Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 12 October 2018 – Said Djinnit, United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region, attended a high-level workshop on “Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020” organized by the African Union (AU) on 11-12 October 2018 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.  The Special Envoy chaired a session on “Constitutive elements of a two-year action plan to strengthen actions towards the achievement of the 2020 Silencing the Guns objectives”. Discussions in this session specifically focused on identifying elements for an action plan aiming at fast-tracking the implementation of the African Union Master Roadmap of Practical Steps to Silence the Guns in Africa by 2020.

Following the debates in the two-day workshop, the participants, among whom high-level representatives from the AU, UN, regional and civil society organisations, decided that progress was indeed needed in several areas to move the process forward. They agreed that in order to make progress, the following would be needed: improvements in governance, especially in conflict or post-conflict countries; making existing mechanisms and structures work effectively, and ensuring that endorsed decisions are implemented; involving women and youth in all major discussions; monitoring and evaluating progress on the implementation of existing agreements; and ensuring adequate and diversified communications around Silencing the Guns in Africa by 2020.