This was the sentiment shared at the opening of the fourth Annual Joint Retreat of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Johannesburg.

The theme of the two-day gathering centres on the importance of governance and how it can influence conflict prevention, as the continent continues to face numerous disputes.

The APRM was established by the AU in 2003 to strengthen accountability, transparency and sustainable development amongst member states.

As conflicts continue to intensify in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan,many civilians are left to fend for themselves.

“In too many of our regions, civilians continue to bear the heaviest burdenof conflict and institutional failures.Whether through forces displacements, gender based violence, or limited access to services. We must reaffirm that the protection of civilians is not the responsibility of peace makers alone, but it’s a central pillar of goodand effective governance,” says Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Selma BakhtaMansouri.

According to the APRM, 80 million children are affected by the conflicts on the continent.

The Permanent Representative of Uganda, Rebecca Amuge Otengo, says that it is important to find ways to distance the youth from the violence.

“We’d like to find out how we can remove, especially the youth, from the temptation of violence. We would like to be alive to the fact that both the internal and external causes of the factors of conflicts in this continent are areas we must focus on, as not only the AU peace and security council, but all other organs of the African Union,” says Otengo.

--SABC--