Author: ACUNS Tokyo Liaison Office

CCCPA, in collaboration with the German Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) organized a three-day peer coaching training workshop on “Mediation and Diplomacy” from 26-28 June 2018. The workshop aimed to enhance Arab and African capacities, at the regional and continental levels in mediation through sharing experience and best practices.

Senior Officials of African Union and League of Arab States attended the workshop and heard a Discourse by President of Global Peacebuilding Association of Japan (GPAJ) Professor S. Hasegawa on “Philosophy of Peacebuilding: East and West.”

At the IAB meeting chaired by Professor Hasegawa, CCCPA Director General Ashraf Swelam explained the expansion of the coverage of area and nature of CCCPA activities, from African region to African Arab regions and from peacekeeping to more contemporary issues such as preventing radicalization and extremism, human trafficking and smuggling of migrants, integrated DDR and women, peace and security.

The CCCPA Advisory Board meeting held on 26 June was chaired by Professor Sukehiro Hasegawa, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to Timor-Leste, and attended by Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse, former Deputy-Director General of the International Labor Organization, Ambassador Mona Omar, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador Aly Erfan, former advisor to the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo.

The first meeting of the GPAJ Executive Committee was held on June 13 at Le Gourmand Bistro in Ebisu in preparation for the 2018 Annual Research Convention to be held on December 8 at JICA Research Institute at Ichigaya. Nine members commenced their work to be coordinated by Professor Kurosawa as Executive Chairman. (Kenji Nakazawa)