A JOINT WORLD BANK – UNITED NATIONS – AFRICA UNION SUPPORT PROGRAMME FUNDED BY UK FCDO (2023-2025)
Since 2020, UNITAR has been a key partner in an innovative initiative aimed at strengthening conflict prevention and response mechanisms across the African continent. The core strategy of the project Strengthening Operational Linkages between Early Warning and Conflict Response at Regional and National levels using a Human Rights Prevention-focused Approach funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is to enhance linkages between the African Union’s conflict prevention and response instruments at regional and national levels through the mainstreaming of human rights-based approaches into conflict early warning and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration instruments.
In this new phase, while supporting in the realization of many key deliverables, UNITAR will focus its efforts mainly in the realization of Output 3 (Institutional capacity building) of which the objective is to strengthen partners' capacities (national, regional and continental, and international) to ensure their ability to more effectively narrow the gap between early warning and response. Specifically, UNITAR will contribute to the update and development of capacity building products aimed at strengthening the capacities of AU officials as well as Civil Society Organizations and National Human Rights Institutions on human rights integration into early warning data collection, and analysis and rights-based approach to data.
Furthermore, UNITAR work in the framework of this initiative includes the planning and organization of two events aimed at strengthening cross-institutional learning and knowledge exchange as well as promoting the results of the programme across partners, key stakeholders and Member States.
The broader initiative
As mentioned, the activities presented in this page are part of a broader joint World Bank – United Nations – Africa Union support programme funded by UK FCDO (2023-2025).
Previous phases
This initiative is the continuation of the UK FCDO funded World Bank Global Program for Reintegration Support (GPRS) 2019-2022 Programming Framework in support of the African Union.
UNITAR’s role in the previous phases was aimed at supporting the African Union in strengthening the capacities of Member States to implement emerging as well as classic DDR through the operationalization and dissemination of the AU Operational Guidance Notes (OGNs). The collaboration was made possible by the essential role played by the African Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in adapting and delivery a blended training programme on the AU OGNs on DDR designed by UNITAR in close collaboration with the AU Commission and the World Bank.
Side event on the margin of the African Union Summit
The side event on the margin of the African Union Summit “Ensuring the right to equitable and inclusive quality education to break and prevent cycles of violence in Africa, by harnessing the development and peace potential of the people to achieve the Africa we want”, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 13 February 2024. The event provided a platform for key stakeholders to convene, share insights and strategize on addressing issues regarding the AU Theme of the Year, education, with a focus of education in conflict-affected regions of Africa. The side event addressed the critical educational challenges discussing them under the lens of early warning and conflict prevention, and the pivotal role education can play in breaking and preventing cycles of violence.
The side event was attended by a wide range of stakeholders involved in conflict prevention, education, and peacebuilding efforts in Africa. This included representatives from the African Union, Member States, think tanks, United Nations agencies, the World Bank Group, academia and African training centres.
Lina Imran – Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Officer, DPAPS, African Union
“Many community-level reintegration support programs already incorporate skills training, basic education, and access to children. The challenge lies in mainstreaming and supporting recovery and development programs at the national level, ensuring their sustainability, and integrating them into post-war economies” - Lina Imran – Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Officer, DPAPS, African Union
Two-day technical meetings
Between the 11th and 12th of March, UNITAR, the WBG, and the AU organised a two-day event Catalyst for Prevention: strengthening AU support to regional and national conflict prevention processes through human rights informed Early Warning. AU-WB-UN Joint Programme - Technical Meetings which brought together the project partners and other relevant stakeholders. The two-day event included a high-level panel event held on 11 March, and a series of closed technical meetings between the project partners and relevant stakeholders, held on 11 and 12 March 2024.
The high-level panel event was organized as a side event to the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, titled “Building Bridges for Peace. An exchange of experiences on DDR and its linkages with human rights, early warning, and conflict prevention between Colombia and African contexts”. The event was organized with the cooperation from the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN in Geneva and the Colombian Agency for Reincorporation and Standardization (ARN). The event took place on 11 March 2024, from 2 to 3 pm, at the Palais des Nations (Room XXV) in Geneva, Switzerland.
For more details about the Building Bridges for Peace panel event, click here.
The closed technical meetings saw the participation of the project partners as well as relevant stakeholders. Representatives of UNITAR, AU, WBG, OHCHR, IPSS, DPO, UNOAU, ECORYS, the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN, ARN, P-DDRCS, and the Association of Women Producers of Peace Essences (ASMUPROPAZ) attended the meetings. The meetings were aimed at promoting cooperation between Member States and between Member States and international and regional organizations on conflict prevention and response. Participants discussed issues related to early warning systems in African contexts, as well as the role of NHRIs and CSOs. Furthermore, partners shared insights on how the initiative can contribute to strengthening the capacities of the AU to prevent conflict cycles through adapting a human rights-based approach to early warning and DDR. The technical meetings were held on 11 and 12 March 2024, at the UNITAR office in Geneva, Switzerland.