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Ecowas And UN Commend France for Making RECAMP a Success

Accra Mail (Accra)
NEWS
May 28, 2004
Posted to the web May 28, 2004

By Atiku Iddrisu

The ECOWAS Executive Secretary for Political Affairs General Diarra has
expressed gratitude to the Government of France for coming out with the RECAMP
initiative, aimed at preventing crisis and allowing African regional
organizations arrange sufficient military capabilities to conceive and lead
peacekeeping operations on their continent.
He said the RECAMP exercise has answered many of ECOWAS' questions on problems
encountered during the intervention of crisis, citing "experiences" in Sierra
Leone, Liberia, and La Cote d'Ivoire.
General Diarra made the remarks yesterday at the end of the political and
diplomatic part of the ongoing RECAMP IV at the Kofi Annan International
Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra. He said ECOWAS will take into account
all the recommendations and suggestions made at the RECAMP seminar "for future
interventions".
The Deputy Military Advisor of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operation
(UNDPKO) Brigadier General M. Kandji said the UN attaches great importance to
the RECAMP exercise, as it benefits the UN peacekeeping capacity "which heavily
relies on Africa's massive and valuable contributions".
He said African regional peacekeeping operations are crucial in complementing
the UN's role, particularly in crises where the UN is not in a position to
deploy rapidly enough, as it was in the case in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire
recently. "The United Nations therefore stands ready to continue to work
together with other international donors and partners to help Africa further
develop its capacity" he said.
He expressed gratitude to the Governments of Ghana and France for hosting and
organising the seminar respectively, and also the ECOWAS Secretariat for their
"generous support".
At the end of the political and diplomatic part of the seminar the participants
got the opportunity to exchange different ideas reflecting on their
participation in peacekeeping operations.
They debated on different topics under crisis management and prevention,
including the disarmament of ex-combatants and consolidation of state.
The second and concluding part of the five-day seminar (the military aspect)
begins today. It will involve senior military personnel and other stakeholders.
They would be planning an imaginary operation which will be used as a base for
the field training exercise (FTX) scheduled for Benin from November 29th to
December 11th, 2004.

   

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