The African Union Commission (AUC) says it remains determined to end conflicts in Africa despite the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The continental body made this known during a series of virtual conferences convened by two of its departments: Peace and Security and Political Affairs.

AU officials highlighted the impact of Covid-19 and related challenges in the implementation of the union’s ‘Silencing the Guns’ theme of the year, noting that the conflicts in most countries had severely affected humanitarian access and limited the reach of support and relief efforts.

‘The threat posed by Covid-19 has considerably slowed the momentum of the silencing the guns agenda, and our intention is to further accelerate our collective efforts to end conflicts and crises in Africa while expressing concern that terrorists and armed groups have failed to heed the calls of the AU and UN leadership for a global ceasefire’, the Commissioner for Peace and Security for the AU, Ambassador Smail Chergui, said.

On his part, the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Ambassador Cessouma Minata Semate, said, ‘A sustainable strategy to silence the guns must directly address the structural root causes of violent conflict in Africa, including governance deficits, as well as promote equitable management of natural resources for the overall benefit of the citizenry’.

During the interaction, participants emphasised that the ramifications of illicit inflows of small arms and light weapons into Africa; continued illicit circulation of these weapons within the continent; corruption, illicit financial inflows, and governance deficits were among the factors contributing to both traditional and non-traditional threats to states and human security in Africa.

Source: CNBC Africa

Photo source: Max Barners