E.U wants ECOWAS to raise capacity in conflict prevention

[FMINigeria]

                        Concerned about the resurgence of conflicts and crisis in some member states of the community and to mitigate such, the European Union has urged ECOWAS to strengthen its capacities in conflict prevention and resolution.

Head of Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Amb. David MacRae made the call at the ninth ECOWAS–Development Partners Annual Conference in Abuja on Monday.

Amb. MacRae pointed out that "The EU and its Member States have mobilised significant resources to support ECOWAS, most notably in the framework of the African-Led International Support Mission to Mali, AFISMA".

"The E.U has pledged to support the implementation of the Road Map for the Transition to democratic and constitutional rule, national inclusive dialogue and free and fair elections.

"Beyond this immediate priority, as well as the necessary continued attention to the situation in Guinea Bissau and on maritime security, ECOWAS needs to strengthen its critical long term capacities in conflict prevention and resolution", MacRae stated.

He equally reiterated the need for ECOWAS Member States to put economic integration protocols and commitments into practice. MacRae called for further efforts to develop mechanisms for improved results monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the implementation of regional policies at national level.

"We are glad to see, Mr. President, that at the last Summit, Heads of State also instructed you to reinforce the achievements of the common market and that this also ranks high among your own publicly stated priorities.

"We believe that the ECOWAS Commission can play a decisive role in the implementation of both these recommendations, which we see as critical. In these times of crisis more than ever, we as Partners need to demonstrate to our citizen's that our support to ECOWAS regional integration brings about the expected results. I would urge you, Mr. President, to make this a priority", Head of the EU delegation stated.

Amb. MacRae meanwhile acknowledged the progress made by ECOWAS recently towards the final adoption of the Common External Tariff (CET) which sets the basis for the start of the transition to a customs union and a common market in full convergence with the WAEMU.

He said "We also believe, once this has been formally adopted by the Heads of States, that the regional CET will facilitate the conclusion of an Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU.

"New projects will soon be adopted by the EU to support the ECOWAS Commission, WAEMU and your Member States in the effective implementation of the CET, the customs code, trade policy, investment policies, the removal of obstacles to trade, improved quality infrastructure and other related policies".

Fielding questions from newsmen at the event, President of the ECOWAS Commission, Amb. Kadre Ouedraogo said the meeting was an opportunity for ECOWAS and regional partners to review cooperation.

According to Ouedraogo the meeting would come up with recommendations that would support ECOWAS in line with its goal of realising a region that focuses on the development of its citizens.

He said, "This is an opportunity for us to present to them the priorities and the vision of the ECOWAS Commission and listen to them for their recommendations or observations.

"This would help us improve on our efficiency of our cooperation programmes and we are going to make sure we consider the necessary recommendations and improve on what we already have in ground," he said.

The ECOWAS President said consideration of recommendations would be in line with the region's priorities of maintaining peace, stability and security and promoting regional infrastructure.

"Food security and agricultural production; human resources development and institutional reform and capacity building are other areas.

"We believe that we have to concentrate our actions on key priority areas and we are now implementing these priority areas in various programmes together with our partners," he said.

In his remarks, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa, Said Djinnit commended the lead role played by the ECOWAS Commission in the strengthening of democracy and good governance in West Africa.

He said "In the area of democratic processes and electoral assistance, I would like to commend the efforts by the Commission to enhance the professionalism of the elections observation mechanism, including through the creation of an Elections Observers Database for ECOWAS.

According to Djinnit, "The nexus between elections and stability has, indeed, remained a challenge in West Africa, to date, and we should collectively spare no efforts to build up mechanisms for the conduct of credible and transparent electoral processes. You can count on the support of the United Nations, and UNOWA, in particular, to continue to work hand in hand with ECOWAS toward achieving this goal, including through the implementation of the conclusions of the Praia conference on elections and stability in West Africa of May 2011 that we have convened jointly. Another area where the ECOWAS-UNOWA partnership should be firmed up in the weeks ahead is the early warning mechanism.

"The cross-border threats to peace and security in West Africa, a region exposed increasingly to the penetration of threats such as drug trafficking, organized crime, piracy and terrorism, constitute areas where the coordination between the UN and ECOWAS will continue to expand in the years ahead. I would like to welcome in that regard the recent decision by the ECOWAS Authority, at their last Summit in Yamoussoukro, to extend by two years the Regional Action Plan against drug trafficking, organized crime, and drugs abuse.

"The tremendous efforts deployed by the ECOWAS Commission and Authority, since last year, to activate the ECOWAS standby Force, in order to respond to the crises in Mali and Guinea-Bissau need to be commended as I stated earlier. The important planning process launched under the lead role of the ECOWAS Commission has paved the way for the deployment, in early 2013, of AFISMA in Mali. And will undoubtedly form a solid framework for a swift transition from AFISMA to a UN peacekeeping operation, as proposed under the options put forward by the UN Secretary-General in his report to the Security Council."

The three-day meeting would discuss the status of the region's integration projects and the ongoing efforts at institutional reforms in order to improve the performance of the commission.

It would also enable the partners to reaffirm their renewed commitment to the various areas of ECOWAS intervention and strengthen the existing coordination mechanisms.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria