The Security Watch Africa Initiative (SWAI) has called for "more intelligence sharing and synergy" between sub-regional organizations. According to the think tank, the move is needed to enhance the efficiency of the African nations' joint efforts in addressing security issues.
The group's communique was released at the end of the 17th SWAI Annual Conference and Award Ceremony, which was held between November 9 and 10 in Banjul, Gambia.
”There is a need for intelligence sharing and synergy amongst sub-regional bodies on the continent, as well as a periodic assembly to assess the African security environment," the communique read, as cited by the Nigerian News Agency.
The participants supported the idea of arranging regular meetings of the security councils and commissions of African inter-governmental organizations, for example, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
“African countries should collaborate more and look inward for solutions to address African security challenges," the communique argued.
The security body also underlined the need for a unified legal system and comprehensive strategy to enable authorities to effectively tackle and prevent evolving security threats. It suggested African leaders "adopt an all-of-society approach" that specifically implies engaging the youth in the process of solving regional issues.
The SWAI was created in 1997 to monitor, analyze and collect data on security issues across the continent. Its main objective is to provide information to all parties involved, such as policymakers, other agencies and the general public. The initiative encourages professional and intellectual engagements among military forces in Africa, holding annual meetings and award ceremonies.
In recent years, African countries have intensified their joint efforts to ensure security and peace on the continent as international peacekeeping initiatives were found to be inefficient. UN peacekeeping operations in Africa have come under criticism for failing to solve regional conflicts and for being too focused on the military aspect while neglecting socioeconomic development of areas most affected by terrorism.
In one example, the French operation Barkhane against terrorist groups in the Sahel region of Africa was coined as a “failure in all respects" by experts following the announcement of the end of the eight-year-long mission. French officials stated that the country wouldn't stop military support to Africa, but a new strategy would be worked out in cooperation with African partners.
Concerning this issue, the UN official reminded that the "best response" to rampant terrorism currently on the rise in Africa is prevention. The significant role of regional organizations was emphasized specifically as joint action and commitment “can address challenges posed by terrorist and violent extremist groups in the local context.”
In another example, leaders of the East African Community (EAC) decided to form a regional force to address the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in June. The organization’s first-ever troop deployment to a member country is expected to test its capacity to resolve this kind of regional conflict.
In particular, Kenya leads the joint offensive mission against terrorists by sending troops to the DRC to protect its investment interests in the mineral-rich country. The Kenyan president characterized this mission as "necessary and urgent" in terms of ensuring security in the region amid recent militia advances in the North Kivu region of the DRC.