Navigating Channels for Civil Society Participation in Conflict Prevention and Peace-Making in the African Peace and Security Architecture

Abstract

AbstractThe African Union (AU) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that are building blocks of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) gradually elaborated structures for conflict prevention and peace-making and mediated negotiations in numerous conflicts in the last two decades. African civil society organisations (CSOs) with relevant expertise helped to build APSA structures, whilst CSOs in conflict-affected countries interacted with structures and mediators as stakeholders of interventions. However, the channels CSOs could use to participate in structures of APSA building blocks and their inclusion in mediations varied sharply. The chapter reviews channels for CSOs to participate in APSA structures and in mediations. It argues that the APSA saw a proliferation of policies for inclusive conflict prevention and peace-making, which political decision-makers and mediators would need to fully embrace. CSOs were routinely consulted in mediations, but the impact of their inputs on mediation agendas and agreements hinged on the volition of mediators and dominant conflict actors. CSOs had to constantly navigate channels for participation to identify pathways and dead ends.KeywordsAPSAAUECOWASSADCCivil society inclusionMediationPreventive diplomacyEarly warning