The GPPAC process in Eastern and Central Africa is coordinated by Regional Secretariat Nairobi Peace Initiative - Africa (NPI-Africa). For more information on GPPAC in the region, contact:

Ms. Florence Mpaayei

c/o NPI - Africa

5th Floor, New Waumini House
Chiromo Road - Waiyaki Way
Westlands, Nairobi

P.O. Box 14894-00800
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: (254-20) 4441444, 4440098
Fax: (254-20) 4440097

Email: fmpaayei@npi-africa.org

Wars and other forms of violent conflict present one of the most urgent challenges to the Eastern and Central African region. To qualify this statement, one needs to only single out a few countries in the region. For instance, until the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Southern SPLA in Naivasha, Kenya on January 9th 2005, Sudan had witnessed one of the longest civil wars in Africa. And even then, we are still haunted by the situation in Darfur.

The GPPAC process in eastern and central Africa region began in March 2003 following a consultative meeting between 15 representatives of peace building organizations from four eastern African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) and the ECCP. The countries that make-up the region include Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The participating organisations chose the Nairobi Peace Initiative - Africa (NPI-Africa) to act as Regional Initiator for Central & Eastern Africa, including the Horn and the Great Lakes. NPI-Africa was founded in 1984 under the name Nairobi Peace Group (NPG), as a response to events in the Horn of Africa. Ten years later NPI changed its name to NPI-Africa, reflecting its current Africa-wide engagement.

The first phase of the process focused mainly on activities related to raising awareness on the GPPAC and soliciting ideas on how the process, content, and structure should be.

The second phase of the process that began in 2004 involved conducting national consultations aimed at identifying key issues pertinent to peace and security in the respective countries; the formation of national steering groups; research on issues related to peace and security in the region through the commissioning of papers and holding a major regional conference that generated an action agenda and recommendations for the central and eastern Africa region. In addition to coming up with the action agenda for the region, the opportunity was seized to give key recommendations from civil society to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Heads of State Summit held in Dar es Salaam on November 2004.

The third phase of the process culminated in a Global Conference following a number of activities that included bringing together the three African regions (Southern, West and eastern/central Africa) to develop an African position on conflict prevention and peace building. The region also contributed and participated in the development of the Global Action Agenda for the Global Conference that took place at the UN headquarters in New York.

Following the Global conference the region organized a Regional Steering Group meeting in February 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. This meeting was attended by 22 participants representing GPPAC national focal points in 11 countries and members from organizations and regional networks. The objectives of the meeting were others to review the achievements of the UN-CSO conference and develop work plans for the implementation of the Regional Action Agenda.

The meeting identified and agreed on key priorities areas for action over the next five years. These were grouped into three thematic clusters namely capacity building; advocacy, lobbying and monitoring; and research; as well as information sharing topics and issues related to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.