By James Amoh Junior, GNA
Accra, Oct. 16, GNA – Air Commodore David Anettey Akrong, the Acting Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), has called for a comprehensive rethink of global peace operations to ensure they remain effective and adaptable in addressing the growing complexity of modern conflicts.
Air Commodore Akrong said the changing nature of global security threats required more innovative, flexible, and context-specific approaches to peacekeeping, especially across Africa where violent extremism and political instability continue to escalate.
He was speaking at the opening of the 2025 Challenges Annual Forum (CAF25) in Accra.
Supported by Ghana, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, CAF25 aims to generate concrete proposals that can reposition peace operations to build resilience, prevent conflict, and promote lasting stability across Africa and beyond.
The Commandant said, “The global peace and security landscape is undergoing a profound transformation and becoming increasingly complex and fluid, partly due to the activities of violent extremist groups and contemporary threats to peace and security,” he said.
He added, “Peacekeepers are increasingly being called upon to intervene in theatres with no peace to keep.”
The Commandant said the forum’s theme, “Adapt and Advance: Renewing the Impact of Peace Operations,” reflected the urgent need to rethink doctrines, strategies, and partnerships to ensure that peace operations remained credible and relevant.
He noted that contemporary missions faced multifaceted challenges, ranging from asymmetric warfare and disinformation to weak governance structures and climate-induced insecurity.
“Conducting peace operations in these contexts demands unique skill sets and approaches that make for effective threat pre-emption and prevention,” he explained.
The Commandant said, “These require a thorough understanding of the threats being encountered and the multiple and overlapping challenges relating to socio-economic concerns, particularly in areas where the state has limited reach and where state authority and sovereignty are being contested.”
Air Commodore Akrong said the KAIPTC remained committed to strengthening the capacity of ECOWAS, the African Union (AU), and other regional bodies to perform their peace and security mandates effectively.
He paid special tribute to the late Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, whose leadership secured Ghana’s pledge to host CAF25 and ensured government funding for the event before his passing.
The three-day forum, jointly pledged by Ghana and Sweden during the 2025 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin, supports the UN Secretary-General’s ongoing Review of All Forms of Peace Operations.
It brings together policymakers, security experts, and academics from across the world to explore practical ways to strengthen UN peace operations through innovation, regional partnerships, and long-term peacebuilding.
Ms Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, the United Nations Special Representative for Libya and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), urged the international community to pursue reforms that make peace operations more agile, politically grounded, and financially sustainable.
She said that while the United Nations had made significant contributions to global peace and security over the decades, it now faced a far more contested geopolitical environment marked by the rise of non-state actors, the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, and the weaponisation of communication technologies.
“The United Nations was always meant to be a politically realistic body, one that could prevent conflict before it arose, offer dispute resolution, and intervene with peace operations when necessary. But today, we must ask: how should peace operations be structured, financed, and supported to make a real difference?” she asked.
Ms Tetteh cautioned against assigning peacekeeping missions unrealistic and overstretched mandates, saying, “We should not go away from this forum believing that doing more with less is a sustainable mantra. Without the necessary resources, peace operations cannot achieve their intended outcomes.”
Mr Ernest Brogya Genfi, Deputy Minister of Defence, reaffirmed Ghana’s unwavering commitment to global peacekeeping and multilateral cooperation.
He said Ghana, a pioneer in international peacekeeping since its first mission in the Congo in 1960, had consistently demonstrated leadership in promoting peace and stability around the world.
Mr Genfi described the Challenges Annual Forum as timely, noting that it comes at a period of increasing geopolitical tension, financial strain, and worsening polarization.
“The burning question before us is how to adapt and advance to ensure peace operations remain credible, effective, and relevant,” he said.
He further called for stronger partnerships between the United Nations, the African Union, and sub-regional bodies like ECOWAS, as well as responsible innovation in technology to counter disinformation and strengthen peacebuilding.
GNA
Edited by Christian Akorlie