West Africa peace building training underway in Accra
Major General Obed Boamah AKwa, Commander of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), on Monday said it is imperative for African countries to develop strong human and institutional capacities.
He said this would enable them meet the challenges of inadequate resource capacity and lack of expertise, as well as sustain advocacy in the peace building process.
Maj Gen Akwa, made the call during the opening ceremony of the 12th training session of the West Africa Peacebuilding Institute (WAPI) in Accra.
He said for more than two decades, Africa’s political landscape had witnessed protracted, destabilising and debilitating conflicts and unacceptable levels of human emergency which had not only destroyed societies but also derailed almost every legacy bequeathed to the continent by our forbearers.
He said Africa is gradually transiting into an era of relative peace and organisations like the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) have contributed largely to it.
Maj Gen Akwa said for Africa to attain stability, capacity development, promotion of good governance, and protection of human rights must be critical policy priorities.
He said KAIPTC execute its core mandate by building capacities through research and training and this is underlined by the belief that peace building is critical for the acceleration of development on the continent.
He said WAPI has been crafted to facilitate capacity building in all spheres of peace building and good governance for African practitioners, inter- governmental organisations, government agencies, the business community as well as civil society organisations from the fields of peace building, conflict, human security and development, relief and humanitarian aid, and peace support operations.
Maj Gen Akwa said it is worth noting that the collaboration between the KAIPTC and WANEP has grown over the years and led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding in December 2010, to promote closer collaboration in the pursuit of peace and stability in West Africa.
He noted that WAPI has not only trained African practitioners but also practitioners from across the world including United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Maj Gen Akwa said a critical look at the course contents reveals that the 2013 training session has been structured to respond adequately to the current and future challenges of peace building in Africa.
He urged the participants to take their lessons very seriously.
Source: GNA