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Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas – Diplomat extraordinaire …champions AU’s agenda to ‘Silencing the Guns’
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● 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
African leaders have been urged to strengthen political commitment and domestic investment to end preventable maternal deaths and AIDS by 2030.
The call comes as African health ministers and policymakers meet in Accra to deliberate on health financing, health security and universal health coverage across the continent.
Mr Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the African Union’s (AU) 25th Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra.
He said Africa needed increased domestic investment to build resilient health systems as it continued to grapple with infectious diseases and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Mr Bizimana, who is also Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, said although Africa accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population, it bore 24 per cent of the global disease burden while having less than three per cent of the global health workforce and only one per cent of global health expenditure.
“Despite maternal mortality declining by nearly 40 per cent since 2000, Africa still accounts for about 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while almost two-thirds of people living with HIV reside on the continent,” he said.
Mr Bizimana said the growing burden of NCDs was placing additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
“These figures are not merely statistics. They represent painful human realities, preventable losses and unacceptable inequalities, they remind us that health is not an expense it is a strategic investment and a prerequisite for our sovereignty and development. “he said.
Mr Bizimana said recent global health emergencies had exposed Africa’s vulnerability and underscored the need to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, strengthen the health workforce and improve emergency preparedness.
“Our citizens expect resilient health systems where every mother can give birth safely, every child has access to essential healthcare and every African enjoys quality health services regardless of where they live,” he said.
The two-day summit, being held ahead of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, has brought together health ministers, policymakers and health stakeholders to identify solutions to Africa’s health financing and security challenges.
Madam Florence Samizi, Tanzania’s Deputy Health Minister, called for stronger collaboration among AU Member States to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
The summit is being held on the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equality and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, Tuberculosis, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.”
The meeting is expected to adopt the Accra Declaration, a roadmap to strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance health sovereignty by 2030. -GNA
Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato says the imprisonment of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have little meaning unless it leads to a broader crackdown on illegal mining.
In a post on his Facebook page on the July 21, 2026, Dr. Zaato said the judgment should mark the beginning of efforts to completely eradicate galamsey and hold all those involved accountable, regardless of their political affiliation.
He said the country must work towards restoring polluted rivers, protecting forests and ensuring that people implicated in illegal mining activities are prosecuted.
According to him, those the President has publicly acknowledged to be involved in galamsey should face prosecution.
He called for the prosecution of district chief executives (DCEs), members of Parliament (MPs) and senior political party officials who have been accused of engaging in or supporting illegal mining.
Dr. Zaato further urged the government to take decisive action to end the destruction of the country’s forests caused by galamsey.
He maintained that the imprisonment of Chairman Wontumi would only have a lasting impact if it results in a comprehensive and impartial fight against illegal mining across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
