Ambassador Khaled Urges Urgent Action on African Conflicts

Algeria, through its Permanent Representative to the African Union, Ambassador Mohamed Khaled, has underscored the necessity for a shift from existing commitments to effective and immediate actions in resolving Africa's ongoing conflicts and security crises. Speaking at a Peace and Security Council meeting, which Algeria presided over, Ambassador Khaled highlighted the strategic importance of "Silencing the Guns in Africa" as a fundamental priority for the African Union and a core project within Agenda 2063.

Ambassador Khaled emphasized that the meeting should not merely assess the roadmap's implementation but serve as a crucial juncture to reactivate the initiative through concrete decisions and accelerated efforts on the ground. He called for a candid evaluation of progress, identifying obstacles, and formulating practical recommendations to enhance implementation. The Ambassador stressed that "Silencing the Guns" must be a daily objective, rather than an agenda deferred until 2030.

The Council acknowledged the efforts made in executing the "Silencing the Guns" agenda, particularly in preventative diplomacy, early warning systems, regional cooperation, and peacebuilding, with an emphasis on greater involvement of women, youth, and civil society. While welcoming strengthened cooperation between the African Union and regional economic communities for a joint action plan, the Council also voiced concern over persistent conflicts, terrorism, violent extremism, illicit arms trafficking, and emerging threats such as cybercrime and artificial intelligence. It underlined the need to bridge the gap between early warning and early action, enhance preventive diplomacy and mediation, and address conflict root causes by fostering good governance, rule of law, and democratic institutions.