Roundtable for Strengthening Regional
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NPSIA OCCASIONAL PAPER No. 30 Roundtable on Strengthening Regional Capacity for Conflict Resolution in West Africa: A Response to NEPAD Conference Report Prepared by Rasheed Draman Pre-Doctoral Fellow Center for Security and Defence Studies (CSDS) Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Carleton University Copyright CSDS, December 2002 http://www.carleton.ca/csds TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 Day One: West African Regional Security, ECOWAS and State Sovereignty 5 Day Two: Cote d’Ivoire, Early Warning, Collective Security and Civil Society 10 Day Three: ECOWAS, ODA, NEPAD and Human Security 18 Discussions 23 Conference Statement 25 Conference Program 27 Participants 30 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Roundtable on Strengthening Regional Capacity for Conflict Resolution in West Africa was jointly organized by the African Security Dialogue and Research, (ASDR), Accra, Ghana; the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues, UBC and the Center for Security and Defence Studies at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. Following the June 2002 G8 meeting, the conference debated a wide range of security related issues within the context of the Africa Action Plan (AAP) presented in response to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The conference had three key objectives: (a) to deepen the responsiveness of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament and other areas of ‘democratic’ deficit in the organization’s operations; (b) to strengthen the interface between the UN West Africa office and ECOWAS; and (c) to coordinate efforts in strengthening ECOWAS’ capacity for early warning and conflict prevention with respect to the sub-region as a whole. The conference coincided with the unfortunate incidents unfolding in Cote d’Ivoire, suggesting that no country in West Africa (including relatively stable Ghana) is immune to the instability that is slowly engulfing the entire sub-region. The events brought to the fore the limited institutional capacity to respond to these sub-regional peace and security challenges. Among the key conclusions of the deliberations: 1. The NEPAD process is primarily a top-down exercise with minimal input from ordinary Africans, yet it represents a realistic way forward in dealing with the challenges confronting Africa; 2. There is a pressing need for the establishment of a civil society network in ECOWAS on Human Security; 2 3. There is a need for harmonizing NEPAD activities in West Africa through an active civil society monitoring mechanism that seeks to ensure that the principles and codes of conduct agreed therein are adhered to; and 4. The best long-term conflict prevention mechanism is good governance. 3 4 THE CONFERENCE The three-day conference took place at the Miklin Hotel, Accra, Ghana. The Executive Director of the host organization, the African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR) – Professor Eboe Hutchful opened the conference. He welcomed all participants and recognized the various partner institutions – the Liu Center for Global Studies, University of British Columbia; the Center for Security and Defence Studies (CSDS) of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University; and the University of Ghana, Legon. Professor Hutchful informed participants that Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) officials – the Executive Secretary and his deputy who were supposed to be at the conference could not make it because of the situation in Cote d’Ivoire. Professor Hutchful began his opening address by lamenting that the concept of Human Security, in spite of its importance, has not been seriously highlighted within the theme of the conference. He recognized the leading role that former Canadian Foreign Minister, Lloyd Axworthy played in putting Human Security at the world stage and the growing importance of the concept in international relations. Professor Hutchful noted that whilst he profoundly shares Axworthy’s ideals on Human Security, he does not agree with ethical framework on which the whole concept is premised. He called for the infusion of African values into the concept. In Ghana, according to Professor Hutchful, Human Security has not been taken up very seriously because Ghanaians are generally suspicious of new concepts. He suggested re-conceptualizing the title of the conference to include Human Security, thus: “Strengthening Regional Capacity for Conflict Resolution and Human Security in West Africa”. Professor Hutchful concluded his opening remarks by lamenting the fact that conflict has become a deadly reality in the West African sub-region and there is a sense of complacency in Ghana which is currently being challenged especially with the events in Cote d’Ivoire which was once hailed as a haven of peace. He therefore called on participants to be critical and forthright as possible during the course of their deliberations. The Ghanaian Minister of Regional Integration – Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, who was the keynote speaker could not make it to the conference and was represented by the Chief Director of his Ministry – Mr. George Cann. In a speech read for the Minister, Mr. Cann noted that the government of Ghana was pleased with the conference and with its thematic issues. The Minister’s message touched on a wide-range of issues within the realm of NEPAD, security and ECOWAS: 1. Consensus building is the best solution to conflict; 2. NEPAD is a dream if there is no peace in Africa; 3. The pervasive nature of conflicts in West Africa has propelled ECOWAS to act by establishing a Council of Elders, a Parliament and a Court of Justice all geared towards the harmonization of policies and programs with the aim of bringing about peace in the sub-region; 4. It is important to sufficiently resource these institutions to make them permanent entities and shift away from the current ad hoc arrangements of dealing with crises in the sub-region; 5. Also important are building and sustaining the capacity for conflict resolution in the sub-region. This is a daunting task and even more so in a sub-region where root causes are pervasive; 6. It is important to recognize the crisis of economics and environmental degradation which are important for addressing insecurity; 2 7. It is necessary to re-examine the current regional mechanisms for addressing conflict. Formal institutions alone cannot do the job. Civil Society groups need to be brought in; 8. Good governance is the most important ingredient for preventing conflict; 9. All mechanisms must be geared towards creating a viable and sustainable environment within the sub-region; 10. Peace and security is not the absence of war within borders. Institutions have to move beyond the narrow objective for which they were set up, to include innovative ways of conflict resolution, the Minister concluded. The second speaker was the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Jean Pierre Bolduc whose address was on NEPAD and security. This topic is understandable given the important role that Canada has played in the process leading up to the G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta in June 2002. The High Commissioner noted that the conference was unfortunately both timely and relevant because of the events unfolding in Cote d’Ivoire. Cote d’Ivoire underlies the importance of conflict prevention in the sub-region. Mr. Bolduc noted that regional leaders were meeting in Abidjan at the time, to deal with the crisis in Cote d’Ivoire. According to him, pessimists will think that because of what was happening in Cote d’Ivoire and the pervasive nature of conflicts in Africa, both NEPAD and the African Union are a charade. But optimists will argue that NEPAD is “doable” and should be supported especially because of its local component and its partnership aspects. He was of the view that many think NEPAD is an economic and a neo-liberal document. He disagrees. This is mainly because the initiative calls for a partnership and the development of the private sector. He noted that FDI 3 currently surpasses ODA flows into Africa; thanks to NEPAD. He lamented however that FDI and world trade declined from 3% in 1990 to about 1% currently because of conflicts in Africa. This makes Africa the lowest recipient of FDI. While highlighting the impact of conflict on the environment, women and children, Mr. Bolduc noted that the framers of NEPAD were right to have given considerable attention to peace and security. He urged Africans and international donors to support the building of institutions that are capable of early warning and conflict prevention. He noted that two important issues in conflict prevention are: (a) understanding local issues; and (b) the rule of law. A country must have a law-based system if economic activities are to thrive. Mr. Bolduc summed up his address by reiterating the Canadian government’s determination to support NEPAD and make it a success especially in the area of ODA, which falls within the mandate of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). He noted that a lot of activity on NEPAD was focused in Ghana to sensitize the population and Canada is happy to do its small share in making sure that NEPAD is realized. After the High Commissioner’s address, participants entered into a discussion of the core themes of the conference. 4 DAY ONE: WEST AFRICAN REGIONAL SECURITY, ECOWAS AND STATE SOVEREIGNTY The first day was devoted to examining two key issues related to the theme of the conference. These were: 1. The security situation in West Africa; 2. The issue of sovereignty and intervention. On the security situation in West Africa, three papers were presented. The first was by Rasheed Draman of Carleton University on the findings of the Country Indicators for Foreign Policy (CIFP) project on the Mano River Union and Senegambia (www.carleton.ca/cifp). CIFP is a research initiative at Carleton University under the direction of Professor David Carment, Director of the Center for Security and Defence Studies (CSDS) and a Professor of International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.