High-level Symposium on Peace and Development Problems of Conflict in Africa

2. Objective

The objective of the High-Level Symposium is to promote the awareness of the need for conflict prevention and resolution in Africa and to contribute to the efforts of the international community to achieve peace, security and stability so that sustainable development can be pursued. The High-Level Symposium will discuss political, socio-economic and cultural causes of conflicts and come up with policy options to prevent conflicts including strengthening of the OAU Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution. The participants will also discuss and analyze the common causes of ongoing conflicts and propose possible means of peaceful resolution. The issue of linkage between peace and development will also be debated.

The target audience will be primarily the world leaders and decision makers in African countries, the opinion makers and general public of Japan, NGOs and those promoting the culture of peace at grass roots level.