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ECOWAS/ARAB LEAGUE--Once Again, the New Year brings the Regional to the Fore: Palestine & Guinea: A Tale of Two Countries

[I wrote this post on 27th and 29th December, 2008. I post it for general consumption]

Once again, the spectre of a coup has regrettably loomed large in the ECOWAS country of Guinea, prompted by the demise of Lansana Conte. Thankfully, once again, the visceral desire to find a regional response has been omnipresent in the minds of African Union (AU) diplomats.

Speaking to the BBC on Christmas Eve from here in Accra, Ghana, ECOWAS Commission Chief Dr.Mohammed Ibn Chambas not only categorically condemned the coup, but went further to add that ECOWAS would be a "critical element" in the search for solutions for Guinea.

In contrast, the conspicuous absence of any regional organisation in any attempt of a resolution to the crisis in Gaza, where 300 people have been killed by airstrikes the last week of the year, in my view, points either to a lack of faith on the Arab League--or lack of any regional organisation in the first place!

Can we surmise that the strong influence of the US in the Middle East makes null and void any desire either by the Palestinians or Israelis to pursue a regional solution. Talk of any solution in the crisis always seems to reside on the UN or a US-based solution, prompting personal speculation that the Middle East (playing host to the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab League) does not seem to have any sense of the regional. The lack of consultations of these regional bodies can only unwittingly render them toothless.

Back to Guinea, one cannot help but wonder how distinctive the comparison is. In that country, the 15-member ECOWAS stepped in straight away not just to condemn the coup but initiate moves to resolve the crisis by forming a delegation that would be Conakry-bound and appeal to the coup-makers to remember that the Guinean constitution remains alive.

On 29th December, news came in that the 53-member AU has suspended Guinea -- until it gets its constitutional house in order.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dear regionswatcher,

I guess I should have started off by wishing all of u a profoundly prosperous and progressive new Year ahead.

I want to thank all of you for your continued patronage. That said, I want to single out TWN's Riaz T for the very constructive criticism he offered for the blog.

It is indeed a new year, and with it come fresh ideas, mixed with the working old ones. Some of the newbies here include the fact that you can now get to this blog by simply going to:

http://www.critiquing-regionalism.org.

RegionsWatch was born 5 yrs ago -- and better things are to come, with the formal launching of the new site in March.

For now, though, I want to remind you that if you missed my following of the ACP Summit on this blog, you can go to the blog and check under October to follow the entries. A technical hitch prevented you all from obtaining deep insights as the conference went on. I hope you can check it out.

RegionsWatch is a passion, and long will it continue. From ECOWAS in Guinea-Conakry to the timerous Arab League, this blog will always be clear about one thing:

there will ALWAYS be a regional solution.

Happy New Year!
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Javier Solana is only partially-right on Gaza

I just heard on the BBC World service that the EU's foreign policy chief Solana says that the inaction over Gaza is a "failure of international diplomacy".

I hasten to add that the glimmer of hope that arose a few days ago about a possible intervention of the Arab League has been reduced to dyspeptic insignificance on account of squabbling within the sub-regional grouping that the Palestinians are to blame.

Put simply, in my view, the Arab League does not seem to have the testicular fortitude to craft an sub-regional imperative that would comprise any attempt at conflict resolution; in that respect, it has a lot of work to do over the next year to find out how it can play a conciliatory but tough role in the current crisis in Gaza.

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ECOWAS 2020 Vision website

ABOUT THE VISION 2020 PROJECT

Background Information 

The ECOWAS Vision Project seeks to capture what the ECOWAS Community as a collective body envisions or desires the future of the West African region to be, and the manner West Africans should go about to realize that vision. ECOWAS is currently soliciting the opinions or contributions of knowledgeable and concerned ECOWAS citizens through a variety of consultations. The public, especially ECOWAS citizens are invited to be part of this process by answering questions here and joining discussions at our facebook group.This strategic vision document centres around five pillars which are non-threatening to sovereignty, represent critical demographic trends and serve as vital links towards greater African unity and global values. These five pillars are:
Agriculture
Women, Children and Youth 
The business community (economic actors)
Infrastructure (both physical and "soft" i.e. ICT, HR etc.)
Governance 

Components of the Project

The three main components of the Vision Project are:
ECOWAS Today: this section describes and analyses the current status of the West African region and the integration process. 
The ECOWAS of Our Dreams: this section sets out the vision of the desired West African future. 
Realizing the Vision: this section proposes recommendations on how to achieve the Vision. 

Timeline

The ECOWAS Vision 2020 document is expected to be fully delivered to the ECOWAS Commission by mid December, 2008. However, the site shall continue to operate for the purposes of information dissemination and follow up on this project.

http://www.ecowasvision2020.org/

ECOWAS--ECOWAS Community Court of Justice Frees Nigerien Slave

Rare is the case of civil society collaborating with regional bodies to bring about positive and constructive change; even more rare is when it is in Africa! So when I first heard the case of the 24-yr-old former Nigerien slave who was taking her case to court, I could only more than jump with glee upon hearing that she had taken the case to none other than the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.

Established in 2005, the Court has not been as high-profile in the ECOWAS region as one would have expected. I believe the ususal red-tapism and lack of political will will have played their parts in good measure. That said, the only case that might have registered in the minds of the sub-region's citizens have been that of the murder of a Gambian journalist. Truth be told, it's been rather difficult following the case on account of its protacted nature.

As for this case of the Nigerien slave who has been mandated by the court to receive the equivalent of some $20,000 as compensation, this particular case is not just unique, but unprecedented. It is unique because though slavery is an old ghost in parts of West Africa, it took a committed individual to usher in necessary change for people like her; and it is unprecendented because not only has it shown that ECOWAS has potential to bare its teeth, but equally the potential to chomp hard on injustice in t he sub-region.

The news that the ruling is binding and that the young woman will receive compensation is equally interesting. As Aidan McQuade, the director of Anti-Slavery International, told the BBC about how the case would be crucial in highlighting the plight of slaves in Africa:

"This is very important in terms of the community of nations, and particularly the African community of nations looking at other countries within that region and saying: 'What standard are we expecting each other to be held to in relation to international and national law?'"

Underwhelming Close of Sixth Session of ACP Summit

I came in some twenty minutes ago to see President Kufuor and a mini-phalanx of diplomats leaving this frightfully-chilling hall. I got wind that there was no press conference to end the whole affair, which also means that the twice-postponed press conference with the Ivorian diplomat fell through in a radically-twisted way.

These ACP guys must have a twisted sense of humour, because if they think this is the way of promoting transparency, accountability and whatnot, they better do a double-take.

Many of us are not amused. Even the delegates who stood almost-useless outside the foyer wondered what on Earth merited some of the discussions to be closed-sessions? Can anyone help?

The ACP Group needs a serious revision of how it does things. This does not make those of us hawkishly watching the EPA discussions encouraged that they can go onto better things!

They get a C+.

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Commentary on Closed Session of Closing Session

12h24: acp group should work towards lasting peace in Sudan (nuhue)

JAMAICA: unstinting support of all acp states for peace efforts in Sudan. Has a unwavering commitment to people of Sudan. Should not confuse matters of Sudan to matters over ICC, which jamaica subscribes to.

NIGERIA: Concerns over paragraph five. especially paragraph three on non-interference of states. for a distinguished body like this, language should not be tautaologous and language be overkilled.

who says that tomw we might not consider sanctions to bring pressure to bear on level of intl behaviour. want paragraph five deleted.

TUVATU? section two on sustainable devt. change be made...(wording on climate change).

CUBA: sorry, no access to headphones.

SUDAN: parag number 7. noted statements by Jamaica. statement consistent with arab league and african union. what is important is peace process in sudan. the indictment of Bashir could create problems. Necessary to keep paragraph and add other[which one?] one...

KENYA: security, peace and justice should not be overlooked. icc indictment will frustrate regional peace. clause seven should start as it is.

BENIN: paragraph 23: propose to add ..want to add another paragraph on AID EFFECTIVENESS...

ZIMBABWE: paragraph five and seven....

????-ask for suspension of ICC arrest warrant

SOUTH AFRICA retain parags five and seven. the use of sanctions. must as an act of solidarity, retin parag five. all potential parties in sudanese conflict...

ERITREA: express solidarity. retain paragraphs five and seven as is.

12h59 out of here. plenty deliberations over Sudan. And EPAs?

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Inside Closed Session of Closing Session

CARIFORUM: saw epa as a package,are of the view that it liimited market access will not be in best interest of cariforum. at 12h20

kufuor speaks: would urge quickly to get declaration ready. i propose that we take the declaration as a whole, listen to it as a whole and discuss.

someone is speaking? who? [located behind a flag up on the balcony, next to two sleeping security guys]

declaration is bein read out. Declaration in four parts..
.
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EPAs to Top Agenda on Final Day of 6 ACP Summit

I think it might be stretching it a bit to think that expectations might be raised. Currently sitting at the press centre, waiting for the press conference of the Ivorian minister on the EPAs. Should draw quite a crowd. Two of my colleagues are here, waiting to filter the technical aspects of the EPAs through the lens of the minister's utterances, I am sure. Or is that the other way round?

The picture shows a snapshot of the entrance of the doorway to the plenary meeting, which has been closed session since yesterday. The guys inside have special badges, " CLOSED SESSION". Even Dr.DICK Naezer(sp)of the EU delegation here in Accra was


stopped by security, as he went along with his colleague.

My colleague and I speculated that he will most likely bulldoze his way through the meeting this morning, which is supposed to be on FUTURE OF THE ACP GROUP.

The guy to the left of the picture is a journalist who is based in Abidjan. Don't know his name. All I know is the anecdotal information of EU Development Minister Louis Michel having had his stomach stapled, giving him the slimmer appearance, and how "despicable" a character he is. I always knew that;-) The lady to the right is a Balgian journalist who was keen to get a background of the guy on the left. I swear I was not eavesdropping. Being so close as I am, any information is great, dontcha think?

It's 10h17. Press conference ought to start soon! Before I go, let me show you a snapshot of the edition of Graphic Business of this past Tuesday:



It might all be about the money, but it's certainly all about the EPAs now!!

President Kufuor of Ghana Speaks

He says thanks for condolences expressed for late Baah-Wiredu.

Ghana to take over for the next two years from Sudan. [I see ECOWAS president Ibn Chambas listening attentively to the speech] Kufuor is talking about the need for fair international trading systems, which he acknowledges is non-existent. Aid has tended to be given as charitu. These shortcomings have incapacitated Ghanaians and ACP countries.

Kufuor is talking more about subsidiesthan epas. In broaching the issue, he, too, has mentioned reciprocity. How would the eu take up our dilemma [of what?]

Sir John Kaputin, we wish u well. Summit is now opened at 11.31am

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Sudan President speaks, talks of "simmering cold war"

EPas have ignored development, they have proved that no meaningful devt can be achieved without systemic resolution of crisis in international system. Need better control of natural resources, and debt relief, among many things.

Situation in Darfur: ICC arrest warrant undermines peace process! In a sense, move is politically-motivated. want to settle conflict through negotiations...confident that with President Kufuor's vision, ACP objectives will be realized.

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Glennys Kinnock Speaks on Perfect Storm of...

She wants us to be clear on the turmoil. Weaker countries need assistance. In 2008, need more of the technology that is needed to resolve crisis. Mud-cakes are being given to children in Haiti. Many children die a yr from preventable diseases.

Military-spending would lift everyone out of poverty. UN summit last week was encouraging. Sixteen billion dollars pledged. Neeed to put in context of food crisis. Figures released by UN last week suggest only portion has been fulfilled. You know aid works, and it menas fewer children are dying. Promises must be kept. Many will not meet MDG 1, never mind MDG 5, which is on maternal mortality.

Investment needed not by luck or osmosis. Effective choices needed. There is no silver bullet.

Fr?m the outset, EC has focussed on epas as FTAs, with repition of mantra of reciprocity. If between equals, then fine! There are also concerns on

process, and serious anxieties for regional integration.

The ACP has in its ranks some of the poorest countries. EU council in June said...CARIFORUM EPA signed. ACPs need to be vigilant, and the EU should show flexibilty. This is on the cards in the Caribbean.

Global regulation needs to be strengthened. Addition of further devt before onset of liberalisation. Testing times, but times that require mutual respect.

Stepping down from podium to reveal a diminutive figure, she prompts a warmer clap for a rather powerful speech. Sudan president is about to speak in Arabic. Headphone alert!

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Opening Ceremony of ACP 6 Summit

It is 10h23, and the ACP Secretary-General Sir John Kaputin is about to make his speech. He says it is a priviledge and an honour to deliver preliminary remarks at this august summit.

He wants to express gratitude to the peoples of Ghana and the prez, being grateful for the warm reception being accorded since his arrival to beautiful ciity of Accra.

ACP Group has been involved in many different activities since Khartoum mtg, etc.

Yeah, the World Bank guy and UNICEF lady are here; I
would suppose the European commission is here as well. Press is in their large numbers here. I am seated fortuitously next to a lady I saw on tv last night reading TV Africa news--none other than my GHAJICT colleague Veronica Kwablah, who is listening attentively to the speech by Kaputin, as I type away on this OGO device to

bring you some of the highlights of the acp gathering.

Again, I learnt last night that --yeah, EPAs have been mentioned right now, and right now the guy is talking about aid effectiveness. yeah!--the wireless is only available in the registration tent. One wonders what the guys there would need it for??

Kaputin continues that missions to fiji, sudan and djiboutou have highlighted importance of intra-acp
dialogues.

Fact-finding mission will go to Mauritania. On a positive note, Togo and Sudan have assumed normal relations with the European Union.

The ICC indictment has caused some friction regrettably in Darfur. Negotiation on EPAs have concerned grouo for a copnsiderable number of time. Process have split states that have initialled full epas, with some saying no. He hopes way can be smoothed on epas. This impt topical issue is on the agenda, he maintains.

10h37--is it me or does Kufuor look sleepy? He was looking down at something till Kaputin inhis address went "Mr.President,...", prompting him to turn towards the speaker's direction on the podium! With all that travelling he has been doing, he naturally must be itching to get up, don't you think? Behind me, looks like some elderly-looking man has just found joy in annoying some of us with a strident ringtone.

As the press both listen attentively to, and pretend to listen to and look serious at what Kaputin is delivering, a quick scan reveals that people seem to be listening, altough I see quite a number are dozing off. Oh well.

People will get ready to clap as Kaputin thanks the President for his kind attention.
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Reason for Delay of Start of Joint ACP MOFA and Council of Ministers Meeting Clarified

A few minutes ago, the chair of the meeting came to explain in French that they are duly sorry for the delay of the meeting, but key ministers of foreign affairs and others are battling out some issues around the document for the meeting. We have been asked to exercise patience, I guess.

In the meantime, I found out that the person I am sitting next to is no less than the ambassador of Togo to Brussels. He

is an affable-looking man, wearing a grey, pinned-stripe sut-like thingy. I only know, because some francophone guys came up behind me a few days minutes ago, introducing the ambassador of Côte d'ivoire here in Accra to him.

On a positive side, my colleagues--registered as delegates-- are capitalising on the tardiness of the meeting to do some serious lobbying of ministers around the EPA. I see one of them articulating a point to a Tanzanian diplomat.

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6 ACP Summit--Day Two: Raw Deal for the Press

I got into town to the Accra Conference Centre on a day after the public holiday to heavy traffic, coupled with the cacophonous noises of siren ushering commuters and motorists alike to move way for the oh-so-important delegates (comprising mostly ambassadors) to head to the AICC on a day that will see the joint meeting of ACP Council of Ministers along with the ACP Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

Yet again, the meeting is late.

If we forget the fact that the Press were politely asked to wait for delegates to get a bag before they could come for one, or the fact that local press is not factored into the free lunch, or even coffee break, we could simply sigh a huge one and get on with our business.

But there is more: the press is not getting the documents from the ACP press person Robert Irago (somehow, since yesterday, he has not been able to coordinate the distribution of material for them!) as expected. The ushers are unable to give us the documents we need to be able to read between the lines for the necessary reporting we need to do. Is it any wonder the Ghanaian press sometimes behave so mediocre?

Here is yours truly who is profoundly interested in what he is here for, but starved off information to do my job! Who can blame me when a neglectful minister or ambassador not here on time comes to his seat to find no documents:-) At least, some of us will put it to good use!

Speaking of which, I have the following documents here as I type this in the plenary hall, which regrettably has no wireless!! They are: [<i>le reunion va demarrer dans cinq minutes</i>] * DRAFT ELEMENTS OF THE ACCRA DECLARATION; *CONTRIBUTION OF THE ACP CIVIL SOCIETY TO THE 6TH SUMMIT OF HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ACCRA (GHANA); *Draft agenda of the joint meeting of the acp council of ministers of foreign affairs to be held on Wednesday 1 October 2008 from 9.30 to 13.00 in Accra, Ghana.; *report from the council of ministers to the 6th acp summit of heads of state and government on the implementation of decisions of previous summits and important developments relevant to the acp group.

It is now some 29 minutes after 10. All sorts of people are standing up smiling to people both fake and genuine smiles. You know here that the laptops that are open are for serious business as the wireless is not set up in the building (unlike at UNCTAD XII in April).
Be-spectacled delegates of the slim,thin, fat, and pot-bellied type move around at all sorts of paces. The head table where the ACP SG and Assistant SG are seated are empty, with no signs of where they could be. The five minutes asked for is long-past, and it remains unclear when we are starting. Just overheard a member of the Ghanaian press sitting behind me that "they will hand over the chairmanship of the ACP to Ghana..." Unsure what that is about.

We live in hope--and plenty of it!

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3-9-2008 New Chinese book series on comparative regional integration studies

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mrs. Pascale Vantorre <pvantorre@cris.unu.edu>
Date: 2008/9/3
Subject: September 2008 - Electronic Newsletter of UNU-CRIS (MAIL-755DE-39556)



New Chinese book series on comparative regional integration studies


UNU-CRIS is proud to announce its new book series on comparative regional integration studies in Chinese published by China University of Political Science and Law Press. The book series is a joint-venture between UNU-CRIS and the Centre for European Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing (RUC). Editors-in-chief are: Professor Xiaojin Zhang, Director of the Centre for European Studies at RUC; Professor Luk Van Langenhove, Director of UNU-CRIS; Professor Xinning Song, Senior Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS and Jean Monnet Professor at RUC.

An outstanding international Advisory Board gives intellectual and strategic guidance to this book series. Among its members are many leading experts from China, Europe and the United States including Bingran Dai (Fudan University), Miles Kahler (University of California, San Diego), Peter Katzenstein (Cornell University) and Emil Kirchner (University of Essex). Please click here to consult the full list.

The book series is designed to promote the publication of new scholarly work on comparative regionalism in China and to translate groundbreaking work from international scholars in Chinese. The ambition is to publish several books a year.

The first volume of the book series is entitled "The EU Constitutional System in Development" by Xiuyi Han (Liaoning Normal University, China).


More information on this book can be found here.

The Bruges Regional Integration and Global Governance Papers (BRIGG Papers)


UNU-CRIS and the College of Europe have launched together a new series of working papers dedicated to the study of the European Union and other forms of regionalism or interregionalism from a comparative perspective, the role of regional organisations in global governance as well as these regions´ external relations and diplomacy. The first three BRIGG papers are available online now.

Contributions may be submitted in English or French. The copyright remains with the author(s). Each paper will be reviewed by the editorial team or an external referee. Contributions can be submitted in Word format to pvantorre@cris.unu.edu and sgstoehl@coleurop.be. Further information about the BRIGG papers can be consulted here.
3/2008 (September 2008)
Daniele Marchesi, The Common Foreign and Security Policy in the UN Security Council: Between Representation and Coordination

2/2008 (July 2008)
Sieglinde Gstöhl, ´Patchwork Europe´? The EU´s Representation in International Institutions

1/2008 (July 2008)
Kennedy Graham, Towards a Coherent Regional Institutional Landscape in the United Nations? Implications for Europe



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© 2008 United Nations University - Comparative regional integration studies
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Free Trade Area officially launched for SADC region

This news was too juicy to resist posting, especially as it's coming in the wake of Mbeki's first headache--that of mediator for the Zimbabwe political permafrost...

from: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/410/87/27493.html
---------------------















Free Trade Area officially launched for SADC region

By: Bathandwa Mbola

Johannesburg: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states officially launched a Free Trade Area (FTA) for the region at the weekend, ushering in a new era of economic integration.

Launched during the 28th SADC Summit, the agreement ushers in a new era of economic integration and rapid industrialisation of the sub-region through expanded trading opportunities.

Speaking at the official launch, President Thabo Mbeki, who is also the new SADC chairperson, told delegates from SADC member states that the FTA was a collective milestone in the region's ongoing integration programme.

"Today we can say with pride that our collective efforts have borne fruits, and that we have successfully met the objective we set ourselves. Indeed it required hard work, dedication, resolve and an unswerving commitment to mobilise our limited resources so as to meet our objective," President Mbeki said.

With the goal of eliminating tariffs and trade barriers among member countries, the FTA agreement is part of the SADC's ongoing efforts to deepen long-term regional integration with the aim of accelerating economic growth while reducing poverty for the millions of people living on the continent.

By August 2008, producers and consumers would pay no import tariffs on an estimated 85% of all trade on goods in the initial 12 countries, excluding Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, who will join the FTA later.

It is expected to create a regional market worth about $360bn, benefiting a total population of 170 million people and includes economies growing by up to 7%.

As the region is about to take on this extensive work programme, President Mbeki told the delegates that they needed to assess how best they could advance the integration effort and the region's trade performance.

He noted that the most serious constraints in growing the region were underdeveloped structures and supply capacity.

As SADC, the President said, the development of infrastructure and supply capacity should be their core priority.

"We must intensify our collective efforts to build and diversify the region's productive capacity to expand the range of products that can be traded."

As we do this, he said the region should continually strive to increase the value addition of those exports.

"In this context, our sectoral work at harmonising regional industrial, agricultural and competition policy should be prioritised as we move forward."

"Cross-border infrastructure development would continue to play an essential role in advancing the integration agenda," he said.

The implementation of the FTA area for the SADC has been a long deliberate process that formally started in 1996 with the signing of the Protocol on Trade, which then entered into force in January 2000.

It was implemented from September the same year following arduous negotiations on the tariff reduction schedules and rules of origin governing that Protocol.

Since then, the liberalisation of tariffs has taken place at different rates.

In general, the developed countries have reduced tariffs at a faster rate. South Africa, Botswana and Namibia removed most tariffs in 2000. Middle income countries such as Mauritius have gradually reduced their tariffs each year between 2000 and 2008.

For least developed countries such as Mozambique and Zambia, tariff reductions have generally been introduced during 2007-2008.

The SADC FTA programme includes establishing a Customs Union by 2010, a Common Market by 2015, a monetary Union by 2016 and a single currency by 2018.

The gains and benefits to be achieved by member states would not be possible otherwise due to the economic size of the countries.

These gains and benefits to be achieved include production, income and employment which would derive from larger economies scale, reallocation and best use of resources.

This is because in a FTA, member states would be able to produce goods and supply them to the larger regional market as opposed to their national markets alone.

The SADC FTA would have far reaching implications for people, companies and the economic process in all member states.

The SADC member states that are to benefit from the FTA are Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews.

[18 Aug 2008 12:10]

SADC--Mbeki's other Headache: Getting SADC to Get More Proactive on Peacekeeping Force

As if Mbeki doesn't have enough on his plate with issues on Zimbabwe, BusinessDay reports that in the upcoming weekend, SADC ministers will meet to plan for the activation of a SADC regional peacekeeping force, which has already been mooted since August 2007. The objective of the meeting, really, is to brainstorm on how it can begin to deploy on peacekeeping missions.

The meeting in Durban--to be chaired by Angola--will take recommendations for a SADC summit next month when President Mbeki is "expected to take over the chairmanship" of tyhe 14-member SADC from Jose Eduardo Dos Santos.

Discussions are in the offing also on a regional early warning centre that is scheduled for the end of the year.

More importantly however is the significance of this regional standby force.

By 2010, the African Union plans to have completed an African Stanby Force, with regional standby forces for the regional economic communities (RECS). This falls into line with the AU's protocol on peace and security, "

...which required all regional economic communities to have units that fed into the standby army. So far, the Economic Community of West African States is the other regional bloc that has made the most progress.

It's easy to check that. Only in June this year, a training in Bamako for ECOWAS Standby Force -- codenamed "Jigui 2008" took place, with a Malian logistic sub-command; a Nigerian East Sub Command and a Senegalese West sub command, as well as ECOWAS Staff from the Commission in Abuja.

East Africa established its regional peacekeeping force also in August 2007, with IGAD hoping that it might ease the pressure, what with demands for Darfur.

SAARC--What's SAARC Got to do with India's Latest Serial Bombings?

At a time when Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso as ECOWAS neighbours, are meeting as a way of reconciling after tremendous tensions brought about by the September 2002 coup that saw finger-pointing from Ougadougou that its neighbour supported an abortive coup of Burkina Faso in 2003, it remains a great shame that a number of serial bombings would take place in India only over the weekend, prompting fears that it was a "foreign hand", identified as Pakistan.
A very interesting BBC article above chronicles the number of bombings that have taken place since 2005, listingbthe total number of dead as 400!

So, when I ask--despite a one-month hiatus!![mucho apologies!!!]--what SAARC has got to do with it, it is not without reason.


The example of the two ECOWAS neighbours above shows that reconciliation can take place even without the carrot-and-stick of the EU, or any foreign donor, when there is political will. I do not know ebough about the India-Pakistan conflict to offer anything, except to say that I do know their atavistic conflict has scaled down dramatically. Also, given the rise of India, it is a shame for it to be entertaining terrorists or freedom-fighters of any kind that could harm its prospects for growth.

My concern about it all, really, is just because India is big and has clout, is insufficient reason for it to ignore SAARC. SAARC may be going through some existential angst, but as long as the institution is there, India has every reason to pump resources to support its growth--even for its own interest.

The 2-3 August SAARC Summit in Colombo on Food Security, Terrorism and Energy offer an opportunity to do that--as well as put paid to the tensions that exist between itself and Pakistan.

The BBC has been offering the so-called Insider Debate, with the last one (over the weekend) featuring: Jonathan Powell, Martin Griffiths, Alvaro de Soto and Francesc Vendrell, who have all "[b]etween them...negotiated in most of the world's intractable conflicts".

I daresay most of the four who were interviewed would say that "no conflict is insoluble" and that India must continue to talk to Pakistan.

The article maintains that one of the outcomes of the meeting is:

The SAARC Summit is set to adopt four agreements, including SAARC Development Fund (SDF) with a corpus of $307 million, South Asian Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters, an agreement on the establishment of the South Asia Regional Standards Organization and a pact for formal entry of Afghanistan into the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

Among the other issues that would be discussed are a fund to manage food crisis, an approach towards SAARC common currency and mechanisms to augment resources in the region to tackle the situation arising out of the fuel price hike.

At the end of the day, for anything concrete to happen, it's about political will. That's the only way of ensuring a progressive perspective on any type of regional integration...