13-11-2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) this morning embarked on a 4-day training for Anti-corruption institutions in its Member States to further enhance the capacity of the institutions to expedite the implementation of the various regional, African Union (continental) and international normative instruments on democracy and governance in order to pave way towards prevalence of peace and security in the IGAD region.

 Under the Peace and Security Division (PSD), IGAD deals with issues of Democracy, Governance, Election and Human Rights (DGEHR) through the Political Affairs Program (PAP) which engages in various activities to achieve its many objectives one of which being; strengthening the capacity of member states democratic institutions.

 A capacity needs assessment carried out in 2017, IGAD was asked to prioritize and focus on capacity building of IGAD Member State institutions that have a mandate on governance while maintaining a balance between the national and regional existing interventions.

 During the opening remarks, Mrs. Legawork Assefa, Acting Director of Peace and Security Division at IGAD and representing the Executive Secretary of IGAD stressed the importance of strengthening capacity through training of anti-corruption institutions for them to implement and carry out the responsibilities entrusted unto them by the IGAD citizens.

 “We need strong anti-corruption institutions to act as watch dogs to contribute to the current efforts by IGAD and the African Union by implementing the regional and continental efforts for Africa not to lag behind in development and to be more transparent, effective and reliable” Mrs Assefa added.

 The Head of AGA Secretariat and Senior Human Rights Expert at the African Union Commission (AUC) Amb Salah S. Hammad reiterated the need to fight corruption collectively or else Africa will not improve or develop for it affects economies and the social fabric.

 “The African Union supports and commends efforts by IGAD and other Regional Economic Communities to fight corruption at regional level complimented with AU instruments for successful implementation” he stated.

 The Royal Danish Embassy is funding a series of training towards promotion of good governance and the fight against corruption in the IGAD region. Denmark was a host to the 2018 International Anti-Corruption Conference and is zero tolerance to corruption. The Counselor, Regional Affairs Dr. Jonas Helth LonBorg pledged continued support to IGAD and the AU towards their Member States achieving the 2018 AU theme of ‘Winning the Fight Against Corruption’ in order attain Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.

 Dr. LonBorg called upon the IGAD Member States to strengthen their institutions combined with political will by the leaders and work towards changing the social norms and attitudes to fighting corruption. 

 The participants drawn from anti-corruption bodies and equivalent institutions in the IGAD member states will during the 4 day meeting focus on; background to corruption; familiarization of regional, continental and global conventions on anti-corruption; designing campaign strategies for anti-corruption interventions; factors that contribute to the success and failure of anti-corruption initiatives; managing corruption risks; recording and verification of declarations of assets to anti-corruption authorities(lessons learned and best practices); and reporting on anti-corruption in the Framework of African Governance Architecture (AGA).

 At the conclusion of the training the participants will recommit to the Declaration of the year 2018 as ‘African - Anti-Corruption year’ that was first declared at the African Union (AU) headquarters during its 30th Assembly of Heads of State and Government in January 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where AU organs, Member States, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Civil Society Organizations together with citizens (women, men and young people alike) embarked on a journey to address the urgent need to curb corruption which is a major societal flaw causing setbacks in the socio-economic and political development of the continent.

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The  Executive Secretary  of the Intergovernmental Authority on development (IGAD), Amb (Eng) Mabhoub Maalim,  and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Head of Mission for East Africa,  Mr. Patrick Wilson,  signed a $1 Million grant to support the IGAD Center of Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism(ICEPCVE) programmes and activities for the next one year. 

06-11-2018, Djibouti (Djibouti): The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti, Mr. Mohamed Ali Hassan, this morning inaugurated a workshop held in Djibouti by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Strategies on Law Enforcement and Local Communities Engagement in Preventing & Countering Violent Extremism.

September 21, 2018, Djibouti: After the recent remarkable gains in the IGAD Region most notably the signing of the Revitalized Peace Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict of South Sudan by all parties, the normalization of   relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea followed by the reopening of Embassies, borders and uniting family members, what peace means to the people of this region is a bright future. 

12-09-2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Mediation Support Unit (MSU) in collaboration with The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) are starting today holding a 3 day High Level Retreat for Mediators from the IGAD region in Addis Ababa till September 14, 2018.

The IGAD Mediation Support Unit (MSU) was established following the Resolution of the Committee of Ambassadors (COA) in December 2012, mandated to build IGAD’s regional normative capacity on mediation and strengthen capacities of national institutions in member states to build its architecture on conflict prevention, peace making and peace building.

The High Level Retreat is a platform that enables discussions on the role of reconciliation and dialogue in peace processes and is also an avenue for learning and sharing experiences between the IGAD Members of the Roster, IGAD Special Envoys; AU’s Members of the Panel of the Wise with members from other Regional Economic Communities/Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs) like the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) and East African Community (EAC). Through dialogue the IGAD Roster Members are able to consider practical approaches in encompassing reconciliation and dialogue as tools that strengthen mediation processes.

The theme for this year’s meeting is ‘Enhancing Dialogue and Reconciliation for Conflict Prevention and Transformation’ and all members are expected to have an understanding of the holistic nature of reconciliation and the role it plays in the well-being of all peoples with a strengthened understanding of the role of dialogue and reconciliation within peace processes in the IGAD region.

Some of the key topics to be discussed are; the need for Dialogue and Reconciliation for Conflict Prevention and Transformation; The geo-politics context in the IGAD Region; Effective dialogue in conflict prevention and transformation; Strengthening the Agency of Religious Leaders in Dialogue and Reconciliation; Inclusion of women and youth in dialogue and reconciliation processes at the community, national and regional levels as well as the challenges and best practices towards promoting dialogue and reconciliation.

Through the recommendations, the members will chart a way forward in developing a reconciliation framework and a dialogue index for the IGAD region. These will act as tools for preventing and resolving conflict and for enhancing dialogue and achieving reconciliation.

The retreat is being facilitated by IGAD Mediation Support Unit in partnership with ACCORD and with the financial support from the EU-APSA Support Programme.                                                                      ஜஜ۩END۩ஜஜ