CCCPA, in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Centre for Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development (AU Centre for PCRD) based in Cairo, held the second iteration of the training course on “Integrating Forced Displacement in PCRD efforts in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa” from 22 to 25 October 2023.
The training comes as the pilot activity for the AU Centre for PCRD, and seeks to respond to the evolving peace and security landscape in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa region, faced with a myriad of challenges, including terrorism, armed conflicts, and unprecedented forced displacement rates as a result of protracted conflicts, humanitarian crises, and climate change.
Accordingly, the training aims to build participants’ capacities through a multistakeholder
approach, in particular through introducing pathways for the operationalization of the
humanitarian-development-peace nexus (HDPN), in order to effectively integrate forcibly
displaced persons into PCRD and peacebuilding efforts and to harness the potential of displaced persons as active agents of peace and development in post-conflict contexts.
It also sheds light on the root causes of forced displacement, its impact on intercommunal tensions and conflict dynamics, as well as the interlinkages between peacebuilding, mobility and climate change. The training brought together government officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Defense in several Arab and African countries, including Cameroon, Chad, Djibouti, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen in addition to Egypt.
This training highlights the magnitude of the displacement crisis, as the African continent is host to the largest number of internally displaced persons amounting to 44 million, of which 2.7 million are in the Horn of Africa, while more than 6 million have been displaced in Sudan since violence broke out mid-April 2023. It is also estimated that by 2050, climate change could force up to 100 million people in Africa out of their homes, according to the World Migration Report 2022.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Ambassador Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Director General of CCCPA and Chair of the African Union Network of Think Tanks for Peace (NeTT4Peace), stated that “this training is organized in line with Egypt’s unwavering support to the achievement of peace and stability in Africa, in particular the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region, its championship of PCRD on the continent, and in the context of the third edition of the AU PCRD Awareness Week, scheduled from 20 to 25 November.” He added that it also comes in the context of implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed last February between CCCPA andthe AUC’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (AUC D-PAPS).
Furthermore, Ambassador Abdel-Latif noted that the training takes place within efforts to
operationalize the relevant Conclusions of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and
Development, which highlight the need to address displacement crises through a holistic
approach anchored in the HDPN. He also stated that the training addresses one of the main pillars of the COP27 Presidency's "Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace" initiative (CRSP), which aims to advance durable solutions to the climate-displacement nexus. Finally, he conveyed gratitude to the Japanese government for its continuous support of the Center’s activities, especially in the context of strengthening peace and stability in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa region, including on both editions of this flagship training.
The Executive Secretary of the AU Centre for PCRD, Ms. Libakiso Matlho, expressed her appreciation for Egypt’s strong commitment to supporting PCRD efforts, and underlined the significance of this training course as “it is the AU Centre’s first activity in the context of its operationalization process.” She commended CCCPA’s long-standing experience in the field of training and capacity building and conveyed her keenness to develop cooperation between the two centres.
On his part, H.E. Ambassador Hiroshi Oka, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, affirmed his country’s long-standing support to sustainable peace and development in the Red Sea region through cooperation with countries of the region and Egypt chief among them. He pointed to the Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD), adding that the Tunis Declaration coming out of TICAD8 in August 2022 stressed “the need for protection and support to forcibly displaced people.” He also underlined the importance of peace and stability in the Red Sea region and explained that Japan has not only contributed to securing maritime security in the region through various activities including through anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, but also contributed to the development on the land in the region.
Ambassador Oka also referred to the progress achieved on triangular cooperation between Japan, Egypt, and countries in the region, after the successful round-table discussion held jointly in January this year by the CCCPA and the Embassy of Japan to explore the future possibilities of cooperation between Japan and Egypt in the region, including triangular cooperation on capacity building in the field of health. He touched on the plan to accept additional 150 scholarship students from countries in the Sub-Sahara region to E-JUST (Egypt- Japan University of Science and Technology) established by cooperation between Japan and Egypt, on top of the other scholarship students already accepted to the University from African countries, and expressed expectations to receive many applications from countries in the Red Sea region as well. Additionally, the Japanese Ambassador commended the long-term partnership with CCCPA and its significant contribution towards the building of African capacities in these areas.
H.E. Ambassador Neveen El-Husseiny, Deputy Assistant Minister for Migration, Refugees, and Combating Human Trafficking at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that “Egypt addresses the issue of forced displacement and refugees through an integrated approach to mainstream responses to forced displacement into development planning.” She provided an overview of Egypt’s efforts to protect the rights of refugees and ensure their access to basic services and integration in national programs by adopting long-term solutions--as part of the sustainable development plans. Ambassador El-Husseiny underlined the importance of promoting peace to prevent the recurrence of conflicts and supporting PCRD efforts to pave the way for the safe return of displaced persons to their countries of origin.
Training sessions covered a wide array of topics, including conflict analysis ; overarching trends and drivers of conflict and displacement in Africa, including climate change; the AU PCRD policy and mechanisms and processes for its implementation, as well as inclusion mechanisms and pathways for social cohesion between host and displaced communities; resilience building efforts and the adoption of a preventative approach to address climate- and conflict-induced displacement; the principle of responsibility-sharing and ways to support national institutions to address the humanitarian needs of forcibly displaced persons.
The training was held in conjunction with a dedicated workshop on mainstreaming gender in the design and implementation of PCRD efforts in view of the pivotal role of women in forging inclusive and durable peace in their communities. The workshop tackled the differentiated needs of all groups of society, and provided an avenue to explore indispensable tools for planning and implementing PCRD activities, not only when it comes to ensuring that institutions deliver to all their constituencies, but also in terms of leveraging the peacebuilding expertise and capacities of women and youth.
The training and workshop witnessed the participation of experts and facilitators from a wide range of entities and key partners, including the AUC, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the African Development Bank (AfDB), Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the UN University, Cairo University, the Brookings institution, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of the African Conflict Peacebuilding Review.
The training and the workshop come as part of the project titled “Addressing Emerging Threats to Development, Peace and Security in Africa” funded by the Government of Japan, through UNDP.
