FBA in sub-Saharan Africa

A large number of the world’s conflicts is in Africa. Africa is also the continent where the majority of UN’s peace operations are deployed. FBA is commissioned to support peace and security in the sub-Saharan region.

Contemporary conflicts commonly involve many different armed groups, both state and non-state actors, and tend to spill over borders. Civilian populations are often victims of violence. In order to solve today’s complex, cross-border conflicts and build sustainable peace, regional cooperation is needed.

FBA supports regional actors in sub-Saharan Africa in their efforts for peace, mainly the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Within the framework of Sweden’s development cooperation with sub-Saharan Africa, FBA is focused on two areas:

Women, peace and security
Women have traditionally played a marginalized role in peace processes in the region. Both the AU and ECOWAS aim at increasing the participation of women in their work, and at better recognizing and meeting the different security needs of women, men, boys and girls. FBA supports gender mainstreaming efforts in the AU and ECOWAS, for example through training and expert advice.

Dialogue and peace mediation
FBA offers expert advice on dialogue and peace mediation to the AU, in order to stregthen the organization’s role as a key mediator in African conflicts. FBA also offers dialogue and mediation training for ECOWAS and key actors within the ECOWAS member states, in order to enhance their capacity to prevent electoral violence. Violence in connection with elections is a widespread problem in West Africa.

Click here to read the entire strategy for Sweden’s development cooperation with sub-Saharan Africa 2016–2021.

New FBA mission – promote human security in southern Africa

Strengthening Africa’s regional forces for peace

Electoral violence a threat to peace and democratic development

Photo: UN Photo/Catianne Tijerina

FBA’s programme for young peacebuilders in Iraq inaugurated

After decades of war, Iraq needs to be rebuilt. Violent protests against the inability of the Iraqi state to provide its citizens with security and basic social services have rocked the country recently. FBA is now starting a programme for young peacebuilders in Iraq, in order to strengthen them in their non-violent efforts for a positive development.

2019-10-28 16:55

IN THE FIELD

Catalina Perdomo Rodriguez

Gender adviser in the DRC

Johan Chytraeus

Monitoring officer in Ukraine

Karolina Riedel

Statistician in election observation missions

Adam Bergman

Adviser to the UN in Nigeria

Mimmi Milligan

Reintegration adviser in Geneva

Björn Tedeman

Election observer

Julia Kempny

Political adviser in Somalia

Read our publications

Insights from the Inside: Women’s Mediation Networks as a Tool for Influencing Peace Processes

Civil society-led networks of women have for decades worked hard to promote peace in conflict areas around the world, and lately, a new wave of women's mediation networks are being established that are led by states or regional organizations. All these networks share a collective aim: To promote women's inclusion and influence in mediated peace processes.

Documents

Insights from the Inside.pdf

More Publications

THE FBA BLOG

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Posted by Kuisma Kinnunen
From policy to practice – gender as a perspective

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As a trainer, what could be better than to be part of a multinational group with a variety of backgrounds, eagerly wanting to learn new skills? Especially when you get to be the course participant for a change.

I had a dual aim when I recently participated in the Gender Perspective in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy Course, organised by FBA under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College. Besides learning new gender ... Read entire post »
2019-10-23 11:27
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Posted by Gabriela Elroy
Bureaucratic gender mainstreaming – what’s not to get excited about?

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The room is full of representatives from the Jordanian security forces. They are in Sweden on a study trip and have come to FBA to learn more about our work on promoting gender equality in the context of international peace and security generally, and our experience from supporting gender mainstreaming more specifically. I have decided to talk about the conceptual thinking behind much of the work that we do, whether it is with the EU’s Common ... Read entire post »
2019-10-08 15:50
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Posted by Andreas Berg
A fresh start for Ukraine?

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When I first arrived in Kyiv six months ago, I looked out over the city from the hilltop near the office of the EU Advisory Mission for Ukraine (EUAM) where I had just started a job as Coordination and Cooperation Officer. It became immediately clear why the city came to be founded here over 1,000 years ago and why it today is the capital of Ukraine. The mighty Dnepr River splits the city in half, flowing ... Read entire post »
2019-09-13 16:26