Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace: High-level Open Debate
Tomorrow (21 August), the Security Council will hold an open debate on “A New Agenda for Peace–Addressing Global, Regional and National Aspects of Conflict Prevention” under the “Peacebuilding and sustaining peace” agenda item. Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Timothy Musa Kabba, is expected to chair the meeting, which is one of the signature events of Sierra Leone’s August Council presidency. The anticipated briefers are Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Elizabeth Spehar, African Union (AU) Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye, Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion of Sierra Leone Hawa Sally Samai, and a civil society representative.
Sierra Leone has circulated a concept note ahead of tomorrow’s open debate, which says that the meeting aims to facilitate a broader reflection on A New Agenda for Peace (NAfP) and how it can help promote conflict prevention at the national, regional, and global levels. The NAfP, a July 2023 policy brief outlining the Secretary-General’s vision for the future of multilateralism and the UN’s work on peace and security in a changing world, urges the prioritisation of conflict prevention, consistent with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.1, which calls on states to reduce significantly all forms of violence. The policy brief further emphasises that preventive tools contained in Article 33 of the UN Charter have been underutilised. (Article 33 directs parties to any dispute to seek a solution by peaceful means, including negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and judicial settlement. It further states that the Security Council “shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means”.)
Sierra Leone’s concept note argues that the NAfP can inject fresh momentum into nationally-led prevention strategies and maintains that the UN is well-placed to assist member states in advancing such strategies, including through addressing issues such as lack of technical expertise and funding gaps. The NAfP recommends that member states and regional organisations develop prevention strategies “to address the different drivers and enablers of violence and conflict in societies”. It stresses that these strategies should have “cross-regional dimensions to address transboundary threats, collectively harvesting and building on the wealth of knowledge and expertise existing at the national level on effective conflict prevention measures”.
The concept note also highlights the implementation of the AU’s flagship initiative, Silencing the Guns by 2030, which prioritises prevention to achieve a peaceful and secure Africa. The note calls for a reassessment of this initiative in response to the current peace and security challenges that the continent faces, including the rising threats of terrorism and violent extremism. In particular, the concept note underscores the need to address the root causes and structural drivers of conflict by implementing a development-focused conflict prevention strategy. In this regard, it references a February 2023 UN Development Programme (UNDP) report which found that extremist groups in Africa, such as Boko Haram in West Africa and Al-Shabaab in Somalia, frequently target for recruitment individuals experiencing poverty and lack of employment opportunities.
Sierra Leone says in its concept note that the open debate will provide an opportunity for member states to share their experiences in developing national prevention strategies, including through successful institutional interventions resulting in the effective provision of public services. It notes that lessons learned and best practices shared at tomorrow’s open debate could feed into the ongoing negotiations on the Pact for the Future—the outcome document expected to be adopted at the Summit of the Future in September—particularly regarding language on conflict prevention.
The concept note proposes a series of questions to help guide the discussion, including:
- What steps have national governments taken to promote good governance and the rule of law through the strengthening of institutions, the promotion of accountability, and the fostering of political inclusivity?
- What steps have member states, regional organisations, and the UN taken to enhance security sector reform (SSR)?
- What actions can national governments take to enhance conflict prevention mechanisms, including through nationally-owned early warning and response systems?
Over the years, the Security Council has struggled to engage effectively on prevention, often because of concerns by some members about interference in states’ internal affairs, a particular impediment to addressing intrastate conflicts. Current geopolitical dynamics have also complicated the Council’s preventive engagement. Notwithstanding this, Council members all appear to value prevention tools such as the UN’s regional offices for West Africa, Central Africa, and Central Asia—that is, the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), and the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA)—which are known for their early warning and good offices activities. These offices also support states and sub-regional organisations in developing responses to structural conflict drivers and help promote common analysis and coherence among UN agencies, funds, and programmes for conflict-sensitive development assistance.
Several Council members are interested in seeing the Council strengthen its engagement on prevention. Sierra Leone’s convening of tomorrow’s open debate is an expression of its interest in prevention and peacebuilding, while Japan used its two presidencies in January 2023 and March to facilitate discussion on these interrelated topics. The UK has traditionally been a proponent of improving the Council’s engagement on prevention, and initiated the horizon scanning briefings that took place from November 2010 through 2012. At tomorrow’s open debate, some of these members are likely to underscore the need for the Council to prioritise conflict prevention in its work, while emphasising the cost-effectiveness of prevention compared to responding once conflict erupts.
There also appears to be rising interest among member states in having the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) become more directly involved in prevention, given its mandate to address issues that lie in the nexus between peace and development and the PBC’s practice of discussing situations only with the consent of the country concerned. Some states remain hesitant about endorsing a PBC role as a conflict prevention platform, however. At tomorrow’s meeting, Spehar may speak about ways to leverage the PBC’s advisory, bridging, and convening roles in support of national and regional efforts to develop prevention strategies and to mobilise financial and political support for their implementation.
Adeoye may share insights about the AU’s experience in conflict prevention and describe its conflict prevention framework, which is comprised of normative instruments on human rights, governance and the fight against corruption, democratisation processes, disarmament, combatting terrorism, and the prevention and reduction of interstate conflicts. He may note that normative instruments such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance have appeared to be under serious stress in recent years due to the growing threat of terrorism and the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in Africa. He may also observe that the current geopolitical dynamics in Africa seem to have affected the ability of the AU and its regional mechanisms to respond effectively to conflict and crises on the continent. A case in point is the challenges faced by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in responding to the resurgence of coups d’état in the region and the expansion of the terrorist threat across the Sahel and coastal West Africa.
Samai is likely to describe Sierra Leone’s national experience of conflict prevention by highlighting the role of its Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, a body established through an act signed by Sierra Leone’s Parliament in December 2020. The commission has a mandate to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts, as well as to promote and sustain peace and advise the Sierra Leonean government on all aspects of conflict resolution. Sierra Leone experienced electoral violence in June 2023, followed by attacks on military barracks in November 2023, which the government described as an “attempted coup”. Samai may elaborate on the commission’s role in fostering national reconciliation in the aftermath of these events.
