Ablakwa Calls for Urgent Action to Address Root Causes of Conflict in Africa

Ghana’s  Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called on African leaders to undertake honest introspection into the root causes of conflicts on the continent and take urgent steps to address them.

Mr Ablakwa made the call when he addressed the African Union Executive Council’s extraordinary meeting on Conflict Resolution and Prevention in Angola.

According to him, Africa must end what he described as the “normalisation of conflict and extremism” and intensify efforts to build a peaceful and transformed continent.

He urged African leaders to focus on the underlying drivers of conflict, including injustice, limited opportunities for young people, underdevelopment, corruption, exploitation of natural resources, intolerance and political insincerity.

He also cautioned against African countries and leaders allowing themselves to become pawns for external or proxy forces, stressing the need for greater ownership of the continent’s peace and development agenda.

Mr Ablakwa said Africa was running out of time to create the new and transformed continent envisioned by its people, particularly the youth.

He cited the recent movement of more than 72,000 young Africans who breached fences in an attempt to enter Ceuta in Spain as a disturbing reminder of the urgency to address the socio-economic conditions confronting young people across Africa.

He said the situation should strengthen the resolve of African leaders to “silence the guns” and redirect resources currently being spent on conflicts towards creating jobs and expanding opportunities for the continent’s youth.

Foreign Affairs Minister stressed that sustainable peace in Africa would require more than military interventions, arguing that addressing injustice, poverty, unemployment, corruption and underdevelopment must form a central part of the continent’s conflict-prevention strategy.