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Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas – Diplomat extraordinaire …champions AU’s agenda to ‘Silencing the Guns’
● Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas
Number of Ghanaians have excelled and continue to excel on the diplomatic missions and other international assignments. Some notable names would readily come to mind and that of Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas is no exception.
His portfolio has grown over the years with the most recent being his appointment as High Representative for Silencing the Guns by African Union (AU) Chairperson H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Dr.
Chambas in discussions on
peace and security in Africa
The chairperson, making the announcement, was thrilled that Dr. Chambas’ outstanding credentials and commitment to Pan-Africanism and Agenda 2063 would help him succeed in his new position.
Silencing the Guns is an initiative of the AU promulgated in 2016 to ultimately end all forms of conflicts on the African Continent by the year 2020. However, due to many setbacks the initiative could not be achieved as a result the AU extended the initiative to 2030.
In order to implement the AU Master Roadmap on Practical Steps to Silence the Guns, the release states that the High Representative will prioritise promoting and energising advocacy, mediation, and preventive diplomacy as directed by the Chairperson of the Commission.
Portfolio
Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas is a politician, attorney, diplomat, and scholar from Ghana.
From 2014 to 2021, he held the positions of Head of the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWAS) and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa.
Between 2013 and 2014, Dr. Chambas served as the Joint Chief Mediator (JCM) and Joint Special Representative (JSR) of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), respectively.
He held the position of Secretary General of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) from 2010 until 2013. .
Dr. Chambas presided over the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 2006 to 2009 before taking the helm of the ACP.
Beginning in February 2002, while ECOWAS established a Secretariat, he again served as the organisation’s Executive Secretary.
Dr. Chambas, a former member of the Ghanaian parliament, worked as the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister in 1987 and the deputy minister of education in-charge of tertiary education from 1997 to 2000.
He played a key role in the ECOWAS mediation efforts in Liberia between 1991 and 1996 and actively took part in the negotiations that resulted in the agreements that ended the Liberian civil war.
Advocate
As the Head of United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Dr
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, urged government and stakeholders to provide more support for women leaders and groups so they could continue their “transformative works” towards ensuring peace and security on the African continent and beyond.
He noted that women, over the years, had played leading roles in the mitigation of conflict but their impact was still limited due to inadequate resource allocation, hence the need to scale up institutional support.
The Special Representative of the Secretary General was speaking at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel.
Held under the theme: “Beyond 2020: Building Local Capacity to Advance the WPS Agenda in West Africa and the Sahel”, the symposium brought together experts from the sub-region to discuss progress made as well as areas to improve upon.
Call for gender parity
Dr Chambas indicated that immense achievement had been made in the implementation of the resolution for the past 20 years but there was still more to be done, especially for women in peace and security.
While acknowledging the role of African women leaders in peace processes on the continent, he noted that women represented only two per cent of mediators in peace processes. That, he emphasised was woefully inadequate hence the need for gender parity to remain the core of peace and stability discussions on the continent and beyond.
“We have to back our actions with the requisite financial and political support and give more opportunities for women and the youth to advance sustainable development and peace”.
“We need to work and invest in gender parity and women empowerment to achieve the goal of preventing conflict and ensuring peace and prosperity in the region,” he said.
However, he said the inclusion of women in peace process should not only be about “increasing the numbers” but should as well focus on the protection of women’s rights and interest and seeking justice for the vulnerable
By Portia Hutton-Mills
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
