Egypt hosts workshop on 'Silencing the Guns in Africa'
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - A two-day workshop on “Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020” will run from 9-10 December in Aswan, Egypt, organisers told PANA in Banjul on Sunday.
In a statement, the organisers said the joint high-level workshop would be held in collaboration with the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peace-building (CCCPA). It will be on the sidelines of the inaugural meeting of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, which is organised from 11-12 December under the auspices of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Chairman of the African Union.
The workshop is a follow-up to the high level workshop which took place in October last year in Addis Ababa bringing together high level and diverse peace mediators and experts.
On that occasion, following the exchange of views on how to realise the "Silencing the Guns" objectives, specific recommendations were made.
The statement said mobilization of support for innovative and on-going peace initiatives pertaining to the promotion of peace and security in Africa, including structural issues such as challenges to socio-economic development stood high on the agenda of the first workshop.
In July 2019, the AU Executive Council adopted the theme: “Silencing the Guns in Africa: Creating a conducive environment for Development” as the theme of the year 2020.
This coincides with the deadline set by the Assembly of the Union, in its declaration, adopted during the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the OUA/AU, "to rid the continent of wars, civil conflicts, human rights violations, humanitarian disasters and violent conflicts, and to prevent genocide".
The assembly also pledged “not to bequeath the burden of conflicts to the next generation of Africans and undertake to end all wars in Africa by 2020".
-0- PANA MLJ/MA 9Dec2019
