President Bola Tinubu on Sunday in Accra, Ghana addressed African leaders on the status of ECOWAS, highlighting the progress so far made by the West African economic bloc and the prevailing challenges.
Presenting the achievements of ECOWAS in the past one year at the Sixth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting of the African Union, President Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, said the Community has activated a Standby Force to counter terrorism and will continue to explore funding options.
According to a statement, the Nigerian President said ECOWAS has been supporting member states to enhance electoral and governance processes, and recently deployed Election Observation Missions to Senegal and Togo – both of which elections were adjudged to be peaceful, transparent, and fair.
Tinubu also highlighted the facilitation of the signing of an Agreement for National Unity in Sierra Leone, noting that the sub-regional body will continue to work with stakeholders in the country to implement the provisions of the Agreement.
The President disclosed that consultations are ongoing to revise the ECOWAS 2001 Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
On economic integration, President Tinubu said ECOWAS has implemented activities to consolidate the free trade area, customs union, and common market.
Meanwhile, the African Union conference in Ghana also addressed issues related to peace and integration on the continent.
President of Mauritania and current African Union Chair, Mohamed Cheikh Ghazouani, urged for the acceleration of the African integration process.
The AU noted that over US$392 million is available in the current endowment of the Africa Union Peace Fund, edging closer its target of USD 400 million, adding that significant resources are needed to move towards predictable and sustainable financing of the AU’s operational peace and security activities.
The AU Peace Fund High Level Resources Mobilisation event held on July 20 private sector and African Financial Institutions led by Afreximbank, Standard Chartered Bank, Ethiopian Airlines, Africa Development Bank, and Tony Elumelu Foundation made commitments to support resource mobilization for peace in Africa.
In its quest to reduce the level of dependency and regain autonomy and ownership of the peace and security agenda, the African Union has made commendable progress in revitalizing the AU Peace Fund, evidenced in the increased member states contribution to the Fund, and the enhanced governance and management arrangements for the Fund.
The African Union Peace Fund (AUPF) was established in June 1993 as one of the operational tools to finance the peace and security activities of the Organization for African Unity (OAU).
Article 21 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union provides for the legal establishment of a special fund to be known as the Peace Fund with the objective of providing the necessary financial resources for peace support missions and other operational activities related to peace and security in Africa.