Many African states want to assume greater responsibility for peace and security on the continent. This makes cooperation at continental and regional levels essential. In Africa, Germany is promoting the development of structures for strengthening peace and security not only within the framework of the G8 and the EU but also bilaterally. Germany played a decisive part in the establishment of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra: the building, programme development and opening of the centre in 2004 were powerfully supported by German funding.
The light blue of the training centre radiates hope, and the colour symbolizes peace. A sea of international flags at the entrance offer evidence of the partnerships and the cooperation of a whole region: the centre provides training and further education for West African military units, preparing them for the work of United Nations (UN) peace missions. KAIPTC was originally a Ghanaian military training base. With international support it was developed into a multinational training centre that is recognized as a model institution by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The centre, which was named after former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, is supported on behalf of Germany by the Federal Foreign Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Since 2004 the BMZ has provided 7.5 million euros in funding. Up to now, more than 5,000 participants have received training. The instructors attach particular importance to multinational missions and the problems of deployments in politically, culturally and economically sensitive regions.
Training is given to civil, police and military experts from West Africa and increasingly from other African countries who will later take part in integrated UN or African Union (AU) missions in crisis areas or work with civil society organizations and ECOWAS. “Many of the former participants are working in Liberia, Ivory Coast or Sierra Leone,” explains David Ni Addy, advisor with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), which is working with KAIPTC on behalf of the German government. He says that in the past two years many of the police officers were trained for the UN and AU Hybrid Mission in Darfur. Also on behalf of the German government, the GTZ supports the training of election observers with KAIPTC, ECOWAS and the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) in Berlin. Since 2004 ZIF has been helping to strengthen regional capacities for crisis prevention and peacekeeping: 170 West African election observers were trained in eight courses for missions organized by the ECOWAS regional organization. Project manager Hendrik Wantia says: “The courses also include safety training and the evaluation of operations.”
The German government’s contribution to peace building is also visible in East Africa. In 2007 the AU asked Germany for support in building new quarters for the Peace and Security Department in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, the seat of the AU. The GTZ is managing the project on-site on behalf of the Federal Foreign office. The budget for the new building is 26 million euros and construction starts at the beginning of 2011. The building will accommodate some 370 employees. The centrepiece will be an operations centre for the coordination and monitoring of AU peace missions. The objective is to strengthen the AU in crisis prevention and peacekeeping. In this respect, the continental early warning system also plays an important role.
Since 2008 the Police Programme in Africa, which is financed by the Federal Foreign Office, has been promoting the development of the police at bilateral level in nine African countries. It involves cooperation with United Nations and European Union peace missions. The African Union is being helped to develop a police component for African police missions. The police project is also working with the United Nations UNMIS mission in the Sudan: the peace process between North and South Sudan has been regularly fraught with local tension which escalated in May 2008. The border town of Abyei suffered severe destruction during fierce fighting. Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee. Consequently, restoring public safety in the region is a high priority, and these efforts are needed to enable the displaced population to return to their towns and villages.
The UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan initiated the formation and deployment of a comprehensive police force in Abyei with 600 male and female police officers. In order for them to operate efficiently, there has to be fast and extensive communication within the unit. On behalf of the Federal Foreign Office, the GTZ is supplying the police with communications equipment and, similar to the project in South Sudan, with small radio huts and transmission masts together with relevant training.
The Federal Foreign Office is also financing the German African Border Project, and the GTZ is supporting the AU Commission within its framework. Improved frontier management aims to reduce the risk of border conflicts and promote regional integration. This means defining borders and drawing up agreements on the spot, as well as surveying and marking the borders. Cross-border cooperation between neighbouring villages and training in border management are also being supported. At the moment Germany is the only bilateral partner supporting the AU in this programme. Since the start of the project in 2008, 200 kilometres of the border between Mali and Burkina Faso have been marked. Mozambique, Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia have completed successful talks to define their borders. The inhabitants of the areas have been suitably sensitized and 60 police officers as well as 25 “trainers of trainers” have received additional coaching.////
