Latest news with #securitychallenges
Zawya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Zawya
Parliaments Take Centre Stage in Africa's Peace and Security Agenda
As Africa contends with escalating insecurity, unconstitutional transitions, and protracted conflicts, parliamentary leaders are increasingly stepping into central roles in peace building and conflict resolution across the continent. The upcoming Extraordinary General Assembly of the Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures (CoSPAL), scheduled for 19 to 20 July in Kampala, is expected to consolidate these efforts by providing a platform for Speakers to advance legislative-led responses to Africa's security challenges. Speaking during a special pre-conference briefing held on Thursday, 03 July 2025, at the Parliament of Uganda for diplomats of African countries accredited to Uganda, Hon. Geofrey Ekanya, the Member of Parliament for Tororo North County, delivered a statement on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among. He described the conference as 'a crucial opportunity for African legislative leaders to come together and seek solutions to the myriad challenges affecting peace and security on the continent.' The summit builds on recent initiatives by the Forum of Parliaments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR), including a fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) led by Speakers from member states. Speaker Among and her Zambian counterpart, Rt Hon. Nelly Mutti, were part of the DRC mission. 'To further enrich their understanding of the conflict,' Among said, 'the team met H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda, who shared with them the historical perspective of the conflict and possible opportunities to find a lasting solution.' The Speaker added that President Yoweri Museveni also offered insights into the causes of conflict in other African countries and ways these might be resolved. The findings from that mission were later adopted during the 15th Plenary Assembly of FP-ICGLR in Angola in April 2025. 'In the final communiqué of this Assembly under Resolution Number 15, it was agreed to request the Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures to convene an extraordinary meeting to consider the proposals by FP-ICGLR to address matters of peace and security on DRC and the African continent at large,' Speaker Among said. The Government of Uganda accepted the request to host the event, which will take place at the Munonyo Commonwealth Resort, Kampala. 'This extraordinary conference provides a unique opportunity for Speakers and Presidents of African legislatures to convene, collaborate, and commit to actionable strategies for fostering peace and security on the continent,' she added. The conference will aim to deepen understanding of contemporary security threats such as terrorism, electoral violence, unconstitutional transitions, and organised crime. It will also focus on strengthening legislative oversight, promoting parliamentary diplomacy, sharing best practices, and fostering inter-parliamentary cooperation. 'The theme is intended to bring African legislatures at the centre of conflict resolution because of their representative role,' Among noted. Expected outcomes include a resolution calling for ceasefires in conflict-affected countries, support for regional peace efforts led by bodies like the African Union; ECOWAS; EAC; SADC; ICGLR; IGAD; and the Arab Maghreb Union and the establishment of a permanent African Speakers Centre on Peace and Security to be hosted in Uganda. 'The centre will serve as a permanent body for coordinating Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures' efforts across Africa in promoting peace, conflict resolution, and legislative actions,' she said. The Government of Uganda has committed to providing all necessary logistical support, including VIP immigration clearance, airport transfers, and security for delegates. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
Arab News
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
West African leaders admit security woes mounting in region
ABUJA: Leaders from the west African bloc ECOWAS on Sunday admitted during talks in the Nigerian capital that the region was in trouble, facing mounting unrest and political instability. 'Our region is at the crossroads,' said Sierra Leone's Julius Maada Bio as he took over the rotating chairmanship of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from Nigeria's Bola Tinubu. West Africa is 'facing serious challenges, some long-standing, others new and evolving,' he said. They included 'insecurity in the Sahel and coastal states, terrorism, political instability, illicit arms flow and transnational organized crimes.' It was time to 'overhaul our collective security architecture' including intelligence-sharing and rapid response, he added. 'The democratic space is under strain in parts of our region — the constitutional order has been disrupted.' Coups and attempted putsches have rocked nearly half of the original ECOWAS member states in the last decade, straining relations between neighbors. Three junta-led countries — Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — quit the bloc earlier this year, setting up their own alliances. Jihadists exploiting fraying ties between regional countries are gaining ground in the Sahel and Lake Chad region. They have recently intensified offensives in the Sahel region, staging bloody raids in Mali, incursions into major cities in Burkina Faso and inflicting heavy army losses in Niger. Summit host Nigeria has also witnessed a spike in attacks in recent weeks, targeting both villagers and military bases. In his speech, outgoing ECOWAS chair Tinubu spoke of the 'stark and consistent challenges that continue to impede our aspirations... violent extremism and other cross-border crimes that have continued to widen' and intensify. The three Sahel states' military juntas pledged during the coups that brought them to power to make security a priority. But, like their predecessors, they are struggling to contain the advance of jihadists, who are threatening neighboring countries on the west African coast more than ever. Tinubu said that under his leadership ECOWAS 'deployed all diplomatic means' to engage the three countries and expressed confidence 'that before too long, they may return' to the bloc. Bringing the three countries back into the ECOWAS fold will be the 'biggest test' of the chairmanship of Maada Bio, a former soldier who briefly led a military junta in his own country more than two decades ago, said Ikemesit Effiong, analyst with SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based African geopolitical risk consulting firm. The three countries have so far formed a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Earlier this year they announced the creation of a joint 5,000-strong force for joint military operations. ECOWAS leaders in August 2023 mustered plans to create a military 'standby force' aimed at fighting against terrorism and transnational crimes. At the time it was announced, it was aimed at the junta leaders in Niger who had toppled the sitting president. Tinubu said ECOWAS 'must act decisively to operationalize the standby force in the fight against terrorism to serve as an instrument for peace and stability for our region.' 'I am a little bit worried about the slow pace of its activation, which is taking longer than desired,' said Tinubu. ECOWAS did not give a timeline of when it would become operational. But the organization has a long history of military interventions having deployed since the 1990s in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ivory Coast, the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
NATO weighs a US demand to massively hike defense spending as some struggle to meet the current goal
NATO foreign ministers on Thursday debated an American demand to massively ramp up defense investment to 5% of gross domestic product over the next 7 years, as the U.S. focuses on security challenges outside of Europe. At talks in Antalya, Turkey, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that more investment and military equipment are needed to deal with the threat posed by Russia and terrorism, but also by China which has become the focus of U.S. concern. 'When it comes to the core defense spending, we need to do much, much more,' Rutte told reporters. He underlined that once the war in Ukraine is over, Russia could reconstitute its armed forces within 3-5 years. Secretary of State Marco Rubio underlined that 'the alliance is only as strong as its weakest link.' He insisted that the U.S. investment demand is about 'spending money on the capabilities that are needed for the threats of the 21st century.' The debate on defense spending is heating up ahead of a summit of U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts in the Netherlands on June 24-25. It's a high-level gathering that will set the course for future European security, including that of Ukraine. In 2023, as Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine entered its second year, NATO leaders agreed to spend at least 2% of GDP on national defense budgets. So far, 22 of the 32 member countries have done so. The new spending plan under consideration is for all allies to aim for 3.5% of GDP on their defense budgets by 2032, plus an extra 1.5% on potentially defense-related things like infrastructure — roads, bridges, air- and sea ports. While the two figures add up to 5%, factoring in infrastructure and cybersecurity would change the basis on which NATO traditionally calculates defense spending. The seven-year time frame is also short by the alliance's usual standards. Rutte refused to confirm the numbers under consideration, but he acknowledged that it's important to include infrastructure in the equation, 'for example to make sure that bridges, yes, are there for you and me to drive our cars but also if necessary to make sure that the bridge will hold a tank. So all these expenditures have to be taken into account.' It's difficult to see how many members would reach a new 3.5% goal. Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain are not even spending 2% yet, although Spain does expect to reach that goal in 2025, a year past the deadline. The U.S. demand would require investment at an unprecedented scale, but Trump has cast doubt over whether the U.S. would defend allies that spend too little, and this remains an incentive to do more, even as European allies realize that they must match the threat posed by Russia. 'There is a lot at stake for us,' Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said. He urged his NATO partners to meet the investment goals faster than the 2032 target "because we see the tempo and the speed, how Russia generates its forces now as we speak.' British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his country should reach 2.5% by 2027, and then 3% by the next U.K. elections planned for 2029. 'It's hugely important that we recommit to Europe's defense and that we step up alongside our U.S. partners in this challenging geopolitical moment where there are so many precious across the world, and particularly in the Indo-Pacific,' he said. As an organization, NATO plays no direct security role in Asia, and it remains unclear what demands the Trump administration might make of the allies as it turns its attention to China. The last NATO security operation outside the Euro-Atlantic area, its 18-year stay in Afghanistan, ended in chaos. ___ Cook reported from Brussels, and Fraser from Ankara, Turkey.
