Addis Ababa, 08 July 2016

His Excellency, Mr. Lazare Makayat Safouesse, invited IICBA in his capacity as incoming Chairman of the African Union Peace and Security Council in the month of August to discuss some issues related to the program of work of the council.

Issues discussed include conflict prevention, management of conflicts, refugee children, and the demographic dividends in the African continent.

Dr. Yumiko Yokozeki, Director of IICBA, highlighted the important role education plays in peace and security, and teachers’ contributions to the peace building process. Education is not possible without peace and peace cannot be sustained without education. IICBA has been working on a number of initiatives in education in emergency and resilience building in Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya recently.

During the meeting, the Ambassador emphasized his commitment to work with all partners, including from the UN system, to address peace and security issues, in particular regarding the education of refugee children. The IICBA director and the Ambassador of the Republic of Congo also discussed issues relevant to the organization of a joint meeting with all partners after the Kigali AU summit.  IICBA shared its wish to work more closely with the Republic of Congo in south-south cooperation in teacher development.