7th Edition of APSACO to Discuss ‘Post-Conflict Reconstruction’ in Africa

The Policy Center for the New South will organize the 7th edition of the African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) in Rabat on July 10-11. (Twitter)
The Policy Center for the New South will organize the 7th edition of the African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) in Rabat on July 10-11. (Twitter)
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7th Edition of APSACO to Discuss ‘Post-Conflict Reconstruction’ in Africa

The Policy Center for the New South will organize the 7th edition of the African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) in Rabat on July 10-11. (Twitter)
The Policy Center for the New South will organize the 7th edition of the African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) in Rabat on July 10-11. (Twitter)

The Policy Center for the New South will organize the 7th edition of the African Peace and Security Annual Conference (APSACO) in Rabat on July 10-11 under the theme “Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa”.

The conference provides a platform for the analysis of Africa’s peace and security structures and institutions by focusing on the continent’s assets, history, and ability to overcome current challenges.

It will be attended by Catherine Samba-Panza, former President of the Central African Republic, Mohamed El-Amine Souef, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Sandra Adong Oder, Head of Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development Unit, the African Union, and others.

Badreddine El Harti, Director, of Security Institutions Service United Nations Support Mission in Libya, and Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, Senior Counsel, Hamilton-Advisors Inc, will also attend.

A statement from APSACO said Africa seeks to provide a policy framework for reconstruction, adding that the African Union adopted a political framework for reconstruction and development after the post-conflict phase in 2006, and the establishment of the African Solidarity Initiative (ASI) in July 2012 to coordinate continental financial contributions to the program.

The PCRD review workshop, organized by the AU Peace and Security Commission (PSC) in Accra, in September 2022, proposes a better-tailored understanding that is more adapted to the new challenges.

These realities are not only limited to the changing nature of crises but also to the issues of financing, the new forms of partnerships, among others.

Thirty experts are expected at this year’s conference, including Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Ambassador, Director-General, the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA); Frank Hanson, Air Vice Marshall, Gulf of Guinea Maritime Institute; Abu Bakarr Bah, Presidential Research Professor, Northern Illinois University; and Margaret Janes-Lucas, Regional Director – Sahel, Tony Blair Institute.

Moreover, an annual report on Africa’s geopolitics will be issued led by Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South, on July 11.



EU Could Lift Some Syria Sanctions Quickly

FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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EU Could Lift Some Syria Sanctions Quickly

FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 30 September 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during a press conference at the Pine Residence, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

European Union sanctions in Syria that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder the country's recovery could be lifted swiftly, France's foreign minister said Wednesday.
The United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.
Speaking to France Inter radio, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the EU could take a similar decision soon without giving precise timing, while adding that lifting more political sanctions would depend on how Syria's new leadership handled the transition and ensured exclusivity.
"There are other (sanctions), which today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which hinder the recovery of the country. These could be lifted quickly," said Barrot, who met Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday with Germany's foreign minister.
"Finally, there are other sanctions, which we are discussing with our European partners, which could be lifted, but obviously depending on the pace at which our expectations for Syria regarding women and security are taken into account."
Three European diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said the EU would seek to agree to lift some sanctions by the time the bloc's 27 foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Jan. 27.
Two of the diplomats said one aim was to facilitate financial transactions to allow funds to return to the country, ease air transport and lessen sanctions targeting the energy sector to improve power supplies.
Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available two or three hours per day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims to provide electricity for up to eight hours per day within two months.
The US waivers allow some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7, but do not remove any sanctions.