Abuja, Nigeria, October 20, 2021. The ECOWAS Directorate of Political Affairs is holding a second thematic briefing with the Permanent Representatives and accredited ECOWAS Ambassadors on the 21st of October, 2021.

Focusing on the current governance dynamics and the imperatives as provided in the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), the briefing is primed on enhancing collaboration while facilitating the exchange of information and experience-sharing with the ECOWAS Member States’ Ambassadors.

The briefing also aims at inducing reflection on the recent peace and security situation in West Africa and its impacts on the current political dynamics and stability of the region.

Other tasks before the meeting include discussions around the Supplementary Protocol vis-a-vis the civil society perspectives and the harnessing of Member States standpoints, through engagements with the ECOWAS Ambassadors on effective response options to the regional governance challenges.

The briefing is also holding against the backdrop of a regional peace and security landscape that is shaped by political upheavals, terrorism, violent extremism, and organized crimes including increased banditry, kidnapping, and piracy leading to humanitarian and economic challenges which have in turn been worsened by the current covid-19 pandemic.

Participants interfacing with the diplomats at the meeting will be drawn from the ECOWAS Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS), the Early Warning Directorate (EWD), and other relevant ECOWAS directorates, in conjunction with the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).

The initiative is enriched by the extension to ECOWAS Member States’ Ambassadors accredited to Ethiopia, and Permanent Representatives of the Member states to the African Union.
The first Thematic Briefing of the year was held on 15th February 2021 with the theme: Post ECOWAS Vision 2020: Reflection on Peace and Security.