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A sub-regional strategic
workshop on Early Warning System ended in Accra on Saturday aimed at
equipping civil society monitors with necessary mechanism for
detecting conflict signals.
The ECOWAS Early Warning System was a strategy adopted for the
prevention and resolution of conflicts in its nascent stage before
they degenerate into violent conflicts of the magnitude of those
experienced in the sub-region over the past decade. The strategy
aimed at saving the usual huge costs that go with resolving
full-blown conflicts and undertaking post-conflict reconstruction as
well averting humanitarian catastrophe.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, attended by Anglophone countries,
Mr Emmanuel Bombande, Executive Director of West Africa Network for
Peacebuilding (WANEP) said the network had integrated early warning
and early response as part of its core activities. He explained that
the workshop was part of a Capacity Building Programme (CBP) that
seeks to establish and maintain well-coordinated networks of civil
society organizations in each country across the sub-region, under
the umbrella of WANEP. The capacity building would create a pool of
trained and well-informed personnel to work alongside ECOWAS to
operate a functional and reliable early warning and early response
mechanism across the sub-region.
Mr Bombande said the project aimed at institutionalizing the culture
of prevention in West Africa through an appropriate and effective
early warning and early response mechanism.
It would also help build the capacities of communities and CSOs in
the early detection of nascent violent conflicts that will bring
about early warning which will, in turn generate early response
mobilization and foster collaborative relationships with civil
society and existing national, sub-regional, regional and
international early warning, conflict prevention, and peace-building
organizations. He said it would also promote proactive/pre-emptive
and integrated approaches to conflict prevention and peace-building.
Mr Bombande said the goal is to develop an effective and workable
early warning and conflict management system that is capable of
producing demonstrable results in managing, mitigating and
preventing violent conflict in West Africa.
Colonel Yoro Kone, ECOWAS Director, Observation and Monitoring said
the early warning system mechanism aims at enhancing West African
regional capacity to detect and respond to conflict. It supports the
establishment of an early detection and response mechanism for
ECOWAS to help prevent regional conflicts, strengthen the capacity
of civil society organizations to participate in conflict detection
and response and create a platform for sharing lessons and best
practices to avoid or mitigate situations and transition from
conflict to democratic governance.
He said ECOWAS would also support the operationalization of the
ECOWAS Conflict Early Warning System by providing training and
technical assistance.
This would result in closer collaboration between the national civil
society networks that have been established and the ECOWAS
Observation and Monitoring Centres. The centres according to Col.
Kone would implement the ECOWAS Mechanism for Conflict Prevention,
Management, Resolution, Peace-keeping and Security within West
Africa.
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