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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20230920T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20230920T150000
DTSTAMP:20260501T165649
CREATED:20230918T213634Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230918T214549Z
UID:1268-1695204000-1695222000@lifeaidcm.org
SUMMARY:For a Sustainable Peace in Cameroon: Strengthening Synergy of Actions between State and non-State Actors
DESCRIPTION:1. INTRODUCTION \nLifeAID in partnership with the Ministry of External Relations is organizing a Strategic Dialogue to foster sustainable peace and security in commemoration of the 2023 International peace day in Cameroon. This strategic dialogue forms part of the activities of the second phase of the Youth Initiative for Inclusive Dialogue (YIID) Program that aims at reducing existing intergenerational gaps\, foster the culture of dialogue\, trust and mutual engagement between youths\, communities and various stakeholders in the quest for lasting solutions to society’s pressing challenges. As a continuation of the Grand National Dialogue organized by the government of Cameroon in 2019\, the YIID Program also seeks to capture the voices and contributions of the youth constituency\, community leaders\, experts and stakeholders especially those who didn’t have the opportunity to participate in the grand national dialogue\, as an inclusive governance approach to fostering the peace\, security and development needed in Cameroon. \nLifeAID is a Cameroon based Non-profit that fosters youth centered development initiatives\, peace\, security\, community development and policy research in Cameroon and Africa. \n2. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE \nEach year the international peace day is celebrated around the world on 21 September which was declared by the UN General Assembly as a day devoted to strengthen the ideals of peace\, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. However\, in Africa today\, the aspiration to achieve sustainable peace\, prosperity and economic growth is often threatened by different factors such as governance deficiencies\, inequality\, poverty\, unemployment\, insecurity and climate driven disasters in spite of the abundance of enormous natural resources to create wealth and employment opportunities for citizens. \nThis year’s commemoration of the International Day of Peace is taking place against a backdrop of insecurities and conflicts in Africa and around the boarders of Cameroon on the one hand\, and internal crises that are challenging Cameroon’s long-standing reputation as a haven of peace in sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of the world. Since 2013\, the collateral effects of instability in the Central African Republic have left the eastern part of the country vulnerable to insecurity. \nWhile there are several and increasing influx and camping of refugees from Central African Republic and Sudan\, the actions of rebel groups continue to threaten peace by disrupting the social fabric\, with a strong impact on young people in the Country. In the north\, attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haram since 2014 have turned the Far North Region into a habitat of insecurity. The jihadist group is multiplying terrorist attacks and acts of violent extremism with devastating effects on the lives and well-being of the population. In the North West and South West regions\, the protests of teachers and lawyers gradually led to open armed conflict between the forces of defense and security and seperative groups. The human\, economic and social tolls of these conflicts are quite telling. Within this context\, the circulation of Small arms and light weapons has become a real challenge for public authorities. \nIn addition to these crises\, there is the prevalence of inter-community conflicts exacerbated by the scarcity of resources due to the consequences of climate change. The recent clashes in the Far North region between Choa Arab herders and Mosgoum fishermen; the farmers and graziers in Bui\, Wum\, Ngoketunjia and Mezam divisions of the North West region over control of green spaces that are gradually being decimated by global warming to name a few\, show just how much ecological issues can be a source of conflict that undermines peace. What’s more\, the specter of inter-community conflagration is now being fuelled by the resurgence of hate speech\, the expression of identity-based withdrawal in the form of tribalism and the proliferation of fake news. In this respect\, Cameroon through the Ministry of External Relations has been mandated by the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa (UNSAC) to ensure follow-up of actions that will lead to the political endorsement\nof the draft sub-regional strategy and action plan to address and counter hate speech in Central Africa that was adopted in June 2022\, in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo). This obviously forms part of a decisive role in the fight against hate speech and the proliferation of fake news\, which are real contemporary destabilizing factors and threats to peace in Cameroon and Central Africa. \nThe radicalization\, involvement of youths in various hostilities and the consequences of various conflicts and crises on women and youths as major victims can no longer be underestimated. From the classic narrative consideration of youth as perpetrators of violence and treat to peace and security to the new narrative adopted by the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2250 (2015)\, 2419(2018)\, 2535(2020) and the African Union adopted Continental Framework for Youth\, Peace and Security in Africa\, youths are influential actors and important partners for effective and sustainable peace and security. Unfortunately\, young men and women are also victimized by the negative aspects of western civilizations\, poverty\, unemployment and underemployment which in part has contributed to declining moral and civic values as well as drive their recruitment into hostilities. These necessitate not only their active involvement in various decision-making and peace processes but also\, effective moral\, civic\, patriotic and\nentrepreneurial rearmament. Meanwhile\, any meaningful attempts to foster sustainable peacebuilding\, prosperity and growth in Africa and Cameroon in particular must include building a strong private sector and civil society\, spurred by entrepreneurs and civil society activists\, advancing peace\, stability and development. As it follows\, there’s no doubt that the role of Women\, the youth and the private sector in general are crucial to the peace we need in Cameroon. \nSeveral government initiatives have been undertaken to respond effectively to various crises and restore peace in Cameroon. The organization of the Grand National Dialogue (GND) in 2019\, for example\, has made it possible to chart a way out of the conflict in the English-speaking zone by recognizing the special status of the North-West and South-West Regions. Other government measures include the adoption of the General Code of Decentralized Local Authorities\, the creation of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism\, the\nimplementation of the Disarmament\, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programme\, and the implementation of the Presidential Plan for the Reconstruction of the Far North\, North West and South West Regions. Non-state actors such as technical and financial partners\, civil society organizations\, the clergy and the media are also involved in restoring peace through awareness raising\, support and advocacy. Due to the weakened economic environment in these two regions\, the Prime Minister and Head of Government in 2019 granted the status of economic disaster\nareas to the Far-North\, North-West and South-West Regions. Attempting to localize the UN Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on Women\, Peace and Security\, Cameroon adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) to guide the participation and protection of the woman in 2017 for the period 2018-2020. The National Development Strategy (NDS30) was also developed to capture the needs of the Cameroonian society and engage Cameroonians towards stronger unity\, peace and security; stronger democracy; prosperity; and universal access to quality social\nservices. \nDespite these actions\, it appears that a full return to normalcy and sustainable peace remains a real challenge in Cameroon and the risk of not only the escalation of old conflicts but the eruption of new social\, environmental and politically motivated instability is high. This now requires a synergy of actions between state and non-state actors in order\, on the one hand\, to carry out an evaluation of existing strategies to prevent\, end various crises and foster stability and growth as supported by the National Development Strategy (NDS30) and\, on the other hand\, to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It is for this reason that LifeAID whose traditional goal is to catalyze peace\, security and development processes\, is partnering with the Ministry of External Relations to organize a strategic dialogue in commemoration of the international peace day\, to foster a state-non-state actor’s engagement to building an effective melting pot for sustainable peace and security in Cameroon\, anchored in the awareness\, involvement and mobilization of all citizens\, the private sector\, the civil society\, the youth and women as well as a proper inclusive early warnings and early response mechanism. \n3. PROJECT DESCRIPTION \n3.1 Theory of change \n\nStimulate strategic dialogue between relevant stakeholders to take actions towards accelerating the consolidation of sustainable peace in Cameroon in order to achieve the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Cameroon’s National Development Strategy (NDS 30).\n\n3.2 Goal \n\nProviding the opportunity for various actors to brainstorm and to take actions towards addressing emerging and existing conflicts and insecurities within Cameroon.\n\n3.3 Specific objectives \n\nEngage stakeholders to brainstorm and discuss on operational measures to prevent new insecurities while build and consolidate sustainable peace in Cameroon;\nCreate awareness and sensitize actors on existing frameworks and measures to prevent conflict and build peace;\nShare experiences and best practices on various actions by both specialized state institutions and non-state actors in preventing conflicts and building sustainable peace in Cameroon;\nNetwork state and non-state actors to building trust while engage to joint efforts in the fighting insecurity and sustaining peace within the Cameroonian space.\n\n4. TARGET \nThis discussion is open to national and international institutions\, diplomatic representations\, public decision- makers\, youth\, civil society organizations\, think tanks\, academics and the general public without restriction.\nNumber of participants: 100 \n5. EXPECTED OUTCOME \nOutcome 01: \n\nRelevant government ministries and non-state stakeholders are involved in jointly developing a policy paradigm shift regarding conflict prevention and management in Cameroon.\n\nOutcome 02: \n\nYouths\, women\, civil society and private sector actors are granted participation niches to effectively address conflict prevention and management issues in Cameroon.\n\nOutcome 03: \n\nCameroon is more prepared to face rising insecurity while manage existing conflicts and build sustainable peace.\n\n6. OUTPUTS \n\nThe voices of state and non-state actors are captured into a final strategy outcome document or reports;\nThe technical capacities of key government institutions and non-state actors are enhanced to strengthen peace and security process;\nBetter awareness\, strategy and state-non state engagement are taken to prevent conflict and build exportable and sustainable peace in Cameroon.\n\n7. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH \nThe strategic dialogue will feature introductory presentations by a few hand-picked specialists around a moderator. After the presentations\, an open lively discussion with all the participants is going to take place. \nMINREX will help to mobilize participants by sending letters of invitation to panelists and other stakeholders. \nThe technical secretariat\, responsible for taking notes and drafting reports\, will be jointly handled or made up of both MINREX and LifeAID staff. \nThe Protocol will be provided by MINREX teams. \n8. THEME FOR DISCUSSION \nInaugurale Lesson: Peace and Security\, Our treasured Good to be preserved in Cameroon \n  \nPanel 1: Stakes and imperatives of safeguarding peace and security by the State in Cameroon \n \n1. Reflecting on the trends and stakes of growing global and regional insecurity and their consequences on peace and security in Cameroon \n2. State engagement in safeguarding external and internal security amidst the flow of small arms and light weapons \n3. Overcoming ethnic division\, separatism and violent extremism in order to build peace and security in Cameroon \nPanel 2: Fostering Sustainable Peace: What Suitable Strategy against Hate Speech\, Fake\nNews? \n \n1. Countering Hate Speech and Fake news in Cameroon: instruments\, efforts\, challenges and prospects \n2. What Contribution from the civil society\, journalists and the media in the Fight against Hate Speech and Fake news? \n3. What Strategies for Promoting Peace in the Digital Space in Cameroon? \nPanel 3: Acting hand in hand to prevent conflicts and insecurity: building a national stakeholding culture of Peace in Cameroon \n \n1. Consolidating the army-nation link in the prevention and restoration of security and peace in Cameroon \n2. Local processes in engaging Women and Youth contributions to conflict prevention and peace-building in Cameroon \n3. Beyond the Upcoming Elections: Preserving Peace and stability an Imperative for Political Stakeholders and Cameroonians.
URL:https://lifeaidcm.org/event/for-a-sustainable-peace-in-cameroon-strengthening-synergy-of-actions-between-state-and-non-state-actors/
LOCATION:Ministry of External Relations\, Yaoundé\, Centre\, 00237\, Cameroon
CATEGORIES:Seminars
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lifeaidcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/For-a-Sustainable-Peace-in-Cameroon-Strengthening-Synergy-of-Actions-between-State-and-non-State-Actors-6.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="LifeAID Cameroon":MAILTO:info@lifeaidcm.org
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Paris:20240717T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Paris:20240717T170000
DTSTAMP:20260501T165649
CREATED:20240715T091334Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240715T091604Z
UID:2955-1721228400-1721235600@lifeaidcm.org
SUMMARY:The Protection of Children against Major Violations in Armed Conflicts in Central Africa & the Liptako Gourma Region
DESCRIPTION:INTER-REGIONAL CONVERSATION \nTopic: The Protection of Children against Major Violations in Armed Conflicts in Central Africa & the Liptako Gourma Region \nDate: July 17\, 2024    Time: 15:00 – 17:00 Central African Time \nVenue: Virtual\, Via Zoom  (REGISTER HERE) \n1. Context \nIn different parts of the world and especially in Africa\, there are a plethora of socio-political upheavals some resulting in armed conflicts or civil unrest. The collateral effects of these conflicts and insecurity at multiple fronts have over the years shouldered on children and youths. In his 2023 report on children and armed conflict\, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared: “In 2022\, children continued to be disproportionately affected by armed conflict\, and the number of children verified as affected by grave violations increased compared with 2021”[1]. These violations include recruitment and use\, abduction\, killing and maiming\, rape and other forms of sexual violence. \nIn fact\, ongoing conflicts and hostilities on the African continent and especially in Central Africa\, the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) and the Liptako Gourma Region (LGR) have had a devastating impact on children.  For example\, in the Central African Republic\, the UN verified 437 violations against 321 children (179 boys\, 142 girls)\, including 47 children who were victims of multiple violations[2]. In DRC\, 3\,377 grave violations against 2\,420 children (1\,680 boys\, 740 girls) were verified. In addition\, 981 violations against 792 children (558 boys\, 234 girls)\, including abductions (579)\, sexual violence (200)\, recruitment and use (152)\, killing and maiming (32)\, attacks against schools and hospitals (17) and denial of humanitarian access (1)\, that had occurred in previous years were verified in 2022[3]. In Cameroon\, The UN verified 156 violations against 111 children (47 boys\, 58 girls\, 6 sexes unknown)\, including four girls who were victims of multiple violations. In addition\, eight grave violations affecting eight children (3 boys\, 5 girls) that occurred in 2021 were verified in 2022[4]. Still worst\, over 74 schools have been burnt in the English speaking regions of Cameroon with over 80% completely closed down. In the Lake Chad basin\, armed groups recruit large numbers of child soldiers every year. Between 2017 and 2019\, the United Nations (UN) documented the recruitment and use of at least 1\,385 children by Boko Haram[5]. In the Liptako Gourma region\, Burkina Faso\, Mali and Niger are suffering from a serious security crisis in the face of armed and jihadist groups. The main strategy used by the latter is based on the recruitment of children. For example\, in the Liptako-Gourma region\, growing insecurity has led to massive population displacements. Out of 1.4 million people and refugees in Burkina Faso\, Mali and Niger\, 55% are children (GERM-UGB\, 2021: 5). For the particular case of Burkina Faso\, in 2019\, there were 61.13% of internally displaced children. Children over the age of 5 account for 43.92%\, while those under the age of 5 make up a proportion of 17.20% (MENAPLAN\, 2019: 17). This situation is seriously disrupting social services already weakened by insecurity\, including education. As of February 15\, 2019\, 1135 schools have been closed in Burkina Faso with 154\,233 students out of school. The proportion of girls affected by the impact of insecurity is 48.5% (MENAPLAN\, 2019: 15). The trend in Liptako-Gourma is that more and more children are victims of abductions\, killings\, recruitment and use by armed groups. In Mali\, more than 270 children were maimed or killed in 2019 (GERM-UGB\, 2021: 5). These situations as such\, are not much different in the Liptako Gourma region\, the lake Chad Basin and in Central Africa. Given this\, the radicalization and recruitment of young boys by armed groups and sexual violations against girls can no longer be underestimated. \nTo better streamline actions towards the protection of children\, the UN Security Council Resolution 1612 (2005) was adopted. Several milestones have been recorded across different African countries like the training of law enforcement officers on child protection including in the North-West region of Cameroon in cooperation with the United Nations in 2022; the adoption in Nigeria of the Child Rights Act in Yobe State in June and in Adamawa State in July 2022; In Mali\, the adoption by the transitional government of a decree on compensation for human rights violations provided 529 children with reintegration support[6] while in CAR\, the government adopted in April 2022 a national plan against  trafficking of children\, focusing on preventing the use of children by FACA. Despite the advancement made in enforcing and implementing resolution 1612 (2005)\, it is unfortunate that more is still left to be done to protect the rights of children and to prevent major violations against them including sexual violation and recruitment in armed conflict in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. \nFor this reason\, LifeAID whose traditional goal is to catalyze peace\, security\, and development processes\, and the Coalition on Youth\, Peace and Security in Central Africa (CJPAC) in partnership with the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA)\, and the collaboration of the Office of the Special Representative Secretary General of the United Nations (SRSG) for Children and Armed Conflict; the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS); the United Nations Office for West Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS) and the Liptako Gourma Development Authority (LGA)\, are organizing an inter-regional conversation to contextualize major violations on children in Central Africa\, the Lake Chad Basin and the Liptako Gourma Region and to mobilize stakeholders to the development and implementation of concrete actions in the concerned regions. \n2. Objectives \nThe main objective of this interregional conversation is to engage stakeholders and actors to assess advancements made on the protection of major violations against children inform and guide the development of adapting entry points in effective child protection in Central Africa and the Liptako Gourma region. \nSpecifically\, it aims to: \n\nAnalyze policy frameworks; the nature\, stakes and consequences of major violations against children in conflicts in Central Africa and the Liptako Gourma region;\nFacilitate exchange of experiences and lessons learned between CSOs and stakeholders active in the area of children protection; and\nDevelop key entry points for concrete and adapting actions\, engage an inter-regional network of civil society actors and stakeholders to develop and implement effective actions within the “Act to Protect Children in Armed Conflicts (ACTProC) program”\, to sustainably protect the rights of children and prevent major violations against them in Central Africa and the Liptako Gourma region.\n\n3. Expected Outcome \n\nAwareness of policy frameworks and understanding of advancements made in their implementation with the need to develop new adapting efforts and strategies to protect children in insecure and conflict affected areas;\nIncreased understanding of diverse realities in Central Africa and the Liptako Gourma region and how to take more effective actions to prevent grave violations against children;\nKey strategies and recommendations identified for successful implementation of various frameworks and initiatives including the “Act to Protect Children in Armed Conflicts (ACTProC) program”\, within the Central African and the Liptako-Gourma regions.\n\n4. Target audience \nThis experience sharing is open to civil society actors working on the protection of children in armed conflict\, national and regional institutions including UN agencies. \nNumber of participants targeted: 500 \n5. Methodological Approach \nThe two-hour knowledge sharing session will be held virtually\, in order to broaden its reach across the two regions.  It will be in a dialogue format to promote the exchange of ideas\, experiences and perspectives. \nThe opening session will have key high level officials make various remarks to guide and open the conversation. As such\, an opening remarks will be presented by LifeAID’s Chair and Coordinator of CJPAC – Ngen Yves; a remark from H.E. Hawa Aw – Executive Secretary of the Liptako Gourma Authority (LGA); a remark from Ambassador Mamman Nuhu\, Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Commission; a statement from H.E. Kapinga Yvette NGANDU\, Commissioner for Gender Promotion\, Human and Social Development – ECCAS;  a remark from H.E. Leonardo Santos Simão\, SRSG for West Africa and the Sahel\, Head of UNOWAS; followed by H.E. Gilles FAGNINOU\, Regional Director of UNICEF for West and Central Africa; H.E. Nouhoum Sangaré\, Regional Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Director of the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (UNCHRD-CA) and a remark from H.E. Abdou Abarry\, SRSG for Central Africa\, Head of UNOCA. H.E Virgina Gamba\, SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict\, will open the conversation with an overview on Children and Armed Conflict\, trends\, challenges and prospects. Selected civil society actors and practitioners will follow with the sharing of their work\, experiences and best practices. \nVII. Contacts \nUnited Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA)\, Ms. Marilyn Ngum Fru\, ngumfru@un.org; Mr Narcisse Dongar (dongar@un.org);  LifeAID – Mr Ngen Yves yves.ngen@lifeaidcm.org / info@cjpac.org (+237) 222 318 639 or (+237) 675 117 506.
URL:https://lifeaidcm.org/event/the-protection-of-children-against-major-violations-in-armed-conflicts-in-central-africa-the-liptako-gourma-region/
LOCATION:Zoom Online
CATEGORIES:Webinar
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ORGANIZER;CN="LifeAID Cameroon":MAILTO:info@lifeaidcm.org
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