Discussions are ongoing in both the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) to re-conceptualise peace support operations.
Madam Hannah Tetteh, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the AU and Head of the UN Office to the AU, said it was to keep in step with the changing nature of conflict, anticipating new and emerging threat variables that would determine the formats and models of future peace operations globally and on the African continent.
Madam Tetteh said this in her remarks at the Joint Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS)-Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC)-GIZ Hybrid Workshop on the theme, “Emerging Dynamics in Peace Support Operations in Africa,” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“As we see a shift from more traditional peacekeeping missions that fall under Chapter 6 of the UN Charter with the aim of settlling conflict by peaceful means towards peace enforcement approaches as envisaged by Chapter 7, the future of peace support operations will certainly require a more flexible, more mobile and less static approach, and thus will incur more risk,” she noted.
“The issue also has to be considered within the broader context of geo-political trends and great power relations; the rise of regional powers; the future of armed conflict; financial trends which may require blended state and non-state financing; and overarching issues such as multilateralism versus protectionism.”
She said the challenges underscored the importance of partnerships in peace and security, and the importance of the UN-AU partnership.
Madam Tetteh said the conflict landscape in Africa was characterised by intractable and increasingly complex interactions, including; socio-economic factors, pressures on natural resources exacerbated by climate change and governance deficits.
Others are absence of state authority and a commensurate impact on delivery of services; human rights violations and access to justice; marginalisation that can result in a less inclusive polity with a particularly negative impact on women and minorities; and human security fragilities compounded by violent extremism.
She said that situation had resulted in, and been exacerbated by, major population displacements with huge humanitarian consequences.
Madam Tetteh said the latest UNHCR figures indicated that people forcibly displaced internally and across borders reached more than 70 million and that neglecting the psycho-social impact of social injustice and violence towards individuals, who comprised the society at-large, could affect the ability of communities to embrace reconciliation and identify with necessary changes.
She said peacekeeping must ultimately place the individual at the centre, and recognise the resulting psycho-social impact of conflict on people, in order to create an environment where societies could move together beyond the hurt, damage and often hatred to a state of mind with peaceful co-existence and nation-building as the ultimate priority.
Major General Francis Ofori, Commandant, KAIPTC, said Mental Health and Psycho-social Support in Peace Support Operations had become important in peacekeeping as it sought to address fundamental individual and collective well-being factors, which were key to the overall initiation, development, maintenance and sustenance of a peace culture.
He said the principles of Mental Health and Psycho-social Support in Peace Support Operations were in tandem with the achievements of the Millennial Development Goals (MDGs) and much later the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including; health as well as the WHO priority on the reduction of mortality on non-communicable and life-style related diseases.
Madam Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, Ghana’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, in a speech read on her behalf, reiterated the need for the AU to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with reputable academic research institutions such as the KAIPTC.
Mr Heiko Nitzschke, Charge d’Affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to Ethiopia, said his country had been at the forefront of promoting the humanitarian, development and peace nexus.
He said it was to foster multi-sectoral coherence to bridge unnecessary barriers and avoid silo-working and duplication of efforts in societies where meaningful and holistic change, were most needed.