ECOWAS Holds Workshop on Africa Programme for Peace in Lagos This Week
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
In a bid to fashion out modalities to curb insecurity in the ECOWAS Region, ECOWAS Commission in partnership with the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is to commence an Orientation Workshop for ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) Directorate Components on Africa Programme for Peace (APP-IV) Agreement on Wednesday this week in Lagos, Nigeria.
The three day workshop, is expected to fashion out ways to improve ECOWAS’ interventions in Peace and Security in the Region, bringing out main documents relating to DANIDA engagement with ECOWAS and improving the knowledge of ECOWAS on administrative and financial procedures having to do with APP-IV as well as the enhancement of staff budgeting and reporting skills.
The Workshop is also meant to provide relevant insights to procurement, financial accounting and auditing processes in the management of donor-funded projects.
The ECPF was adopted in 2008, to among other things, help provide a policy framework for a more strategic orientation towards peace and security and with a human security lens as partly provided for by the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
The APP-IV programme, takes into cognizance, the provisions of African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) which is the umbrella term for the key African Union (AU) mechanisms for promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent.
The need to collaborate with relevant agencies and institutions on peace and security has heightened over the years as the continent faces new trans-border security challenges such as piracy, irregular migration, terrorism, trafficking in persons, transnational organised crime, among others.
