Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
Website: http://www.comesa.int
Formation and Structure
The treaty establishing COMESA was ratified in 1994 in Malawi. It was the culmination of a three-decades long movement towards increasing economic integration. Its main focus is on the creation of an economic and trading unit capable of collectively addressing some of the issues faced by individual member states. Included in the wide-ranging series of objectives is the promotion of peace and security in the region.
Member States
There are currently 19 member states in COMESA: Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Counterterrorism Mandate
Set forth in the 2000 Program for Peace and Security, which recognized that peace, security, and stability are basic factors in promoting investment, development, trade, and regional economic integration. The Program is mandated to facilitate meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the region at least once a year to consider ways of promoting peace and security.
Intergovernmental Counterterrorism Committee or Working Group
Within the Program for Peace and Security there exists a Committee on Peace and Security, which works directly with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the COMESA Secretariat, and relevant Non-State Actors to make decisions on security matters.
Secretariat Resources
The COMESA Secretariat’s Legal Affairs Department is responsible for the implementation of the Program for Peace and Security. The Committee on Peace and Security is also involved in the COMESA Secretariat decision-making process.
Achievements
Although much of its focus remains on trade and other economic issues, the Program for Peace and Security is based on a number of factors that have direct relevance to the UN Strategy such as inter-state cooperation; recognition, promotion and protection of human and people’s rights in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights; accountability, economic justice, and popular participation in development; the recognition and observance of the rule of law; and the promotion and sustenance of a democratic system of governance in each member state.
Recent/Planned Activity
COMESA’s role in addressing issues of peace and security generally focuses on conflict prevention through preventive diplomacy. For example, the Secretariat is working to establish a regional early warning and response mechanism to complement the Africa-wide one being established under the auspices of the AU. One of the foci of this system is expected to be early warning to anticipate and prevent terrorist activities in the region.
COMESA has yet to develop or become involved in counterterrorism capacity-building programs, but the Strategic Plan for 2007-2010 indicates that this might change as it emphasizes the need “to make a deliberate effort to develop programmes aimed at counterterrorism.”
Links to Key Documents |