Foreign policy should aim at developing institutional capacity – Dr Chambas

General News of Saturday, April 20, 2019

Source: 3news.com

2019-04-20

Foreign policy should aim at strengthening the capacities of institutions and actors involved in conflict prevention, because of the possibility of building a more structured, result-oriented and mutually beneficial peace partnership.

Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), who launched the appeal, said that the diplomacy had played a crucial role in establishing and maintaining partnerships for peace. at the national and international levels.

He added that inter-state commitments to peace could bring significant benefits from the expertise and resources of the diplomatic service.

"We should systematically draw on this experience and expertise in national architecture and peace initiatives," Chambas said at a conference in Accra by the Council on Foreign Relations Ghana.

Speak on the subject; "A program for building partnerships for peace in West Africa and the Sahel: challenges and opportunities," said Dr. Chambas, who has a proven track record of contributing to peace and security in the region. region and beyond.

It was either through the services of his sons and daughters, or through regional and international institutions.

He said that this partnership with other member states of the Committee of Nations has made Ghana stronger, more prosperous and safer.

In this regard, Ghanaian diplomacy could play a key role in spreading the Ghanaian model of conflict prevention in the region and beyond.

He said that stakeholders focused on threats in the region, some of which were existential, should constantly remember that the region of West Africa and the Sahel was not just a together, but also a set of companies.

"For a lasting peace, we should therefore be a community of states, and communities and states, bound by a consultative and inclusive social contract, which must be not only legal, but also legitimate," he said. he declared. .

"States are indispensable and unavoidable for preventing conflict and maintaining peace, but we can not bring about peace in accordance with the law. A partnership between the state and society is needed and civil society is a vital bridge. "

Dr. Chambas said that inclusion remains central to partnerships, both from a political and a strategic point of view.

This involved broad representation of traditionally less representative groups in society, including women and youth, less conventional peace actors such as the private sector, who remained a value-added partner in terms of resource mobilization.

He noted that no less important were the customary actors, who had a long history in the communities.