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The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has been operational since 1993 and is led by the Government of Japan and co-hosted by the United Nations, the UNDP, the World Bank, and the African Union Commission (AUC). TICAD is an inclusive multilateral platform, which provides a forum to explore innovative, sustainable, and equitable development pathways across Africa. With TICAD8 planned on 27-28 August 2022, its Ministerial Meeting will be virtually held on 26-27 March 2022.

Through the TICAD process, peace and stability have been one of the main agendas. Peace and stability are important for the peace-governance-development nexus – which connects to political and ideological standpoints and informs trends, typologies, and hotspots. In the African region, countries that struggle with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are either typically in conflict or particularly vulnerable to violent conflict. Instability undermines social cohesion, deters investment, and compromises inclusive development goals, as referenced by the UNDP Strategic Offer.

This High-Level Side-Event on Peace, Governance, and Development organized by UNDP and ISS is held on the margins of the Ministerial Meeting, to engage stakeholders and deliberate on building peace in Africa, promoting a people-centered approach to governance and fostering development. Conflict prevention and resolution, prevention of violent extremism, and deepening democratic governance are critical in ensuring the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

This side-event on Peace, Governance, and Development in Africa will be structured around 3 issues:

Issue 1– Conflict Prevention, State building, and democratic governance

At the national level, the social contract between state and citizens appears to fray leading to raising incidents of violent protests in several countries. Elections remain contentious in most countries, leading to post-election violence and polarization, and democratic regression with the increasing seizure of power by force. Human rights violations continue, and the rule of law is undermined in most contexts. Violence continues in all parts of the continent including in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, the Great Lakes, and Southern Africa. The context is further complicated by the increased violent extremism and the impact of climate change on security. Combined with the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, these trends undermine peace, security, and development goals including the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. Women and youth representation and role in decision-making and peacebuilding processes are among the challenges to strengthen State building and democratic governance.

Issue 2– Horizontal and vertical inequalities exacerbating political and socio-economic division:

Horizontal inequalities (HIs) occur among groups of people that share a common identity and can include inequalities in access to and ownership of assets – financial, human, natural, resource-based, and social, and also inequalities in income levels and employment levels. HIs are defined across the economic, social, political, and cultural status. Political inequalities are especially pertinent to the discussion on peace and security in Africa because they highlight that groups facing HIs are being further marginalized.

Issue 3– Role of external partners

What are the emerging priorities and entry points for external partners? How can external partners support reframing peace and security from “conflict” to “condition”? Highlighting the importance of preventive and continuous measures to address the root causes of conflict, within the context of widening inequalities such as horizontal inequalities, sensitivities are required to localize peace efforts (CSOs, beyond borders, development partners) from external partners and articulate it to local political and social dynamics.

What can the TICAD platform contribute to the discussion on peace and security? Can TICAD help to catalyze financing, partnership, and advocacy for peace and stability as a multi-sectoral platform for development actors?

Date

Thursday, 31 March 2022

Time

10:00-12:00 (SA), 11:00-13:00 (EAT), 17:00-19:00 (JPN)

Co-organizers

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Institute for Security Studies – Africa

Language

English, French, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese (simultaneous interpretation)

Venue: Online (ZOOM)

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Programme (tbc)