18 Mar 2009: ISS Today: The Panel of the Wise Working for Peace
18 March 2009: The Panel of the Wise Working for Peace
The African Union (AU) Panel of the Wise, established in December 2007, has received little media coverage, but has in fact been working tirelessly behind the scenes.
Earlier this month, on 5 and 6 March, the Panel, a critical pillar of the African Peace and Security architecture, held its 5th meeting in Addis Ababa. The meeting, which was attended by three of the five Panel members, namely former Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella (the present Chair of the Panel), Mrs Elizabeth Pognon, President of Benin’s Constitutional Court and Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, former OAU Secretary-General, was the Panel’s first in 2009 and aimed at reviewing conflict and crisis situations on the continent and the implementation of its programme for 2009.
Since the inauguration of the Panel in December 2007 its efforts have focused on undertaking the activities it set out in its first annual programme adopted at its first meeting in Addis Ababa in February 2008. In accordance with its mandate, derived from Article 11 of the Protocol on the PSC, the Panel’s activities centered around advising and acting in support of efforts by the PSC and the Chairperson of the AU Commission on issues related to peace, security and stability in Africa, with a specific focus on the prevention of conflicts. This mandate, which it may carry out upon request of the PSC or the Chairperson or at its own initiative, also allows the Panel to pronounce itself on relevant issues in a manner it deems appropriate.
More specifically, over the past year, the Panel discussed situations of concern at its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th meetings held in Addis Ababa, Algiers and Nairobi in July, October and November 2008 respectively. In order to gather information on certain developments, the Panel also undertook missions to several African countries. In accordance with the theme that it decided to focus on in 2008 - the nexus between elections and conflict management - the Panel organised a seminar on the issue in Nairobi in November 2008, with the aim of raising awareness and stimulating policy debates. This resulted in the formulation of several recommendations on the issue which will be submitted to the AU Assembly at its next Ordinary Session in June this year. Given the importance of the issue, the Panel has decided to focus on it a little longer, illustrated by the recent visit of Dr Salim to South Africa, where elections will be held on 22 April. The Panel will undertake a few more of such missions, although the Chairperson is expected to maintain the momentum gained on this, as the Panel will move on to work in support of its theme for 2009, namely impunity, reconciliation and healing. This thematic focus will assist the AU to further enhance its approach to the vexing question of balancing the need for peace and the demand for justice. Work on the issue will involve most importantly the commissioning of a report followed by a workshop in Monrovia in April or May.
It is important to note that the Panel members were not only given the responsibility of contributing to ongoing efforts to secure peace, security and stability on the continent but also, as its first members, the responsibility of ensuring that this new structure works as optimally as possible. The past year provided the Panel with an opportunity to explore what works, what does not and what support it exactly requires. Needless to say, the Panel requires support of a technical unit, located in the Conflict Management Division in the form of a dedicated Secretariat, whose current non-existence has often been raised as a concern. This means an expansion of the present one-person secretariat, which, besides providing technical support and institutional guidance, will also be able to ensure that the knowledge in other relevant departments at the AU is tapped into. However, one should consider appreciating the approach the Panel seems to have taken of examining its exact needs following what can be considered a trial period, as opposed to establishing elaborate structures based on anticipated needs, especially bearing in mind the AU’s limited resources. As a result, the Panel has identified the kind of expertise it requires and staff is being recruited accordingly. In addition, the Panel identified the need to spearhead the drafting of a mediation strategy, which would not only guide the Panel but also other structures that may be involved in peacemaking activities, such as the Chairperson, for instance.
Lastly, although one must bear in mind that the Panel has indeed only recently commenced its work, it should be noted that the Panel, often mistakenly compared with The Elders of Desmond Tutu and Graça Machel, amongst others, is quite unique in that it is part of a larger structure aimed at bringing peace and prosperity to the African people. Whilst the advantage of the Panel is that it is not composed of government representatives who are constrained by the foreign policies of their country, the success of the Panel’s work greatly depends on collaboration and buy-in from AU member states. This, in addition to the need for the Panel members to be non-partisan in the case of mediation efforts, prevents the Panel from publicly announcing itself on certain developments or share information on some of its activities. The nature of mediation and conflict prevention efforts involves a lot of ‘behind-the-scenes’ work and its outcomes, especially if successful, are not always tangible.
Jamila El Abdellaoui, Senior Researcher, Conflict Prevention Programme, ISS Addis Ababa
