From 10–11 December 2025, ACCORD participated in the Pan-African Inter-Party Dialogue (PAIPD) Southern Africa Conference, convened by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Maseru, Lesotho. The conference brought together political party representatives from across Southern Africa, AU organs, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), research institutions, and civil society actors in order to discuss democratic governance, peace and security, and political resilience in the region.
The conference focused on strengthening political party systems as a core pillar of democratic resilience and conflict prevention. Discussions ranged from how to strengthen political parties as the drivers of democracy in Southern Africa to, among other things, the gap between early warning and early action; voter disengagement; youth unemployment and exclusion; limited citizen trust in political institutions; and obstacles to meaningful political participation by women.
The formal launch of the APRM Targeted Review Report on Unconstitutional Changes of Government provided a key anchor for this dialogue, prompting reflection on both the drivers of UCGs and the effectiveness of existing continental and regional prevention frameworks.
The conference provided a valuable space for a candid exchange among political actors and stakeholders on shared governance challenges in Southern Africa. It underlined the importance of political parties as both frontline democratic institutions and key actors in conflict prevention and highlighted the need for sustained national and regional inter-party dialogue as part of future conflict prevention and democratic resilience efforts.
ACCORD’s participation in the conference aligns with its work in governance, early warning, and conflict prevention, and reflects ongoing efforts to support African-led approaches to peace, security, and democratic resilience across the continent.
