African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) have met with civil society organisations (CSOs) in Zambia to enhance partnerships in peace and security initiatives.
The consultation was meant to strengthen the two organs’ collaboration with CSOs within the framework of the AU theme of the year 2020: ‘Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development.’
The meeting provides an opportunity for ECOSOCC and COMESA to identify programme synergies and opportunities for technical cooperation.
In addition to developing a joint roadmap to support the development of a CSO accreditation mechanism at the regional and continental level, the two institutions will also undertake a planning session with the Zambian National Structural Vulnerability Assessment Bureau.
In his opening remarks, ECOSOCC Head of Programmes, Kyeretwie Osei, said, ‘It is critical to have an institutional mechanism for the accreditation of civil society organisations and I am glad that both ECOSOCC and COMESA have ongoing projects for the accreditation of CSOs’.
He reiterated ECOSOCC’s commitment to collaborate with COMESA to ensure the development of a harmonised mechanism for the accreditation of CSOs at the regional and continental levels.
Osei thanked the government and people of Zambia for the hospitality and support extended to ECOSOCC during its relocation and establishment of its standalone secretariat in Lusaka, Zambia.
Source: African News
Photo source: Henrik Berger Jørgensen
