Africa continues to be affected by conflicts which are undermining efforts to bring about sustainable development. This programme was developed to increase the number of governmental and non-governmental officials in Africa trained in conflict analysis, negotiation, mediation and reconciliation skills. It was developed as an extension of the Fellowship Programme with a specific focus on Africa.

The programme provides training for officials from Foreign Ministries, as well as from Offices of the President and Prime Ministers of African states. Participants are also selected from regional and sub-regional organizations, from AU and UN peace missions and from non-governmental organizations working in the field of peacemaking in Africa. The programme, now in its nineteenth year, places an emphasis on the challenges that African policy-makers face in their efforts to assess, prevent, and respond to conflicts on the continent. It is designed to strengthen the coordination and collaboration among actors and institutions and to provide a cadre of persons who could be called upon to use their skills to assist peace operations in Africa. The next regional training programme is planned for the first quarter of 2020.

The recent programme was funded by the Government of Canada, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.

The UNITAR Training Programme to Enhance Conflict Prevention and Peacemaking in Southern Africa was established to provide advanced training in conflict analysis, prevention and resolution to middle and senior level professional staff from Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In addition, it also invites the participation of relevant members of staff from the SADC Secretariat, as well as representatives of key non-governmental organizations working on peacemaking in Southern Africa.

This programme focuses on the pressing need to address issues of peacemaking in the Southern Africa region and the challenges faced by practitioners and decision-makers in their efforts to assess and respond to the current and potential conflict situations in the sub-region. The first programme was held in March 2000, and the second in February 2001 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The third, fourth and fifth programmes were held in the spring of 2003, 2004 and 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa. These programmes have been funded by the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.