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The transformation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) in July 2002, at the
Heads of State Summit in Durban, South Africa, increased hopes for the African continent as it grappled with a
broad range of challenges. These hopes were further bolstered with the adoption of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD) as the AU’s framework for development. NEPAD is set to be integrated into the AU as a
specialised agency by 2006. NEPAD recognises governance, peace, and security as central preconditions for
development.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), by which African countries are judged on their compliance with
stated norms of governance, is a remarkable innovation designed to facilitate the delivery not only of good
governance, but also peace and security. Moreover, security within the context of a new African Union has taken on
a broader meaning since the end of the Cold War, from a traditional state-centric and ideologically-inspired concept
to encompassing a human security approach. From this holistic perspective, the threats to human security in Africa
remain a challenge for the AU and NEPAD. Similarly, failure to manage Africa’s diverse peoples and resources has
resulted in devastating conflicts across the continent.
While governance and security are not the only challenges in Africa, it seems clear that any process towards the
continent’s renewal would need to proceed on a sound governance and security base. Moreover, as the dominant
institutions and programmes representing the collective vision of the continent, success in dealing with Africa’s
security and governance issues will largely depend on the AU and NEPAD.
It was against this background that the Centre for Conflict Resolution (CCR) at the University of Cape Town, South
Africa, and the Centre for Policy Studies in Johannesburg, South Africa, held a two-day policy advisory group
meeting at Misty Hills, Johannesburg, on 11 and 12 December 2004, on the theme, "The AU/NEPAD and Africa’s
Evolving Governance and Security Architecture".
Bringing together about 50 participants comprising policy-makers, academics, representatives of international
institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), diplomats, journalists, and personnel from the AU and
NEPAD secretariats, the seminar analysed and assessed the state of governance and security in Africa under the AU
and NEPAD. Participants underscored the need to strengthen the capacity of the AU to deal with Africa’s security
challenges, and noted the various contributions of the international community towards Africa’s peace and security
architecture. Participants also noted that international organisations such as the United Nations (UN), the European
Union (EU), as well as bilateral donors, could still do more to assist Africa.
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