Caritas Africa, Europe Want Leaders to Put “people at the heart of peace, security efforts

In their Monday, September 21 collective statement, the leadership of the two continental Caritas organizations urge leaders in Africa and Europe “to be inspired by this year’s International Day of Peace theme “Shaping Peace Together”, and to make the sixth AU-EU Summit an opportunity to commit to practical ways of building peace through genuinely inclusive processes.”

Initially scheduled to take place from October 28-29 in Brussels, Belgium the sixth AU-EU Summit has been postponed to 2021 because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The postponed AU-EU Summit was expected to lead to a joint declaration laying down the priorities and concrete actions of the EU-Africa relations in the next few years, including the fields of peace and security.

According to the leadership of Caritas Africa and Caritas Europe, “EU-Africa relations should, however, be based on multi-stakeholder partnerships, involving civil society and other actors, not only governments or intergovernmental institutions.”

“This is particularly relevant given that peacebuilding is a holistic process that requires addressing the root causes of conflict and investing in community-level conflict prevention and social cohesion. Peace building also requires important efforts towards the elimination of extreme poverty and the preservation of the rule of law,” the Caritas Officials add.

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They underscore the need for collective efforts and “bold commitment” in the initiatives toward peace after COVID-19 pandemic.

“Inly with a bold commitment to shaping peace together will actions under the future EU-Africa partnership succeed in addressing security issues, such as limited social cohesion, and ultimately reduce conflict and instability that severely undermine development efforts in better rebuilding a post-COVID-19 reality,” the officials of Caritas in Africa and Europe say.

They emphasize the need to engage people in local contexts saying, “As Caritas, we advocate for grassroots participation not only because it is indispensable for the effectiveness of peace building strategies, but foremost because it is a clear option for recognizing each person’s dignity, for solidarity, for co-responsibility, and for the choice to work for the common good.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.