Terrorism, violent extremism, battle, transnational organised crime, local weather change, epidemics, poverty, inequality and unconstitutional adjustments of presidency are simply a few of the monumental challenges threatening human safety and stability within the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) area.
These are main threats to peace and stability within the West African area, mentioned the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Fee, Ms Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja, on 28 April 2025 in Zuma Rock, Nigeria, on the opening of the 2025 technical session of the Joint Evaluation and Response Planning Working Group (JARP-WG).
For Ms Tchintchibidja, represented by the Fee’s Performing Director of Early Warning, Dr Onyinye Onwuka, assembly these human safety challenges has by no means been extra pressing, therefore the essential significance of establishing the Working Group.
“The JARP-WG goals to strengthen our capability for joint evaluation and response planning to threats to human safety, whereas establishing standardized procedures and selling collaboration between Fee departments and between ECOWAS Member States. This initiative represents a big step ahead in our early warning methods and response efforts”, mentioned Dr Onyinye Onwuka.
She burdened the necessity to consolidate the operationalisation of this working group and recalled that its success relies upon largely on the individuals on this session.
The three-day session brings collectively the administrators of the Nationwide Early Warning and Response Centres of some ECOWAS member States, representatives of assorted departments of the ECOWAS Fee, and the West Africa Community for Peacebuilding (WANEP).
Its intention is to collect their analytical contributions and proposals to be taken into consideration within the report on the human safety state of affairs in ECOWAS 2024 and prospects for 2025. It should additionally look at the precedence areas recognized within the report, and set clear goals for the subsequent steps when it comes to response actions.
Dr Onyinye Onwuka additionally burdened the necessity for individuals to look at the dangers, threats and root causes of human insecurity within the ECOWAS area, and to replicate on one of the best ways of anticipating and resolving these issues by way of a extra holistic strategy centred on human beings and their well-being.
She expressed her conviction that, on the finish of this assembly, the JARP-WG will present a extra in-depth evaluation that takes into consideration new views for dealing successfully with threats to human safety.
The JARP-WG was created in Might 2022 and formally launched in July 2022 by the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Fee, Ms Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja.
It goals to strengthen synergies and enhance the area’s capability to forestall, mitigate and reply to human safety challenges.
Its essential goal is to offer a discussion board for ECOWAS to collaborate with stakeholders in its member States on a structured and common foundation, facilitating joint evaluation, planning and implementation of responses to human insecurity.
The JARP Working Group is structured across the 5 human safety thematic areas of ECOWAS early warning: safety, crime, well being, surroundings and governance.
After the opening ceremony, individuals got two shows, one on ‘Introduction to ECOWARN 2.0 and its position in detecting human safety challenges’, and the opposite on ‘Introduction to JARP instruments to strengthen collaboration and synergies in early warning and response’. The shows have been made respectively by Marcel Bossou and Nanténé Coulibaly Seck, each of whom work within the Early Warning Division of the ECOWAS Fee.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS).
