The project was effected in collaboration with WANEP-the Gambia with support from the European Union and the United Nations Development Program.
The two-day consultative conference was held at the SunSet Beach Hotel in Bakau to discuss and develop criteria and eligibility of potential Insider Mediators for Conflict Prevention and Peace Building (2023-2026) in The Gambia.
The project aims to contribute to government’s efforts in advancing one of the key recommendations of the TRRC reports accepted by the government in its White Paper.
The infrastructure for peace project also aimed at establishing a national platform, the Peace and Reconciliation Commission (PRC) that will contribute towards the consolidation of peace and reconciliation in The Gambia.
The initiative as well aimed to identify peace mediation (inside mediators) who possess the legitimacy and cultural sensitivity to mediate conflicts and build their capacities and enhance national coordination and networking on insider mediation.
In his launching statement, Minister Sonko said the socio-political and economic transformation of the country depends on durable peace, which requires capacities and structures to deal with the range of conflicts and security threats that most immediately affect the communities.
He said the project would strengthen the platforms and mechanisms for conflict prevention and a key component and building block of a broader infrastructure of peace that would coordinate and oversee the peace building and conflict prevention agenda in The Gambia.
For his part, EU Ambassador to The Gambia, Corrado Pampaloni, said the EU in partnership with the UNDP “recognizes that Insider Mediation is a highly relevant and sustainable tool” to mediating peace.
He advanced that national ownership of peace mediation networks is key for conflict prevention, adding that it was thus an encouraging sign to see a range of government and civil society representatives at the conference.
For her part, Ms Nana Chinbuah, UNDP deputy Resident Representative, said since 2017, the government and civil society had furthered efforts to establish a National Infrastructure for Peace in The Gambia with support from international partners.
“The UNDP is currently co-convening a project funded by the Peace Building Fund that institutionalizes these efforts, implementing a key recommendation of the post-TRRC,” she said.
WANEP’s National Network Coordinator Salama Njie said the project would complement the existing national infrastructure for peace project, which contributes towards the government’s efforts in advancing one of the key recommendations of the TRRC report.
