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.
We start off this month’s Conflict and Resilience Monitor with a piece from Olivia Rumble and Andrew Gilder, who are both Directors at Climate Legal, who have written about the issue of loss and damages related to climate change. Their article discusses the need for loss and damages to be on the agenda of COP27 and the challenges that the issue has faced in the past.
We then move to Southern Africa, where Katharine Bebington, Programme Officer at ACCORD, has written a piece reflecting on the recently held general elections in Lesotho, the challenges relating to the reform processes leading up to the elections and the voting outcomes. This is followed by a piece from Thokozile Nkgundima, a Programme Administrator at ACCORD, who has written an article reflecting on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. In particular, the article focuses on the National Action Plans (NAPs) that have been adopted by states in Southern Africa and the challenges relating to the implementation of the NAPs in the region.
Finally, we end the Monitor with a piece from Zikho Dana, an intern in ACCORD’s research Unit, who has tracked the post-COVID-19 protests that have taken place across the continent. The article details a number of these protests and the different and similar causes of the protests.
Protests over the exorbitant cost of living have become a frequent feature in Africa and they are an expression of a growing legitimacy crisis in African governments.
SADC took various steps to encourage and assist member states in developing NAPs. Whilst recognising the significant strides made in the region, more needs to be done to institutionalise the WPS agenda within the region.
Finance for Loss and Damage has been a longstanding issue at COP but matters are anticipated to come to a head at COP27 in Egypt in November.
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!
