ACCORD was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion centred on the theme of Conflict Reduction; Reducing Conflict, Building Partnerships and Growing Economies, held in Gauteng, South Africa. The roundtable aimed to assist in improving peacekeeping operations and the future of African Defence Forces on the continent.
ACCORD was represented by Dr Vasu Gounden, Founder and Executive Director, who presented an evaluation of the contemporary approaches to Peacekeeping on the African continent and abroad. The presentation provided an assessment of the current state of defence capabilities and future trends in terms of posture and design as well as lessons learnt from decades of Africa peacekeeping. The presentation complimented a paper entitled the same. The paper was a part of a 6 paper research agenda from which participants discussed their inputs and thoughts. The 6 papers outlined in the roundtable are to be presented at a broader seminar scheduled to take place in November 2016 for further discussion by various national and international scholars’ and defence experts for which ACCORD is invited to participate.