News South Africa

Early warning and response needed in African conflicts

PRETORIA: The African continent needs to redouble its efforts to detect potential conflict situations before they erupt, says International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on peaceful resolutions of conflicts in Africa, Nkoana-Mashabane said the development and strengthening of early warning systems was a priority.

"As Africans, we recognise that we need to refine our instruments to deal with unconstitutional changes of government and dissuade the emerging pattern of illegitimate rebellions being transformed into legitimate partners in governments of national unity."

"The majority of African current conflicts in Africa can be classified as intra-state, and trans-national. This is linked to the need to reinforce democratic and governance institutions as well as economic development, which is a vital component of conflict prevention and resolution," she told the General Assembly.

Nkoana-Mashabane said conflicts have substantially decreased in the past decade since the formation of the African Union with its Peace and Security Architecture.

The minister made mention of the improvements in conflicts in Burundi, Sudan and South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

She reiterated the call for the United Nations Security Council to be reformed, including expansion in both categories of membership, which is permanent and non-permanent.

"The position of Africa is very clear; Africa should at least be allocated two seats in a reformed Security Council. The debate has been going on for far too long and the time for action is now," said Nkoana-Mashabane.

Source: SAnews.gov.za

SAnews.gov.za is a South African government news service, published by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). SAnews.gov.za (formerly BuaNews) was established to provide quick and easy access to articles and feature stories aimed at keeping the public informed about the implementation of government mandates.

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