ACCORD has adapted to the new COVID-19 reality, refocusing and restructuring a significant proportion of its staff and its effort on identifying & monitoring, tracking &, analysing, and preparing & responding to COVID-19 related social-unrest and violent conflict in Africa.
Through our networks across Africa, and supported by available online data, ACCORD identifies COVID-19 related incidents and trends that may provide early warning of rising tensions that could develop into social unrest and violent conflict. Once the incidents are captured in the dataset, ACCORD analyses the trends and publishes a weekly COVID-19 Africa Conflict and Resilience Monitor, in order to share the information and analysis with all stakeholders.
ACCORD then works with its in-country networks and other local, regional, continental and international partners and stakeholders, to encourage and support interventions aimed at mitigating, and where possible preventing, COVID-19 related social unrest and violent conflict.
In this month’s Conflict and Resilience Monitor, we offer analyses on some of the most topical issues facing the continent this month.
We begin with a piece from Asha Ali, Anne Funnemark and Elisabeth Rosvold, who are from NUPI on how Violent conflict exacerbates Ethiopia’s vulnerability to climate change based on existing research related to climate change, peace and security. The research highlights the impact of climate change on livelihoods and migration in the context of a violent conflict. Staying in East Africa, Halima Ahmed describes the electoral atmosphere ahead of Kenya’s 2022 General Elections in her piece on How the nomination of the iron lady has altered Kenya’s 2022 General Elections. In particular, she discusses the inclusion of Martha Karua as the running mate of Raila Odinga – Kenya’s first presidential female running mate.
Our third piece focusses on, Diplomatic tensions between the DRC and Rwanda: A Call for Mediation. Dr Anslem Adunimay explains the background to the renewed conflict involving the M23 armed group and calls for a broad based regional approach which involves the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
Finally, we turn our focus to Southern Africa where Katharine Bebington discusses the role of SADC in Eswatini: lessons from Lesotho. In this piece, she outlines the possible opportunities and challenges around the regional economic community’s intervention in the Kingdom’s ongoing conflict.
The construction of the community of destiny passes by the emergence and the formatting of a community citizenship which does not go without strong moments of awareness. The day of regional integration is given to us to revive, stimulate and develop this awareness of our belonging and community destiny within the Community that forms the eleven Member States of ECCAS.
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) has decided to establish a Corps of Young Volunteers dedicated to work towards regional integration and development.
In order to strengthen cooperation in the area of peace and security, the Central African Peace and Security Council (COPAX), was created in 2004 not only to deploy military and civilian missions but also to participate in mediation in crisis situations in the sub-region.
If you are able to share information from your experiences on the ground with the crisis in Africa, we'd really like to hear from you. Please get in touch!
