Pathways to Peace in Africa: Economic Sovereignty and
Geopolitical Transformation

This side event examines how illicit economies and money flows sustain violence in Sudan and South Sudan. Focusing on gold, oil, cattle, taxation, charcoal, and other conflict-linked trades, it explores how armed and political actors’ profit from instability, making violence financially attractive and peace less viable. The session will assess policy and mediation options for disrupting conflict economies while protecting civilian livelihoods. Through expert discussion, it aims to identify lessons, practical tools, and strategic recommendations for reframing peace processes across both contexts and wider African conflict settings.

The world is experiencing a major upheaval and a historic moment of rupture due to geopolitical conflicts and the evident failure to prevent and resolve wars in Africa — such as in Sudan, DRC, Mozambique, the Sahel, and Somalia — as well as internationally, including the US-Israel-Iran, Israel-Palestine, and Russia-Ukraine wars. The threats posed by potential nuclear war, climate catastrophe, and the precarious, exponential, and unregulated growth of artificial intelligence demand urgent initiatives to transform the multilateral framework system to effectively address global challenges of the 21st Century. Now, more than ever, African agency must be amplified during this moment of global disorder and building upon the consistent claim by its leaders, African can lead a coalition of countries to initiate a UN Charter Review process by mobilizing support to invoke Article 109 in the UN General Assembly.

Africa is facing complex and protracted armed conflicts, marked by fragmentation, proliferation of armed groups, geopolitical divisions and challenging prospects for negotiated peace. Cognizant of Africa’s rich experience in mediation, dialogue and its established peace and security architecture, there is significant scope to strengthen early action, inclusive dialogue and African-led peace processes which can be run in a coherent manner balancing conflict prevention, protection of civilians, and respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) to create conditions conducive to sustainable peace and advancing the shared objective of silencing the gun. Respect for IHL offers a practical pathway towards sustainable peace through protecting civilians and essential infrastructure, preserving human dignity, preventing cycles of revenge and supporting post-conflict recovery. IHL helps create conditions conducive to dialogue, reconciliation and durable peace. The side event will explore how African States can strengthen investment in IHL during peacetime, draw on the Global Initiative on IHL and its IHL and Peace workstream, and identify concrete actions to integrate IHL into national, regional and continental peace efforts.

This side event questions if the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could work as a practical complement to peacebuilding in Africa’s fragile regions, and under what conditions. Conflict, especially in cross-border areas and along economic corridors, undermines prosperity, while limited opportunity pushes some young people towards armed groups and organised crime. There is no integration without peace, and integration cannot deliver shared benefits without stable political and economic conditions