By: Rachel Kakraba
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) across West Africa have been urged to adopt innovative strategies in response to evolving global and regional dynamics. This has become crucial as key shifts in multilateralism and regionalism are reshaping the operational landscape for advocacy groups, requiring them to rethink their approaches to remain effective. Senior Research Fellow, at the Legon Center for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), University of Ghana, Dr. Philip Attuquayefio, said this at the opening of the 18th General Assembly of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), in Accra.
WANEP holds a general assembly every two years to deliberate on pressing regional matters. Under the theme, “Changing dynamics in multilateralism and regionalism, the role and prospects for CSOs”, the conference deliberated on what transformation meant for CSOs in West Africa and how to sustain their relevance in an era where the very foundations of multilateral cooperation and regionalism are being redefined.
Senior Research Fellow, at the Legon Center for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD), University of Ghana, Dr. Philip Attuquayefio, noted that the ability of CSOs to anticipate changes, build resilience, and assert influence will determine long-term sustainability and impact of their operation.
“At a time when more resources are required to meet the growing challenges, this shift not only undermines the capacity of CSOs but also weakens the broader governance and accountability ecosystem in the region. Without adequate funding, many organizations may be forced to scale back their activities or shut down entirely, creating a vacuum in critical areas such as democratic governance, civic engagement, and conflict resolution”
Dr. Attuquayefio, said changes in donor priorities necessitates a reassessment of funding strategies and operational sustainability for CSOs. He said CSOs should anticipate such dynamics and adequately build resilience for long term sustainability.
“The ability to anticipate changes, build resilience, and assert influence in new and evolving spaces will determine the long-term sustainability and impact of CSOs action in West Africa”
Executive Director of WANEP, Mrs. Levinia Addae-Mensah, said the conference will explore the challenges and opportunities for civil society organizations (CSOs) in promoting peace, security, and sustainable development across the region. Mrs. Addae-Mensah said participants will also look at other areas for more collaboration.
“Civil Society Organizations have always had a role to play in regional peace and security arrangements, in terms of partnerships either with regional organizations like ECOWAS or UNOWAS and so on. Also, at the national level engaging themselves in doing work around violent extremism, terrorism, supporting national security and strategies”
She said there are divisions in the sub-region and the conference would among other things deliberate on how best to engage leadership of countries to better the lives of the citizenry.
“We’ve seen that some of the states that were originally part of ECOWAS are no longer there, but civil society we still continue to engage because what we represent is the people and the people are not necessarily part of the political issues that we are dealing with. So, how do we continue to navigate this fine line of engaging citizens and responding to citizen’s needs, but also doing that by engaging the political actors”
She noted although the West African sub-region has experienced some democratic upheavals some success has also been achieved.
“Some of the successful democratic processes we’ve seen in the region, Ghana is one of them, and Senegal is one of them. It gives us hope that in spite of some sense of democratic retrogression, which we saw across the region, we’ve seen that there are opportunities for the countries and for the community members who continue to believe in democracy, to continue to advance the idea of democracy and the norms”
Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council, George Amoh, who acknowledged WANEP for contributing to peace in the West African sub-region, challenged the Network to consider the establishment of a Peace Institute to build capacity of peace actors in the sub-region.
“I think WANEP can set up the West Africa Network for Peace Institute, and I strongly believe you are well positioned to lead this charge. We can establish an institute in the region to build capacity for young peace actors in our sub region. I want to invite our donor communities to help this come true in our lifetime”
Mr. Amoh said WANEP must continue to work with government institutions and other stakeholders in promoting peace in the region.
The West Africa Networking for Peace Building, WANEP, is a leading non-governmental organization established in response to the Civil wars, and humanitarian crisis that plagued West Africa in the 1990s. With presence in all ECOWAS member countries, it focuses on collaborative peacebuilding efforts by engaging both state and non-state actors.
