The article “The guns requires a multi-pronged approach” by Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, the African Union high representative for silencing the guns in Africa is an edited version of a statement delivered by Ambassador Lamamra at the 36th Civil Society Pre-summit Consultative Meeting of Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development, 12 October 2020. “We will not silence the guns without women” by Bineta Diop discusses women’s roles in peace and security operations. In the next article titled “The African Union, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms and United Nations: Leveraging the triangular partnership to Silence the Guns in Africa”, Bah concludes that this partnership has yielded mixed results but has a lot of potential to achieve peace. “What kind of leadership does the vision of “silencing the guns” require? “by Youssef Mahmoudat highlights the issue of the impact that the coronavirus will have on vulnerable and impoverished populations living in or displaced by violent conflict on the African continent if strong leadership is not present.” How a strong African Union– United Nations partnership can sustain the silencing the guns agenda beyond 2020” by Daniel Forti and Priyal Singh discusses AU–UN cooperation to date on the STG agenda and identifies priorities for the partnership to sustain this initiative beyond 2020. “The African Peer Review Mechanism and silencing the guns in Africa” by Eddie Maloka discusses the progress of the African Union in achieving this goal and the role that the APRM can play. The next article is an interview with Ambassador Hamuli Baudouin Kabarhuzato Kwezi Mngqibisa. The next item is an excerpt from a Speech by the South African Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on the occasion of the global peace “plant trees not bombs” campaign. Statement from the United Nations Under-Secretary-General at the launch of the “plant trees not bombs” campaign. “We stand at a very uncertain future for humanity” by Kumi Naidoo highlight the choices of humanity regarding environmental issues. “Global health: a pressing foreign policy issue of our time” by Ayanda Ntsaluba discusses the impact of foreign policy on health security. “The impact of COVID-19 on peace operations in Africa” by Cedric de Coning discusses the impact that the COVID-19 virus has on peace operations and how peace operations changed.
