The Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) organised a training course on disarmament and reintegration and its relationship to combating extremism leading to terrorism in cooperation with the African Union (AU) Commission. Eleven officials from the Ministries of Defence and Interior and the national disarmament and reintegration commissions of five African countries — namely Mali, Cameroon, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique — participated in the course. Ahmed Nihad Abdel Latif — Director-General of the CCCPA — stressed that capacity-building and strengthening cooperation at the international, regional, and local levels are indispensable in order to effectively counter the threat of terrorism. This is especially in light of the enormous challenges facing Africa with the increasing transboundary nature of the terrorist threat, especially in the countries of the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel region, which are experiencing an upsurge in the activity of terrorist groups. He added that advancing efforts to adopt a comprehensive approach to confronting the threat of terrorism based on the successful Egyptian experience in this regard is a priority for the CCCPA in the framework of its work as a centre of excellence for the AU in the field of peace and security, as well as by virtue of the centre's assumption of the functions of the secretariat of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development. He also expressed the happiness of the centre to cooperate with the AU Commission, as well as the UN Institute for Training and Research, and the World Bank in order to hold this session. The training course aims to build the capacities of African cadres in the field of disarmament, reintegration, and combating extremism leading to terrorism. This is in the light of the specific challenges faced by officials working in the field of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration in contexts where terrorist groups are present. He noted the extensive experience of the CCCPA in this field, especially in activating the relevant guidelines, which the centre contributed to with the AU in 2018. The training course also comes within a framework of cooperation involving the AU, the UN, and the World Bank. This initiative is also part of the bank's programme to support the AU Commission in the field of reintegration in cooperation with the UK.
