Peace and security in Africa

An analysis: 3 years after the Commission for Africa report

Summary

Three years after the Commission for Africa reported its findings, this briefing analyses what progress there has been in implementing its recommendations on peace and security in Africa.

The briefing finds that only two of the Commission's peace and security recommendations have been implemented:

The UN voted to start discussions about an Arms Trade Treaty
A UN Peacebuilding Commission has been created to coordinate support to countries emerging from conflict

But little progress has been made in the following areas:

tackling the trade in conflict goods
ensuring that the actions of multinational companies do not make violent conflict worse
providing better funding for the African Union
helping countries coming out of violent conflict access the funds they need
making international action to prevent and resolve conflict more effective

The analysis highlights that there is much still to be done and calls for the joint initiative - the Call to Action on the MDGs - launched by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and PM Gordon Brown, to ensure that conflict prevention is at the front and centre of its action plan. Only once conflict prevention is prioritised, can progress on the MDGs be put on track in Africa.

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