The Foundation for Peace Professionals, commonly known as PeacePro, recently released a report stating that approximately 70% of African nations are experiencing more peaceful conditions than the United States of America.
During a press conference in Ilorin, Mr. Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the Executive Director of the organization, revealed these findings. The announcement coincided with the launch of the inaugural edition of the Africa Peace Insight (API) report in Nigeria, often referred to as the “Giant of Africa.”
Hamzat explained that the report was based on an online public presentation that involved 129 participants. According to the report, the countries of Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, and Tunisia were identified as the most peaceful nations within the five subregions of Africa. On the other hand, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were listed as the least peaceful countries within the same subregion.
The Africa Peace Insight report is a derivative of the Global Peace Index (GPI), produced by the Australia-based Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP). Its purpose is to offer a continental perspective on the GPI by contextualizing and simplifying the data.
Hamzat further explained that the Africa Peace Insight report focuses on ongoing conflicts in Africa, including the situation in West Africa, led by ECOWAS, and the crisis in Sudan. It also reviews the findings of the Global Peace Index, presents Africa as a single entity (by extracting North Africa’s rating from the Middle East, as done by the GPI), outlines the most and least peaceful countries within the subregion, and provides recommendations regarding pressing peace-building concerns on the continent.
The report suggests that, despite the significant challenges Africa faces, more than 70% of the continent is considered more peaceful than the United States. It’s worth noting that no African country has ranked among the top 3 least peaceful nations in the world for four consecutive years.
The report also highlights Africa’s position as the epicenter of global crises, particularly noting that the Ethiopian civil war has resulted in more deaths than any other conflict in the world. However, it questions why the continent has not received the same level of relief support as regions like Ukraine, which have experienced fewer casualties.
Hamzat concluded by outlining the five major observations presented in the Africa Peace Insight report. The report emphasizes that foreign military presence in the continent is directly linked to the proliferation of arms and growing insecurity. It also points out that, despite significant mineral resources, Africa does not receive commensurate economic returns to address environmental issues, foster economic prosperity, and provide employment opportunities for its large youth population.
The Africa Peace Insight report concludes with two major recommendations: the need to demilitarize Africa by ending all foreign military presence within a specified time frame and the development of a joint continental gateway to the global mineral market.