ECOWAS, others launch €20.4m project for peace, security

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union (EU) and the German Government have officially launched a 20.4 million Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) project to be implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH) in Abuja.

The overall goal of the fouryear project is “to prevent and manage conflicts and security threats in West Africa” with specific objectives to strengthen ECOWAS mechanisms to promote and maintain peace and stability and post-crises operations, enable ECOWAS to manage erupting or existing conflicts and contribute to the creation of a secure and safe post-conflict environment.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou, said the project was in line with the 2014 Africa-EU Roadmap in which the both sides pledged to “increase cooperation in addressing the root causes of conflicts and cross-cutting issues of common concern such as terrorism and related threats and organised transnational crime.”

At the launch of the project, Brou said, “This important project that we are launching today is the result of our standing partnership with the European Union and the Federal Republic of Germany. Indeed, EPSAO is funded by the EU under the Regional Indicative Programme/11th European Development Fund (PIR/11th EDF) to the tune of 16.4m for a period of four years. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany is cofinancing this project with additional four million euros and is committed to contribute additional financial resources to ensure that support is provided to ECOWAS in the area of electoral observer missions.

Brou also said the four-year project, with a total budget of 20.400.000, closely worked with the ECOWAS Commission , member states, and civil society groups to enhance regional capacities and responses in the fields of mediation, peace support operations and security sector reform, and supported the establishment of early warning/early response centres in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Togo and Guinea, thus bridging national and regional efforts to identify and mitigate conflicts as early as possible.

He added that the support for these centres was part of a wider project focus to support ECOWAS’ effort to work with member states in further strengthening inclusive, national and cross-sectional structures and processes to address crises and build sustainable peace.