COVID-19 and its effects on peacebuilding in Liberia
COVID-19 has eroded some of the peacebuilding gains made in Liberia over the last decade and a half. The threat posed by COVID-19 to sustaining peace in Liberia has increased the need to strengthen regional and sub-regional collaboration and international cooperation to contain and mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
COVID-19 in Africa: the emerging pattern is resilience rather than conflict
It is now some 165 days since the first coronavirus (COVID-19) case was diagnosed in Africa, on 14 February 2020 in Egypt. Many commentators expected that Africa, with its high levels of underdevelopment and weak public health systems, would be particularly badly affected by COVID-19, and that this could even lead to a catastrophic collapse of social and political stability. So far, however, the emerging pattern is one of resilience rather than collapse, chaos and conflict.
COVID-19 and its impact on violent extremism in Ghana and West Africa
West Africa and the Sahel, which have been in the throes of insurgencies since the early 1990s and have had to deal with extremist violence from the mid-2000s, are faced with a new challenge: how do already underfunded, resource-constrained and, in most cases, poorly trained security forces respond to new threats?
African mediation in the shadow of COVID-19
The lockdown-type measures adopted by governments to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has deprived mediators and facilitators of the opportunity to use these important tools to resolve African conflicts and consolidate the implementation of peace agreements. However, we hope for a successful fight against COVID-19 in Africa that will reopen opportunities for mediation in Africa.
COVID-19 and elections in Africa: protecting the vote or the voter?
At least 22 countries in Africa were scheduled to hold either local government, parliamentary or presidential elections this year. Given the almost universal strategies adopted to prevent the spread of coronavirus – including restricting people to their homes, border closures, travel restrictions and banning large gatherings – the decision whether to continue with some of the elections despite COVID-19 became a controversial issue. Stated differently, the decision came down to either preserving the vote or the voter.
Resilience and determination: women, peace and security in the time of COVID-19
The year 2020 is a significant milestone for gender equality and women’s empowerment, as it marks the anniversary of unprecedented policy commitments and practical action frameworks.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly disrupted plans to assess the progress of these milestones, celebrate the achievements and set new objectives or goals.
Implications of COVID-19 for a new Africa–Europe Strategic Partnership
There is now an unprecedented opportunity for Europe to begin its journey towards a new contemporary and future shared ethical relationship, and do so not only as good regionalism, but also as an exercise in multilateralism, forging a new approach in its relationship with Africa, this time based on solidarity, one that will include a fundamental re-examination of how unfair trade and existing debt structures are impeding, not only the capacity to respond to COVID-19, but also the necessary transformations which a continent is getting underway, with an African agency that seeks a new form of partnership with its most proximate neighbour, the European Union.
COVID-19 policy choices in Africa: public safety, security and the limits of freedom
COVID-19 prevention policy measures – such as working and schooling from home, travel bans and quarantines, social distancing, the mandatory wearing of masks and limitation on gatherings (for instance, funerals) – have ignited the iconic debate on which comes first: freedom or security?
Gender equality needed to address COVID-19 in conflict and peace
If we do not change the face of politics, if we continue to ignore the lessons of decades of women’s activism, if we continue to spend our resources on weapons rather than on social services, we will have a harder time recovering from this pandemic, preventing the next one, or overcoming the climate crisis. It is an easy choice to make.
COVID-19, ubuntu and social protection
The measures taken by African governments to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic may have saved thousands of lives, but they have also left many struggling socially and economically in one way or another. In this turbulent moment, we need solidarity, inspired by ubuntu, so that we can be fully human together amidst COVID-19 for a common purpose of social protection, human dignity and economic stability.