Nigeria leads AU debate on conflict-free Africa

Nigeria will lead the 15-member African Union, AU, Peace and Security Council on a debate to evolve a mechanism for attaining a conflict-free Africa by 2020, on April 24.

Bulus Lolo, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU is chairing the session for the Security Council for the month of April and will lead an open session on the debate.

The debate is  ‘On Silencing the Guns: Pre-requisites for Realising a Conflict-Free Africa by the Year 2020′.

Lolo said the debate would evolve a robust institutional framework for effective prevention and combating the scourge of violent conflicts on the continent.

He said the conflicts had remained a serious challenge with heavy toll on the people and the economy of Africa, in spite of the liberation of the continent from colonial rule and the dismantling of apartheid.

“Violent conflicts have remained prevalent in some of parts of Africa, thus undermining development gains and efforts,” Lolo said.

Members of the Council will, during the debate, exchange views on how to address the root causes of conflicts in Africa, with attention on the challenges and opportunities of attaining a conflict-free Africa by the end of the decade.