation (EUD) and the German Embassy, Ghana noted the importance and timeliness of this meeting amidst the region’s challenges to facilitate peer-learning to build peaceful societies in ECOWAS Member States.
Participants include representatives of the National Peace Commissions/Councils/Committees from ECOWAS Member States, academics and thematic experts, as well as from the ECOWAS Commission.
The workshop is held with support by the ECOWAS Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) project, which is co-financed by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH), Expertise France (EF), and the Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
