by PPS
Friday, August 17, 2007
Speaking at the official opening of the 5th Ordinary Council of Ministers of Defence and Security of Eastern Africa Region Standby Brigade meeting at Safari Park Hotel, President Kibaki urged Eastern Africa region member states to support troop deployment in Somalia so as to facilitate the quick conclusion of the deployment needed.
He noted that commitment to the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade in terms of contribution of troops and the necessary financial resources is the main challenge.
The President pointed out that although several African countries approached by IGAD agreed to contribute troops for deployment in Somalia, only about a quarter of the targeted troops had been deployed by March this year.
Noting that in the past Africa relied on external intervention by the international community as the most dependable method of conflict resolution, President Kibaki said it was now evident that international resources are overstretched and Africa can no longer rely on the international community or its agencies to solve its problems.
In this regard, the Head of State said Africa must increasingly rely on its own resources and capacities to resolve its conflicts and allow the international community to join as partners and not leaders, in resolving African conflicts.
He expressed optimism that the continent was capable of achieving its goal of a peaceful, stable and secure Africa, despite the numerous constraints it faced in managing conflicts.
President Kibaki emphasized that collectively the continent has the necessary diplomatic and technical resources to contain most conflicts.
The President, however, noted that the diplomatic and technical resources needed to be deployed in a timely, proficient and sustained manner in order to achieve the targeted goals.
He said it was in recognition of this objective that the Protocol establishing the Peace and Security Council was signed at the inaugural Summit of the African Union held in Durban, South Africa in July 2002.
President Kibaki added that the Eastern Africa region followed suit two years later when the Heads of State of the region adopted the Policy Framework establishing the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade at the 1st Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in April 2004.
He observed that each of the regional brigades represents the devolution of power by the African Union to regional economic communities that will allow them to deal with peace and security issues affecting their respective sub-regions.
The President said institutional approaches to conflict management at the sub-regional level have proved more promising citing the example of ECOMOG, the peacekeeping force of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which intervened successfully in the Liberian conflict.
President Kibaki stressed that the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade are practical examples of Africa 's political will and commitment to take leadership in addressing conflicts and issues of peace and security facing the continent.
In this respect, the President acknowledged the efforts and achievements made by Inter Governmental Authority on Development, IGAD, in bringing together the Member States of the Eastern Africa region despite their membership of different regional economic communities.
President Kibaki regretted that although most conflicts are still steeped in local or regional causes, with ethnicity, nationality or religious identities as the primary driving forces, global influences were playing a role once again.
He cited divisive religious or ethnic ideologies imported and deployed in regional conflicts as some of the global influences of conflicts in Africa and underscored the need to end them whatever they causes.
The President said human conflicts, whatever their nature, are costly as a result of disruption of economic activities hence retarding economic and social development by diverting public and private resources that would have been used for development.
He noted that millions of people in the region have foregone access to education, better health facilities, roads, and agricultural production because of chronic conflicts.
The President expressed optimism that the meeting would pave way for the evolution of an enabling environment for sustainable economic development by discussing the local, regional and global dimensions underlying the conflicts in the region and make practical recommendations on how bring them to an end.
He urged the participants to discuss each conflict zone in its specific context, and to recommend feasible military and diplomatic interventions that are best suited to bring such conflicts to a peaceful resolution.
President Kibaki thanked the IGAD Secretariat for the stewardship it has provided to the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade and development partners who have supported IGAD in its efforts to restore in conflict affected areas.
During the occasion, the President officially launched the Eastern Africa Standby Brigade Co-ordinating Mechanism website.
Other speakers included Defence Minister Njenga Karume and the Eastern Africa Region Standby Brigade Council of Ministers Chairperson Ruth Nankabirwa.
Source: PPS, Aug 17, 2007