Representatives of the National Peace Councils and Committees within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are meeting in Accra to plan towards forming a common regional platform to advancing peace and security in the sub-region.
This has become necessary following recurring violent extremism and increasing political instability within the sub-region in recent years. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger officially withdrew from ECOWAS in January 2025 due to military takeovers and upsurge in extremist activities in those countries.
Speaking during the opening session of a three-day ECOWAS Regional Meeting on Peace and Mediation in Accra, Dr George Amoh, the Executive Secretary, Ghana’s National Peace Council, said the meeting would provide an opportunity for ECOWAS member states to share ideas and experiences towards advancing peace and security in the sub-region.
The meeting, he said, would also help in strengthening peace infrastructures in ECOWAS member states to ensure timely resolution of local conflicts, advancing good governance practices and entrenching democratic principles in the sub-region.
Dr Amoh observed that peace and security were essential tools for promoting socio-economic development and underscored the need for member states to have strategic frameworks to deal with local conflict situations before escalating into national crises.
Ms Anna Lixi, Head of Governance and Security, European Union Delegation in Ghana, said the ECOWAS’ Peace, Security and Governance Project was in line with the European Union’s (EU) strategic framework to prevent conflicts in Africa.
She pledged the EU’s commitment to providing logistical and technical support to peace councils in ECOWAS member states to curb local conflicts.
“EU’s partnership with ECOWAS demonstrates our commitment to peacebuilding and part of wider efforts to supporting Africa-led solution to attaining national and regional peace and security,” she said.
It is expected that at the end of the three-day meeting, the participants would issue a communique on the consensus reached on establishing a common regional platform in preventing conflicts in the sub-region.
Source: GNA
