The Gambia has commended the strong Pan-African solidarity that has been manifested in the mitigation of the contagious spread of COVID-19, said country senior official.
“We congratulate all the Frontline Health Workers for their gallant and selfless sacrifice for our Continent.
In the same vein, we also salute the efforts of the leadership of our Continent, the Commission, in particular Africa Centres for Disease Control CDC, for ensuring that the African Continent does not become the next epicenter for the spread of this pandemic,” Gambian Dr. Mamadou Tangara Minister of foreign affairs remarked.
He made the remarks on Monday during the Africa day virtual conference on silencing the guns in Africa on the topic local ownership of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR), mechanism for the operationalization of the amnesty month
He said, although the Covid-19 pandemic has unfortunately been challenging, and it has not stymied the implementation of the programmes of African Union particularly on promoting sustainable peace, security and development.
He commended the African Union Commission and the Partners of the Union for the stellar efforts being made to ensure that there is a renewed impetus in the implementation of the initiatives that would further reinforce the nexus between sustainable peace, security and development.
He congratulated all the Frontline Health Workers for their gallant and selfless sacrifice for the Continent, while he also salute the efforts of the leadership of the continent, the commission, in particular Africa CDC, for ensuring that the African Continent does not become the next epicenter for the spread of this pandemic.
According to him, sustainable peace and security are indispensable to realizing Africa and African collective development aspirations as epitomized in Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr Tangara emphasized, that the efforts toward this important state of affairs should not be derailed by the prevailing global circumstances.
He stated that this conference demonstrates the African ingenuity and resolve to address the fundamental concerns of Africa continent within the context of the current pandemic.
“At the 33rd African Union Summit, the Theme “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development”, that our Leadership adopted orients our collective focus on the initiatives that are critical to strengthening the linkages between sustainable peace, security and development,” he said.
According to him, they have bravely demonstrated their enduring determination to address the underlying issues that aggravate insecurity and, to promote sustainable development.
He pointed out that this requires transformative efforts and platforms that ensure that all the stakeholders including the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are brought into the fold through innovative and strategic partnerships.
“It is on this basis that The Gambia introduced an agenda item “Strengthening National Capacities for Effective Management of Weapon Stockpiles” during the Summit to ensure that there is a deliberate collaborative effort between the Commission, the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the Member States in improving national capacities to effectively address the illicit use and proliferation of Small and Light Weapons (SALWs) on the Continent.
We request the Commission to implement the Assembly Decisions on the agenda item. The AU Reform Agenda will be executed in a hallowed space if sustainable peace, security and development are not pursued through various strategic platforms and programmes including the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),”Dr Tangara stated.
He added that DDR and SSR are inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing.
He noted that The Gambia appreciates that there are critical policies of African Union aimed at providing to the Member States essential capacities to develop, localize and work their DDR and SSR Programmes.
Dr. Tangara further stated that the AU Policy Framework on Security Sector Reform (SSR) and DDR programmes such as the Amnesty Month provide to the Member States the platforms to develop and implement programmes to complement efforts toward sustainable peace and security.
“The Gambia notes with appreciation of the convening of a Consultative Meeting in Banjul in 2019 on both localizing and effectively implementing the Continental agenda on SSR.
The diversity of the participants from the public sector, CSOs, Regional and International Organizations have led to important ideas to enrich the Commission’s orientation in providing technical support to the Member States in implementing their National SSR Programmes,” he said.