ECOWAS has held a strategic peace talk with the African Union to integrate and implement the African Union Accountability and Compliance Framework (AUCF) into peacekeeping missions across the region.

Delegations from the African Union, United Nations Human Rights and European Union delegation to the AU, led by the commissioners for political affairs, were present at the two-day strategic and technical cooperation meeting, which began on April 22nd and ended the following day.

According to ECOWAS, the meeting aims to strengthen International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and Humanitarian Law within Peace Support Operations (PSOs) and maintain the highest standards of conduct among civilians, military, and police personnel involved in PSOs.

“This meeting aims to bolster compliance with International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law within Peace Support Operations (PSOs),” the statement by ECOWAS noted. “In pursuit of this goal, ECOWAS has developed policies and documents, including the Conduct and Discipline Policy Framework, since 2019 to support these efforts.”

ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, Abdul-Fatau Musa, stated the gathering was important, as the bloc is in discussions to establish a new peace mission in Sierra Leone, in addition to the existing missions in The Gambia and Guinea Bissau.

He noted that the ECOWAS heads of state have already implemented a framework for eradicating terrorism in the region, with the operation of peace missions being critical in West Africa.

“ECOWAS is currently engaged in discussions to establish a new peace mission in Sierra Leone, in addition to the existing missions in The Gambia and Guinea Bissau,” Mr Musa said.

“He highlighted that the ECOWAS heads of state have adopted a framework for the complete eradication of terrorism, which will bolster the operations of the ECOWAS Standby Force,” he added.

Speaking at the meeting, Bankole Adeoye, AU commissioner for political affairs, said complying with human rights laws is pivotal to fighting terrorism in the region. Ilze Brands Kehris, United Nations assistant secretary-general for human rights, said peacekeeping needs a systematic approach to be successful.

Mr Perez, head of the EU delegation to the AU, reiterated that the European regional bloc is committed to peacekeeping operations in Africa, stating that over $5 billion has been dedicated to peacekeeping missions on the continent in the past 10 years.