West African Mediation Capacities

Photos: Mariama Conteh/CMI

The West African sub-region has been, for the last two decades, one of the most conflict prone regions of the world. It unfortunately also lays claim to two of the most brutal civil wars in modern history. The consequences on human life and social and political development have been immense. Since the 1990s, the Economic Community for West African states (ECOWAS) has been at the forefront of preventive diplomacy as part of the quest for lasting peace in West Africa.

The 'Improving West African Capacities for Mediation and Peace Processes Project', was designed and is being implemented in partnership with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), and in collaboration with ECOWAS, to develop and strengthen mediation and peace process capacities in West Africa during the next three years.

Impact in the region

The overall objective of the Project is to contribute to the development and strengthening of indigenous, sustainable resources for conflict prevention and resolution, preventive diplomacy and peace processes in West Africa. The purpose therefore is (a) support ECOWAS in the implementation of the preventive diplomacy component of the ECPF (b) to obtain an enhanced understanding and sharing of West African experiences and lessons learned in preventive diplomacy and mediation (c) to strengthen the capacity of mediators, peacekeepers, Member States and civil society at the regional and national levels (d) to creatively document past and ongoing peace processes in West Africa.

Contributing to peace processes

In order to reach our objectives and make an effective contribution to peace processes in the region we will undertake the following activities:

Research: We seek to improve the understanding of preventive diplomacy and peace processes in West Africa through policy and field research. Our focus includes key actors, and all aspects of peace processes. Particular attention will be given to understanding the challenges, value and successes of multi-track approaches in mediation.

From June –October 2011, KAIPTC and CMI will conduct a training needs assessment and research and documentation activity that will cover the 15 ECOWAS states. The final publication and needs assessment report will form the main foundation of the conflict analysis and mediation training course being developed later in the project.

The rationale for the research and documentation work is that although several activities and individual experiences relating to conflict prevention and preventive diplomacy take place and exist in West Africa, there is limited information, knowledge and documentation on the precise nature of these activities. Equally lacking is a keener understanding of the relationship between those mediating at different levels and how this impacts the peace process.

The research project aims at providing actors engaged in preventive diplomacy (i.e. mediation and peace processes) including ECOWAS and its member states with relevant knowledge/information to inform policy formulation and capacity building.

Furthermore, while ECOWAS has made considerable efforts over the years to improve preventive diplomacy, it recognizes that capacity gaps still exist as far as building conflict analysis and mediation capacities at regional, national and local levels, are concerned. The training needs assessment will support strengthening mediation and conflict analysis skills of key actors in West Africa as the basis of the development of the required training program to meet the identified capacity needs.

Policy Dialogue/Seminars: We create the platform for policy dialogues and lessons learned seminars on mediation and peace processes. The objective is to offer the opportunity to various actors in peacemaking to share experiences and learn from each other, and evaluate preventive diplomacy in West Africa.

Conflict Analysis: We focus on conflict analysis through specialized workshops and training to provide peacemakers with enhanced skills and ability to understand and analyze the conflicts in which they are engaged.

Training and Capacity Building: Based on training needs assessment in the areas of preventative diplomacy and mediation, we will develop training modules/manuals that are used to provide training and capacity building for actors in preventive diplomacy and peace processes in West Africa.

Networking/Partnership: We create networks and partnership around the project theme for the purpose of exchanging ideas with individuals and organisations who are working in the same field. These networks will also serve as a future mutual resource for those involved.

Documentation: The product of our research, workshops and training will be available in publications and other media. We will also use film to document mediation experiences in West Africa. These films will be used as learning material during workshops and training programmes and more generally on our websites.