Events

Women have played a significant role in recent peace processes throughout West Africa. For example, in Liberia of 2003, it was the ‘Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace’, which made its voice heard and helped end the war.…

On July 17th, in the framework of its programme “Get to Know ECOWAS” which brought together 15 West African young leaders in Abuja from July 14th to July 18th, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung organised another of its Abuja…

On June, 26th, 2014 the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung continued the series of Abuja debates and again provided a platform for representatives of civil society, high-ranking officials as well as politicians and academics to…

The theme of “Security privatisation in ECOWAS” was the focus of a conference held from 11 to 13 June 2014 on the premises of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Office in Cotonou. Participants were drawn from Bénin, Côte…

From 21st to 23rd of May 2014, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and the National Defence College (NDC) Nigeria co-organised an international conference on "African Approaches to Maritime Security: The West and Central…

For its first debate of the year, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) opened the series of Abuja Debates for 2014 with a discussion on conflict management in West Africa. By gathering a broad range of stakeholders, the FES…

The last public debate for the year addressed the issue of ‘Ethics and Elections: Challenges and Institutional Responses’. It brought together the Chairman of INEC, Nigeria, the Chairman of CENI, Mali, the Director Political…

Over two decades, the illicit trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) has dominated West African headlines. Increasing insecurity due to insurgencies and armed conflict in the Sahel region, Liberia, Sierra Leone,…

The West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Regional Office in Abuja have started a new initiative on strengthening democratic governance and human security by creating ownership for…

The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 16th September 2013. Both organisations underlined their commitment to the…

On 24–25 June 2013 a summit meeting took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, involving government representatives from 25 states in West and Central Africa on the issue of "Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea". It was the first…

Presidents of electoral commissions in West Africa and international experts are taking part in a regional workshop on the prevention of electoral violence from 18 to 20 June, 2013 in Cotonou, Bénin.

A public debate organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Regional Office in Abuja, Nigeria, convened specialists of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Members of the Diplomatic Corps, the Nigerian…

Never has the Sahel gained as much international attention as since last year. Much of this attention has centred on the crisis in Northern Mali. More recently, the broader Sahel region and the interdependence of various…

The “Arab Spring”, which unfolded in North Africa in 2010, has triggered the successive fall of three Maghreb dictatorships, giving hope for a new deal in the devolution of power and a more sustainable democratic expression.…

Since January of 2013, about 10,000 troops from numerous countries have been deployed to support the Malian army in fighting back the radical islamists. The situation is affecting not only the country itself, but the whole…

Not only did the 'Arabellion' movement change political realities of some countries in North Africa, it also precipitated major changes in the Sahel. Not least because the political crisis in Mali reveals how Islamist forces…

Since the coup d’état in Mali in March 2011 it seems that the International Community has recognized the importance of a region that was left alone to its own fate for the most part in the past. High structural…

Members of the West African Network on Security and Democratic Governance analyzed new dynamics of military and civilian coup d’états and constitutional crises in the region, discussed the relations between politics,…

The annual general assembly of the West African Network on Security and Democratic Governance (WANSED) was the first organized and steered by the newly elected WANSED Executive Committee. WANSED members and guest experts…