Put more emphasis on conflict prevention

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July 1, 2008

THE Director of the International Training Programme for Conflict Management, Prof Andrea de Guttry, has called on the international community to make conflict prevention its major agenda, not peacekeeping.
According to him, more attention should be paid to preventing wars, adding that once that was done, the resources spent on peacekeeping could be used for other pressing development activities.
Prof Guttry made the call yesterday at the opening of the International Training Programme on Peace-building and Good Governance (ITPPGG) for African civilian personnel at the University of Ghana.
The three-week programme is to help increase the readiness and professionalism of African civilian personnel participating in peacekeeping and other peace support missions and enhance their capacity to respond effectively to the complex challenges of post-conflict reconstruction.
The participants are from 14 African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda and Congo.
Prof Guttry charged African countries to put the issues of peace and conflict prevention high on their agenda, since reconstruction involved massive capital.
The Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr William Ofori Boafo, congratulated the organisers and participants on contributing to regional peace.
“As peace support operations become more and more complex, it becomes evident that an adequately trained civilian component is necessary to augment the efforts of the military. By their very nature, civilian roles are markedly different from military roles. Yet both are aimed at one thing — restoring peace and a return to normalcy for conflict affected persons,” the minister said.
He noted that increased cross-border conflicts, as well as unpredictable warring factions, posed particular challenges to peace-building and the democratic process.
He, however, emphasised that civilians, military personnel, judges, lawyers, medics and correction officers could each make important contributions to peace support operations.
“Building peace after wars is one of the critical areas which need to succeed to prevent the relapse of a country into renewed violence. We in Ghana cannot enjoy the fruits of democracy if our brothers and sisters suffer oppression, repression and authoritarian rule,” Mr Boafo added.
The President of the Historical Society of Ghana, Prof Irene Odotei, emphasised that women and children had an important role to play in peace building.
“I pray that you give women and children a slice of the action so that they will be part of the decision making,” she said, adding, “I wish we would think about them before the conflict; that we don’t wait until there is war.”
The Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Fabrizio De Agostini, described Resolution 1820 of the United Nations which was passed recently on sexual violence against women and children as historic.
He said Italy and the United States strongly supported the resolution, adding, “Italy is proud of this resolution.”