UNSC Open Debate on 

PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA:

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR SUSTAINING PEACE

[Monday, 8 August 2022, 1000 hrs EDT/1930 hrs IST]

I thank the Presidency for organizing this important and timely open debate focusing on capacity building for sustaining peace in Africa. I thank Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union Commission for his briefing. I also thank the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission Ambassador H. E. Muhammad Abdul Muhith, for presenting the perspective of the Peacebuilding Commission.

2.    The potential of Africa is infinite, and opportunities in the continent are enormous. There can be no debate on these issues.  Africa is the second largest and second most populated continent with exuberant youth, which is projected to account for nearly one-fifth of the world’s population by 2030. Over the years, the life expectancy has increased while rates of infant and maternal mortality have fallen consistently. Africa with its rich and diverse cultures and vast natural resources is an attractive destination for trade and investment. 

3.    Compared to a decade ago, and despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the African continent is more peaceful than ever. Governance institutions have become more stronger and while there may be a few exceptions, overall economic growth has increased; infrastructure and connectivity continue to improve; and economies are getting diversified, slowly and steadily. India welcomes the evolution and rise of Africa as an important player in the contemporary world order. We support peacebuilding in Africa, and establishing capabilities and capacities that help meet challenges while ensuring progress. 

4.    Despite this positive outlook, peace remains elusive in some parts of Africa, particularly in the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and Central Africa. The countries in the region continue to face complex challenges. The principal driving factors are chronic political instability; role of external players with vested interests in the regions, weak governance structures; institutional weaknesses; ethnic divisions; and the presence of terrorist and armed groups. Over-exploitation of diminishing resources, mainly in the Lake Chad Basin and the Great Lakes region, are also exacerbating the instability. 

5.     In today’s Africa, democratic values are driving efforts to effectively address the challenges of peace and security and development. In this pursuit for peace and security, the critical importance of capacity building cannot be overemphasized. The countries in Africa, due to their colonial past, much like the majority of the countries of the global South, suffer from an undeniable historical disadvantage in respect of institutional capacity. The international community and the UN must continue to look at longer-term efforts for expanding African capacities and enhancing collective cooperation. Human resource development and capacity building should be at the core of efforts of the international community in Africa. For peace to endure and to be sustained, the legislative framework and the governance structures need to be strong. The SDGs and the African Union Agenda 2063 serve as useful rallying points for the international community. 

6.    In this context, allow me to present the following observations. 

i)    Africa’s growth can be facilitated by partnerships that genuinely address its economic sustainability, without conditionalities, and in line with African expectations. The national Governments must steer priorities and strategies for sustaining peace at all stages of conflict. The international community needs to pay close attention to the African voice and wisdom. No one can know Africa better than Africans themselves. We have seen from history, that offering "external” solutions to African problems without African involvement, has not served the interests of the African people. This skewed approach needs to change.

(ii)    Several of the conflict situations in Africa originate as a result of some areas becoming proxy staging ground for competing external forces. In this regard, Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi while addressing the Ugandan Parliament in 2018 had stated and I quote : “As global engagement in Africa increases, we must all work together to ensure that Africa does not once again turn into a theatre of rival ambitions, but becomes a nursery for the aspirations of Africa’s youth.”  If we let our African brothers and sisters, find African pathways for themselves, we could see the frequency of African conflict zones gradually coming down in the near future.

ii)    A democratic framework based on rule of law, and credible state institutions are essential ingredients for successful post-conflict recovery. Capacity building, therefore, must be geared towards strengthening institutions at the grassroots level and upwards. There is no substitute to fundamentals.

iii)    The Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the Ukraine conflict have impacted Africa, just like they have impacted the rest of the world. The continent’s vulnerabilities are greater, and in many respects its capabilities are still in the making. The world must stand by Africa in these testing times. Capacity building in critical areas such as education, health, agriculture, and infrastructure is the need of the hour. For Africa to take advantage of its demographic dividend, capacity building in these identified sectors is critical. 

iv)    The growth of terrorism in Africa has increasingly exposed the gaps in mandates between peacekeeping and peace building. Terrorists are taking advantage of this gap and unleashing terror, which conflict-ridden States are unable to combat due to lack of capacity. This is increasingly becoming apparent in the Sahel and other parts of Africa. We need to strengthen the State’s capacity to fight terror. In this context, India has consistently supported the call of the Secretary General for a mandate under Chapter VII to support African counter-terrorism operations with sustained financing, including through assessed contributions.

v)    The African Union, in its pursuit towards peaceful and prosperous Africa, has been ably supported by the efforts of the ECOWAS, the ECCAS, East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development. We need to be cognizant of this reality and this spirit of burden sharing must continue to drive the agenda of peace and security. There have been pathbreaking initiatives at the AU, such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, critical for capacity building and employment generation in Africa. Such initiatives should receive the wholehearted support of the international community, particularly the international financial institutions.

Mr. President, 

7.    Let me now speak about the India-Africa partnership. 

8.    The strong and deep solidarity and partnership between India and Africa reflects the bonding of the Global South which has been forged over several centuries.  The underlying philosophy of India’s partnership with Africa is to empower Africa for a future that is founded on principles of inclusivity, sustainability, peace and prosperity, dignity, and respect for one and all. This is mirrored back home in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas’. African priorities will always guide each of our initiatives in the African continent. India’s support to Africa is also expressed through our long history of participation in UN peacekeeping. 

9.    India’s partnership with Africa is based on building instruments of empowerment that would enable Africa to find African solutions to its problems. Indeed, human resources and capacity building is at the heart of our relationship. African youth have utilized more than 32,000 scholarships slots so far, out of 50,000 offered, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation during the India-Africa Forum Summit held in 2015 in New Delhi. Thousands of African students are presently pursuing their higher studies in various Indian universities under self-financing schemes as well. The Government of India has also been providing support to African countries to address the digital divide through MEA's flagship schemes, the e-VidyaBharati for tele-education and the e-ArogyaBharati for telemedicine offering scholarships to 15,000 African students under this scheme to pursue online education in undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma courses. So far, 19 African countries are partners in this initiative. 

10.    Mr. President, during the India-Africa Forum Summit in 2015, to add strength to our partnership, the Prime Minister of India announced concessional credit of 10 billion U.S. dollars over the next five years. So far, India has extended concessional loans over US$ 12.3 billion to various projects in Africa. With support from African nations, the EXIM Bank of India and relevant stakeholders, we have completed 197 important projects, and, currently, we are executing 65 projects, while 81 projects are under examination. Significant development projects such as drinking water schemes to irrigation, rural solar electrification, power plants, transmission lines, cement, sugar & textile factories, technology parks, railway infrastructure, etc. have contributed towards the socio-economic development of Africa. We have extended our support in the form of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief often as a first responder. 

11.    During the COVID pandemic, our leaders remained in touch through excellent and warm telephone conversations that further cemented our relationship at the highest levels. India provided medical assistance worth more than US $5 million to more than 25 African countries. India supplied 39.65 million doses of the ‘Made in India’ Covid vaccines to 42 African countries. We are now exploring the possibility of joint manufacturing facilities for COVID and other vaccines with some African countries.

12.    As far as education is concerned, and resonating as well with SDG 4, India has established seven IT Centers in Egypt, Ghana, Lesotho, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania to promote digital literacy among African youth. Eight Vocational Training Centers, two Centers for Geo-informatics Applications in Rural Development in Madagascar and Niger, the upgradation of the Technology Center in Zimbabwe have been assisting Africa in its digital transformation and skills enhancement.

13.    India has also partnered in the establishment of defence institutions in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania. Our training teams have been deployed in Botswana, Namibia, Uganda, Lesotho, Zambia, Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania. We are also actively engaged with capacity building of the security forces in several countries in Africa. Counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism training is one of the significant areas of our defence training programmes.

           And finally Mr. President, any talk of capacity building for Africa would be meaningless if we continue to turn a blind eye to the core issue of lack of permanent African representation in this very Security Council. While this body focusses more than half of its work exclusively on the African continent, the systematic exclusion of our African brothers and sisters in the permanent category of UNSC membership is a blot on our collective credibility. India fully supports the aspirations of our African partners in their pursuit of the Ezulwini consensus and the Sirte Declaration. India, is willing to walk the talk on this count and calls on the permanent members of this august body to also do so. Africa’s priorities are, and will remain India’s priorities, as well. I thank you Mr. President.