The ECOWAS Commission’s department for Political Affairs, Peace Keeping and Security on Monday, 22nd April, 2024, is hosting a high leveled delegation from the African Union, UN Human Rights and EU delegation to the AU, led by the Commissioner for political affairs for a 2 day strategic and technical cooperation meeting aimed at integrating and implementing the Afrian Union Accountability and Compliance Framework (AUCF) into peacekeeping missions across the region. The focus is to ensure that there are seamless operations devoid of human rights violations.

This meeting aims to bolster compliance with International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law within Peace Support Operations (PSOs). It underscores the commitment to maintaining the highest standards of conduct, behavior, integrity, and accountability among all civilian, military, and police personnel involved in PSOs. In pursuit of this goal, ECOWAS has developed policies and documents, including the Conduct and Discipline Policy Framework, since 2019, to support these efforts.

Dr. Abdul-Fatau Musa, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, expressed gratitude for the esteemed delegation from the AU, EU, and UN during his welcoming address. He reiterated ECOWAS’s unwavering dedication to accountability and compliance with human rights standards and best practices in the operations of ECOWAS peace missions, which form the cornerstone of the organization’s establishment.

Dr. Musah emphasized the timeliness of the visit, noting that ECOWAS is currently engaged in discussions to establish a new peace mission in Sierra Leone, in addition to the existing missions in The Gambia and Guinea Bissau. He highlighted that the ECOWAS heads of state have adopted a framework for the complete eradication of terrorism, which will bolster the operations of the ECOWAS Standby Force. Dr. Musah stressed the critical importance of accountability in operationalizing these peace missions, stating that all troop-contributing and police-contributing countries must adhere strictly to the guidelines outlined in the framework.

Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, underscored the paramount importance of human rights in his remarks, emphasizing its pivotal role in fostering compliance and accountability. He stressed that streamlining human rights compliance and accountability is essential in addressing terrorism effectively. Ambassador Adeoye asserted that to combat terrorism, regional bodies such as the AU and ECOWAS must prioritize human rights, integrating them into their strategies against violent extremism, rebellion, insurrection, and unconstitutional regime changes across Africa.

He highlighted the AU’s plan to extend the compliance framework to all regional bodies, starting with ECOWAS, to ensure adherence to global best practices in human rights. This, he believes, will strengthen international cooperation and contribute to the realization of the AU’s Agenda 2063, aimed at making Africa free from conflict. Ambassador Adeoye called for increased investment in Early Warning Mechanisms to prevent conflicts proactively and appealed for continuous support from the international community in this endeavor.

In her remarks, H.E. Ms. Ilze Brands Kehris, United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, emphasized the global challenges in peacekeeping efforts, stressing the need for a systematic approach to addressing conflicts at the strategic level. She expressed appreciation for the meeting and underscored the importance of partnerships and collaborations in implementing compliance measures. Additionally, she highlighted the broader agreement between the AU and UN on human rights, complementing the efforts of the African Union Compliance Framework (AUCF).

H.E. Ambassador Nino Perez, Head of the EU delegation to the AU, represented by Thomas Huyghebaert, Head of Policy and Cooperation, reiterated the EU’s commitment to the AUCF. He noted that the EU has dedicated over 5 billion dollars to peacekeeping-led missions across the continent over the past two decades.

The technical and strategic sessions will continue on April 23rd with the participation of technical experts from all four organizations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

A carbon taxation regime covering carbon tax on fossil fuel, maritime transport, and aviation could generate additional funds to support the Africa energy transition, says Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of ECA at a dialogue on carbon markets and development held on the sidelines of the tenth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-10) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“If combined with other policy measures, carbon tax could help to mitigate those residual emissions that cannot be addressed by carbon credit markets or subsidies and technologies. Such a tax could allow countries to improve responses to their commitments to contribute to reducing climate instability,” said Mr. Gatete.

In reference to ECA’s preliminary studies in exploring to benefits of carbon tax, Mr. Gatete noted that carbon tax in the global supply chains could allow countries like Egypt and Ethiopia to reap substantial revenues that could be reallocated to research and development in the aviation and marine transports.  

ECA studies also indicate that investing in nature-based solutions in African countries could generate up to US$82 billion annually at a price of US$120/tCO2 equivalent.

“Renewable energy and carbon sinks from forests and other ecosystems are indeed a great potential that countries should harness to generate additional revenues and support the ongoing efforts to build climate- and disaster-resilient green and blue economies. This would enable the countries to make more progress towards their sustainability goals,” said Mr. Gatete.

Highlighting the importance of decarbonizing economies and expanding revenue streams through clean energy, Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining at the African Union Commission said, decarbonizing economies through carbon taxation is crucial to address climate crisis. However, this requires strong engagement with stakeholders at national and global level is necessary for success.

“African economies are small and fragmented, integrating them together is necessary for a unified approach to promote a green transition across the continent,” said Mr. Muchanga.

Discussions at the dialogue session focused on the four themes of carbon markets: voluntary carbon markets, compliance carbon markets, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and carbon tax markets. Experts underscored that relying solely on carbon credit trading is insufficient and that fair negotiations and resource allocation to address development disparities effectively is necessary. 

In her contribution to the discussion, Ahunna Eziakonwa, Regional Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said climate carbon credits have the potential to address the financial challenges the continent is facing but favourable deals and ensuring resources are directed towards development initiatives are crucial to ensure that climate action in Africa is effective and sustainable.

“Beyond just understanding the carbon market space and carbon credits, there is need for experts to advise governments on the different options available to Africa and help them understand the opportunities presented by carbon markets as a source of development financing and how they function,” said Ms. Eziakonwa adding that this will require strong engagement with producers, consumers, investors, and many other stakeholders.

“Implementing the carbon tax requires evidence-based analysis and engagement with stakeholders including policymakers, investors and civil society organization.”

Sharing the results of the key findings of carbon emissions in the shipping industry, Jan Hoffmann, Head, Trade Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics, UNCTAD said there is disproportionate impact of climate change on small Islands developing states and coastal countries.

“Carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 21% in the last decade in the shipping industry which is a major concern in African countries. There is need for alternative fuels for Africa to become competitive,” he said.

“For African countries to become providers of alternative fuels, there is need to investment in infrastructure and trade to compensate for higher costs resulting from climate change mitigation,” he added.

Explaining why blue and green economies are important for Africa to mitigate climate change, James Kairo, a Senior Research Officer at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, said mangrove forests and other blue carbon ecosystems are crucial for achieving the SDGS, particularly SDG14 as they provide vital habitat for fisheries and support biodiversity.

However, Mr. Kairo said these ecosystems are under threat due to lack of awareness and capacity building and resource mobilization. To address these, we need to prioritize protection and restoration of these ecosystems and raise awareness about their importance to achieving SDGs.

Hence, countries should incentivize forest conservation and restoration efforts, while at the same time promoting sustainable forest management practices.

Experts at the dialogue session agreed that engagement, particularly from investors and civil society organizations is crucial for effective implementation of carbon taxation regime. Country-tailored engagement strategies (and/or cluster of countries with the similar contexts) were proposed to optimize support to governments in resource allocation and negotiation processes, promoting fairness and sustainability. Additionally, the establishment of institutional, legal, technical, and financial capacities was emphasized, alongside the nomination of focal points and reviewers for Article 6 implementation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

The African continent is currently facing the scourges of terrorism and violent extremism, as well as the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government. These developments have adverse negative impact on the peace, security, and stability of African communities.

These were comments made by Ambassador Jainaba Jagne, Permanent Representative of The Gambia to the African Union and Chairperson of the African Union Peace and Security Council for the month of April 2024.

She was speaking on Wednesday 24 April 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria, during the 1st inaugural consultation meeting between the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union and the Mediation and Security Council (MSC) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at the ambassadorial level.

According to the Gambian diplomat, available data shows that the western part of the continent is the most affected by these scourges. “Four (4) of the six (6) AU Member States suspended for coups are West African countries. This has never happened in the history of the African Union and, I believe, in the history of ECOWAS too. According to the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, the West African region is the most affected by the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism on the continent, particularly in terms of attacks, deaths, and injuries”, Ambassador Jainaba Jagne said.

She recalled the tireless efforts made by governments and regional and continental institutions, in particular the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to promote and consolidate democracy. These efforts include the various normative instruments adopted by the African Union to address the security challenges facing the African continent, and targeted sanctions against the perpetrators of coups.

In her words, the best response to these scourges is stronger cooperation between the PSC and the RECs to bolster efforts to tackle the security challenges posed by the spread of terrorism and violent extremism. “We must work together as one. Our strong common voice will strengthen our continental and regional efforts and prevent external interference. This will ensure that we take ownership of our peace agenda”, Jainaba Jagne emphasised.

She called for preventive diplomacy to forestall coups, terrorism, and violent extremism, as well as the development of joint strategies and actions for West African countries, and increased coordination, synergies, and regular commitments.

These were also the thoughts of Ambassador Musa Sani Nuhu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS and Chairman of the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC). “By aligning strategies and actions, this joint consultation will foster a better understanding of regional security dynamics, harmonise preventive diplomacy efforts and develop more effective conflict resolution strategies, thereby ensuring a more coherent and comprehensive approach to regional peace and stability”, he opined.

He urged participants to explore areas of cooperation, particularly concerted strategies to maintain zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government and effective measures to combat terrorism.

Ambassador Musa Sani Nuhu also called for discussions not only on resource mobilisation for regional and continental peace initiatives, but also on increased synergies in such joint efforts.

A number of issues were on the agenda for this inaugural meeting. These include unconstitutional changes of government and terrorism, as well as the mobilisation of internal resources to finance peace operations at regional and continental levels.

The participants will also discuss issues relating to greater synergy, coherence, coordination, and complementarity, as well as the contextualisation of cooperation between the African Union and ECOWAS in the areas of peace, governance, and security.

It should be noted that this 1st inaugural meeting between the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) and the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council (MSC) at the ambassadorial level is taking place 20 years after the creation of the PSC. “Our intention is to regularise these meetings with all the Regional Economic Communities in Africa and strengthen our relations by ensuring that we have regular and close consultations on peace and security issues,” Ambassador Jainaba Jagne urged.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

HE Vice President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire Tiemoko Meyliet Kone met with HE Ambassador of the State of Qatar to Cote d’Ivoire Mubarak bin Hussein Al Marri.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral cooperation relations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The State of Qatar.