New York, 11 August 2022 (TDI): The Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations (UN), Philippe Kridelka, at the UN Security Council showed his full support to strengthen African peacebuilding capacities and its development.
La Belgique🇧🇪, partenaire engagé en faveur du développement de l’Afrique, collabore avec les Etats africains afin de renforcer leurs capacités en matière de maintien de la paix. #SecuritySectorReform #droitshumains #luttecontreimpunité ⚖️ Intervention https://t.co/KnHwmNXTqk pic.twitter.com/zYzpFjjTBd
— Belgium UN New York (@BelgiumUN) August 9, 2022
In his statement, Philippe Kridelka assured that the government of Belgium will fully support the African states on their way to development and peacebuilding capacities.
In addition to that, any peacebuilding initiative or efforts will be of no use if the root causes of the conflicts are unknown.
In a detailed statement of his country’s support to the African continent, he stressed that the “collaboration on the capacity-building must be African led”, including in the Sahel and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Referring to the safety and security sector, Philippe Kridelka, stressed that security sector reforms are vital for “long-lasting peace” in the continent.
In addition to that, it is also important to bring reforms on the national ownership of these processes that “involves local communities, provides democratic oversight and recognizes the essential nexus between humanitarian action, development, and security.”
Furthermore, he stressed the importance of human rights in peace and capacity-building initiatives. He detailed his country’s support regarding human rights in peacebuilding initiatives.
Also, he pointed out his country’s support for “transitional justice through the assigning of a judge of Belgian nationality to the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court in May 2021.”
The Special Criminal Court is a domestic tribunal made up of national and international magistrates. It has the authority to investigate, prosecute and judge serious human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law committed on Central African soil since 1 January 2003.
Belgium’s relations with the African States
The diplomatic engagement of the two sides was initiated within the ambit of the Bilateral Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) which was signed in November 2004.
Belgium regards South Africa as an important partner with which it works towards peace, security, and democracy in Africa. Moreover, Belgium actively supports the African Legal Support Facility.
The Belgian Development Policy is based on several priorities; food security, education and training, governance, fragility, and private sector development.
Belgium ranks sixth in the world in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in South Africa with R285,7 billion (2017), focusing on mining, green energy, ports, logistics, and agriculture among others. In turn, South Africa has invested about R1,8 billion (March 2020) in Belgium.
