The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Ghada Wali commend Egypt’s government for continuing to host Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development and its commitment to bringing African solutions to African problems.
“We‘ve discussed this morning the Climate change and its impact on Africa, and linkages of peace, and security developments from the perspectives of UNODC that is very strong co linkage with the reliance of climate change and the ability of the African continent at large to address terrorism, organized crime and corruption, because there are clear linkages between the organized crime groups, traffickers in people, and terrorist groups penetrating Africa,” Wali said.
“So what we need to do is to continue to have this platform for dialogue,” she pointed out.
Egypt’s participation at the event comes as part of its commitment to supporting and contributing towards active dialogues on sustainable peace in Africa through effectively addressing human mobility issues in fragile and conflict settings as well.
The Forum is co-organized by the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), the National Coordination Committee headed by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The theme of this year is “Africa in an Era of Cascading Risks and Climate Vulnerability: Pathways for a Peaceful, Resilient and Sustainable Continent.”
During the two days-sessions, the partakers agreed that climate change has adverse implications on the sustainability of peace, security, and development in Africa, with a disproportionate impact on youth, and can disrupt employment opportunities, fuel forced displacement, and lead to increased conflicts as a risk multiplier.
Discussions at the Forum informed the upcoming Conference of Parties 27 (COP 27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be hosted by Egypt as its Presidency in November 2022.
The Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry presented opening remarks at the forum following which there were several pre-recorded messages from African leaders including H.E President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the chairperson of the African Union, and the president of the African Commission.
The Forum’s individual panel discussions tackled a range of topics from conflict resolution and peacebuilding to climate adaptation, gender equality, and youth development for a peaceful and more resilient African future, which are presented at the Forum.
