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The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) joined the Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD), the African Union (AU) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Lusaka for a two-day consultative forum to develop practice guidelines for a National Peace Infrastructure (NPI) in Zambia. The meeting forms part of the GIZ-funded project “Strengthening Multistakeholder Conflict Prevention Architectures in Africa”, which supports African governments and civil society in building sustainable national mechanisms for dialogue and conflict prevention.
This forum built on the findings of Zambia’s Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (CSVRA), which identified the establishment of a National Peace Infrastructure as a key recommendation to strengthen the country’s resilience and social cohesion. The creation of a peace infrastructure in Zambia aligns with the African Union’s Continental Framework on National Infrastructures for Peace (NPI), which emphasises the importance of inclusive, nationally owned structures that enable state and non-state actors to collaborate in preventing, managing and resolving conflicts.
Bringing together government ministries, civil society organisations, traditional leaders, youth groups, academia, development partners and the private sector, the gathering assessed Zambia’s existing peace mechanisms, identified gaps and co-created practical, nationally owned NPI guidelines.
The meeting reinforced that a National Peace Infrastructure is more than a crisis-response tool. “It is a dynamic network of institutions, mechanisms and resources designed to strengthen social cohesion, facilitate dialogue and build resilience at every level of society,” noted Dr Chijioke Iwuamadi, Governance, Peace and Security Advisor, GIZ African Union.
Emphasising national ownership, WANEP highlighted the importance of broad participation. “Let’s give peace an address in Zambia to ensure seamless coordination and sustain peace in the country. In doing so, it is encouraging to see the State and civil society represented here today, because peace cannot be sustained by state actors alone. Sustaining peace requires embedding dialogue and conflict-prevention mechanisms into state institutions, while also ensuring that civil society and local communities are not only contributors but co-owners of the process,” said Edward Jombla, WANEP Regional Coordinator for Early Warning.
Reflecting on partnership and shared responsibility, SACCORD added: “WANEP has been more than a partner; it has been a steadfast ally in our shared mission to promote peace, dialogue and inclusive governance across the region. We will engage in rigorous dialogue, exchange experiences and co-create guidelines that will serve as a blueprint for operationalising peace infrastructure in Zambia,” stated Arthur Muyunda, SACCORD Executive Director.
The consultative forum concluded with a jointly developed framework to guide the creation of Zambia’s NPI, ensuring its alignment with regional and continental peace and security agendas.
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