TICAD International conference highlights peace consolidation efforts in Africa

Addis Ababa, 17 February 2006 - An international conference on consolidating peace in post-conflict African countries ended here today amid signs of increasing optimism as the Government of Japan pledged US$60 million in new assistance to African countries.

“As an immediate action, we will provide approximately US$60 million in assistance by the end of next month, March 2006,” said Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Japan. “Our support will be focused on the regions and countries where the peace consolidation process is at a critical stage.”

Co-organized by the Government of Japan, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (UN-OSAA), the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, the two-day TICAD conference drew more than 400 participants from 73 countries, as well as delegates from 38 international and regional organizations, and 20 civil society and non-governmental organizations. In the way forward, participants recognized the importance of addressing the root causes of conflicts to prevent their recurrence, and stressed that human security was a key concept in the process of peace consolidation.

“The recommendations that came out of this TICAD conference could serve as a useful working tool for the activities of the newly-established UN Peacebuilding Commission,” said Bouna Sémou Diouf, Director of the TICAD/UNDP Africa Bureau, who headed the UNDP delegation. He added: “These recommendations could also be taken into account by the African Union as it explores ways and means to set up its own framework for post-conflict reconstruction and development.”

Three areas of peace consolidation, namely security, political governance and transition, and community reconstruction and socio-economic development, were reviewed during the conference. In terms of security matters, there was a consensus that national ownership and the political will of the parties concerned in this area are essential to ensure political stability and the sustainability of peace in the long-term. In addition, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) efforts along with Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) programs should be carried out hand-in-hand with the political process, including elections.

In the area of political governance and transition, delegates agreed that African initiatives such as NEPAD's African Peer Review Mechanism and those of the Regional Economic Commissions, can play a positive role, while a coordinated and coherent approach by the international community is also needed. The role of civil society and work of non-governmental organizations was emphasized as crucial in the transitional process to ensure that people's voices are heard. In this context, the role of women has proved to be pivotal.

Delegates in the community reconstruction and socio-economic development breakout session, which was coordinated by UNDP, emphasized the necessity to provide basic human needs including safe water and sanitation, and to rebuild basic infrastructure such as schools, bridges and hospitals, and to empower local communities through capacity building and other relevant means in the reconstruction of war-affected communities. Some participants said a thorough review of debt relief issues and lending policies by multilateral financial institutions vis-à-vis post-conflict countries and fragile States in Africa was necessary in order to develop economic infrastructure for sustainable development, attract financial inflows, foreign direct investment and assistance by international financial institutions, in particular, new financing instruments recently developed by the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

A wide range of conflicts in Africa have resulted in major human suffering, including disruption of economic activities and civilian life. The TICAD Initiative, since its inception in 1993, has provided assistance to refugees and internally displaced people, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants and other war-affected constituents, mine action, and collection and destruction of small arms and other light weapons, and the Government of Japan has extended assistance of approximately US$350 million to African countries from 2003 to 2005.