The event was held on the 11th of September 2014 at Land Star Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda. The Voice of Community (VOC) in partnership with ACTION Support Centre hosted the event. Over 50 delegates attended and participated In the Conference from different civil society organisations, umbrella organisations, researchers and government institutions.
The theme was African Solidarity for Peace Building. The Chief Executive Officer of VCO (Innocent Musore) was in charge of welcoming delegates.
The event was separated into presentations and discussions.
The highlights of the presentations and discussions were:
- Collective effort is required to promote and sustain solidarity among Africans.
- A question of why Africa is not as integrated as East Africa was posed.
- Participants acknowledged all peace initiatives undertaken by Rwanda.
- An emphasis was placed on strategies and recommendations to increase spread of information among Africans.
- Elements that could help Africans achieve sustainable solidarity for peace were pointed out e.g. cultural diversity and joint conflict resolution mechanisms.
- Underlying causes of conflict were identified as just and unjust wars, ideology of sectarianism, existence of negative forces who kill; rape and use of women as sex slaves, the Eastern part of Congo and Burundi causing fighting.
- Root causes of conflict were identified as inequalities, lack of accountability by government and food insecurity.
- The argued solutions to these problems were seen as inclusion of women and youth in development and policy making, good governance, rule of law and respect for human rights
- The platform to discuss these issues was hugely appreciated among participants.
Recommendations
- Familiarise the peoples of Africa with the objectives and policies aimed at integrating Africa.
- Encourage good governance, transparency and accountability in Member states
- Share practices for fighting against corruption
- Organise a regional conference focused on African Solidarity for Peace Building
- Put in place legal practices based on East African methods
- Enforce education on African Solidarity and building trust between Africans
- Engage Africans by dialogue for peace building and sharing opportunities.
- Strengthen the implementation of African solidarity in Great lakes regional.
- Develop a global approach where all stakeholders, including faith based organisations are involved in promoting African Solidarity
- Sharing practical tools with post conflict communities for peace building and development