Exclusive Interview: Meet Amb. Fred Gateretse Ngoga, a talented Peacebuilder at the service of Africa
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol IV, Issue #180 | Monday, June 7, 2021
This is RegionWeek Newsletter for the 4th Season (January-June 2021). The content targets Business leaders, Decision-makers, and Young professionals with interests in Burundi and East Africa. Subscribe to stay productive, and competitive in a pandemic and disrupted season.
Africa, when compared to other regions, accounts for the largest number of incidents of violence and conflicts. But luckily Africa is excelling at working towards peace, up to now, it has experienced the highest number of definitive ceasefires and peace agreements. RegionWeek got an opportunity to interview Burundian Ambassador and Peacebuilder Fred Gateretse Ngoga the Head of conflict prevention and Early Warning at Peace and Security Department of the African Union Commission. From working to find solutions at the heart of various African conflicts to lessons learned on the field of negotiation and peace facilitation Amb. Fred is an optimist, he believes in Africa and its power to move forward, beyond the challenges.
Here is our conversation:
RegionWeek: Good Morning Sir, would you mind presenting yourself and what you do as an Ambassador?
Amb. Fred: It’s always difficult to talk about ourselves. I am from Bujumbura-Mairie particularly commune Mukaza and I have been working for the continental organization for the last 12 years in various capacities. I am currently working with the African Union Commission’s Political Affairs and Peace and Security (PAPS) department where I deal with conflict prevention and early warning, border disputes, regional security mechanism, the AU-UN partnership to name a few in the office of the Commissioner.
RegionWeek: For someone who doesn't know the African Union configurations, what is the role of the African Union Peace and Security Council when it comes to the stability of Africa.
Amb. Fred: A little bit of history, following the inability of the Organisation of the African Unity (OAU) in the 80/90s to prevent military coups, refugee crises, famine, and the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, a panel of eminent personalities was set up to examine the failures of the continental body and in 2000, they formulated new principles such as “sovereignty as responsibility” and “the principle of non-indifference”, which became enshrined in the Constitutive Act of the African Union and adopted when the African Union took over from the OAU in 2002 in Durban, South Africa. Our institutions derive from those norms and principles. The AU Peace and Security Council is the decision-making organ of the AU for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts. It is composed of 15 member states, five members are elected for three-year terms and 10 for two-year terms. The AU website www.au.int has detailed information about the structure and composition of the AU PSC.
RegionWeek: Africa has many conflicts and challenges. How you know, in your work, that a conflict or an event is worth the attention of the Peace and Security Council, what do you consider?
Amb. Fred: The AU has one of the most sophisticated Continental Early Warning Systems and early warning actually works. The issue is often the response with the Member States often invoking sovereignty. The Protocol says that the reports are shared with the Chairperson of the AU Commission via the Commissioner for Political Affairs and Peace and Security (PAPS). The Chairperson can then make a presentation to the AU PSC about a particular situation. The Chair of the month can also put an item on the agenda. They are seized with all situations that have the potential to threaten peace and security on the continent. The Chair of the AUPSC for this month of June 2021 is actually our country, Burundi. It has already dealt with the situation in Mali and Comoros.
Amb. Fred with members of BNDF in Somalia
RegionWeek: You’ve worked in Somalia for several years, a country where members of the Burundi National Defense forces are serving in a Peacekeeping Mission, as an expert to which extent Burundi contributed to where Somalia is now, what are the great achievements that Burundi can be proud of today?
Amb. Fred: A lot can be said about the contribution of the Burundi National Defense Forces in Somalia. This is not your normal peacekeeping mission, but rather a peace enforcement mission, so it’s a difficult mission with the risk of casualties very high. I was privileged to see firsthand their professionalism, their sense of sacrifice, and their dedication. Here I am thinking about the battle for Mogadishu where the BNDF fought many battles at great sacrifice, the opening up of Mission Supply Routes (MSR), and the daily assistance that they are providing to populations in their sector located in the Middle Shabelle region. The Federal Government of Somalia and the population appreciate their contribution. The deployment of the BNDF also helped to reinforce cohesion and unity of purpose to an army that has just been integrated after years of conflict. I hope that the BNDF historians will document their contributions in detail for future generations.
RegionWeek: What are the lessons according to you that African Countries can learn from Somalia's conflict and peacebuilding process?
Amb. Fred: One of the lessons that can be learned is that peacemaking is first and foremost a political endeavor. The external actors can never substitute themselves for the local actors. If there is a lack of unity of purpose among the stakeholders then all efforts are vain. Second, you need a regional consensus on how to address the crisis at hand. Third, it is resource-intensive and requires a long-term commitment to see peace through. It can’t be a one-time-off. The challenge here is that there are many conflicts on the continent that require the attention of the international community and donor fatigue is an ailment that we must constantly confront.
Amb. Fred with Rebel Leader from CAR
RegionWeek: The Central Africa Republic is making progress towards peace and stability, what has been the contribution of Burundi so Far?
Amb. Fred: In the CAR, Burundi has deployed a battalion in MINUSCA (the United Nations Multidimensional Mission in the CAR), I am also aware that Burundi and the CAR have bilateral agreements but one of our contribution that goes often unnoticed is the number of Burundian citizens working in the CAR with the UN, AU, ECCAS, ACCORD to name a few. For example, when the AU was facilitating the peace agreement between the CAR and the 14 armed groups in 2019, the ECCAS Special Envoy, Amb Adolphe Nahayo played a critical role, I was myself involved with the secretariat in Khartoum, Sudan, and later Bangui and of course many others in the UN. ACCORD representative in the CAR is also a Burundian citizen.
RegionWeek: According to you what are the great challenges that make the peacebuilding process in the Central Africa Republic fragile.
Amb. Fred: The challenges are many. In the current context, tensions remain following the presidential and legislative elections on 27 December 2020, the rift between the government and opposition parties continues to grow particularly as it pertains to the formation of the government. There are also military operations that are ongoing against the armed groups, the need to revitalize the peace agreement signed 6 February 2019. There are also regional dynamics and other external actors that often complicate the situation. The situation is further exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic, a difficult humanitarian and economic situation. The AU working closely with ECCAS and the UN is trying to assist the CAR government. As we speak there is a high-level delegation of the AU and the UN in the CAR.
Amb. Fred with armed groups from the CAR
RegionWeek: Border Management is one of the conflict sources in Africa, one of the key challenges that hinder African Stability, what is being done to ensure that African countries are managing properly and peacefully their borders?
Amb. Fred: In 2007, the African Union created the African Union Border Programme ( AUBP) with a clear Mission “The prevention and resolution of border-related disputes and the promotion of regional and continental integration, which constitutes a tool in the structural prevention of conflicts in Africa”. The AUBP has five strategic objectives that are i) to facilitate and support the delimitation and demarcation of African boundaries where such exercise has not yet taken place. So far, we have delimitated and demarcated 35 % of the borders and more needs to be done. ii) Reinforce the integration process, within the framework of the RECs and other large-scale cooperation initiatives; iii) develop, within the framework of the RECs and other regional integration initiatives, local cross-border cooperation; iv) Build the capacities of member states in border management, as well as in border studies and research; and finally, advise the Commission and other organs of the African Union on border-related matters. There more than 100 border disputes on the continent. Some more serious than others. We are currently seized with 27 situations of conflict and have recently rolled out the AU Border Governance Strategy to help our Member states to deal with border issues.
RegionWeek: Many experts believe that African Stability is directly tied to its economic progress, according to you what is the correlation between economy and peace, and why Africa is struggling at keeping the balance.
Amb. Fred: There can be no development without peace and there can be no peace without development. From my humble perspective, poverty is still huge and economic growth is not meeting the demands of our demographic growth. Second, States on the continent are much weaker and smaller than some assume. The presence of the state in some of our countries particularly in the peripheries is still wanting. We need better and fairer states. Third, foreign interference is becoming a challenge and we will likely feel the impact in the coming years. Recent external actors are corrupting and weaponizing clients on the continent. Lastly, one element that is often overlooked is education on the continent. We continue to produce job seekers not job creators and the civil servant don’t have the required skills to deliver on the vision of the governments. More needs to be done in this sector. The lack of education is actually a national security issue. The Covid 19 pandemic has demonstrated that we need to invest more in this sector.
Amb. Fred with a Rebel Leader
RegionWeek: Burundi is recovering its normality and through the new initiatives of the government and its partners, thousands of refugees are returning home, what other African countries can learn from these initiatives?
Amb. Fred: Burundi’s approach can be summarized in a few words: political will! The President of the Republic, Evariste Ndayishimiye made it clear from day one that he wanted the refugees to return home. He then embarked on creating the conditions for them to return home by reaching out to neighboring countries and by working closely with the UNHCR. That said I think that the number one incentive for refugees to return home in peace, inclusivity, and a sense that there is the rule of law. A lot has been done in this regard and more needs to be done but where there is a will there is always a way. I would also like to emphasize that rebuilding our country is not only the work of the Government but the work of each and every one of us. We all have something to contribute.
RegionWeek: The Democratic Republic of Congo, especially its eastern region, continuously struggles to have stability. What are the great challenges that hinder peace-building efforts and what is being done especially at the African Union level?
Amb. Fred: The issue in the eastern DRC will require many actors inside the DRC to come together and I believe that there are many initiatives that are currently underway and there is also the imperative of ensuring regional cooperation. The Government of the DRC is working on this with its neighbors. The current security mechanism, the Peace and Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the region signed in Addis Ababa in 2013 is being strengthened but like everywhere else on the continent, impunity must be tackled and the price for taking arms must be steep. The AU working with the UN and other regional mechanisms is supportive of the DRC’s government’s peacemaking efforts.
RegionWeek: Through diplomacy what have you learned about human beings?
Amb. Fred: One of my favorite poems is Invictus of William Ernest Henley. In the last paragraph of the Poem, he talks about being the master of his fate. We are the master of our fate and have the capacity to build a country at peace with itself and its neighbors and to contribute to the region, continent, and beyond.
RegionWeek: Any particular message to fellow Burundians or RegionWeek readers in Africa?
Amb. Fred: I like RegionWeek because it has understood that we are all interlinked and is changing the narrative about Burundi.