Abuja, February 21, 2017

The Internal Steering Committee (ISC) of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) met at the ECOWAS in Abuja on the 16^th February 2017 where stakeholders proposed pragmatic areas of intervention in the ECPF processes, among others.

The main objective of the meeting was to review, validate and adopt the report of a consultant recruited by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on a comprehensive evaluation of the operationalization of the ECPF for the period of 2013 – 2016 while proposing programmatic areas for intervention in the period 2017-2020.

Participants discussed in great detail, the report of the GIZ consultant and agreed on the importance of including Women, Peace and Security, Media and Natural Resource Governance Components as priority programmatic areas for the 2017 – 2020 Plan of Action of the ECPF.

After deliberating on the recommendations of the Consultant, areas of intervention and the need to chart a way forward to consolidate ownership, implementation and monitoring of the ECPF 3 Year Priority Plans, presentations were made on follow-up actions stemming from the last meeting, key developments from Focal Point Directorates, findings of the evaluation of the ECPF as well as on actions taken on the report.

Welcoming the participants to the meeting, the Director of Political Affairs, Dr. Aderemi Ajibewa recalled the positive developments in The Gambia which resulted from the effective coordination and collaboration between ECOWAS and the International Community. He noted that the ECOWAS space is gradually becoming a Community of Democracies, due largely to the political will of its leaders, and solid normative frameworks that include Mechanisms such as the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, and the ECPF.

He thanked the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), GIZ and the Development Partners for making the ECPF a reality, funding of the consultant’s work and for their continued assistance to the Commission.

Participants were reminded by the Head of the ECPF Secretariat, Mr. Constant Gnacadja to visit the official website of the ECPF (ecpf.ecowas.int) in order to receive up-to-date information on the conflict prevention programmes/activities as well as on and Development Partners supporting the ECPF.

The Participants agreed on the need to plan a validation meeting and develop an implementation strategy for the execution of the report’s recommendations.