Panel Discussions - Monday, June 23, 2008
The African Union and its Institutions
The International Peace Institute recently held a panel discussion to launch a new volume, The African Union and Its Institutions, edited by John Akokpari, Angela Ndinga-Muvumba, and Tim Murithi.
With chapters by eminent policymakers, practitioners, and civil society representatives who have worked in or with the African Union (AU), the volume brings together analysis and research by seventeen Africa experts. The AU has established an impressive array of institutions to deal with Africa's security and governance challenges and this book puts forward a robust scholarship that allows reflection on what needs to be done to fulfill the challenging objectives that the institution has set for itself.Moderated by IPI Senior Adviser Ambassador John L. Hirsch, the lunchtime discussion was introduced by Dr. Adekeye Adebajo, Executive Director, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Cape Town. Dr. Adebajo gave an introduction to the book, before inviting remarks from two of the book's chapter authors: Professor Adebayo Adedeji, Chair of the High-Level Panel of the Audit of the African Union of 2007, and Ms. Winnie Byanyima, Director, Gender Team, Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme. They each reflected on the importance of the book and engaged the audience in robust discussion on the role of the African Union.
John Akokpari, Angela Ndinga-Muvumba, and Tim Murithi, eds. The African Union and Its Institutions (Cape Town: Jacana Media, 2008)
Moderator
Ambassador John Hirsch, Senior Adviser, International Peace Institute
Speakers
Dr. Adekeye Adebajo, Executive Director, Centre for Conflict Resolution, University of Cape Town
Professor Adebayo Adedeji, Member of the African Peer Review Mechanism Panel of Eminent Persons; and Chair of the High-Level Panel of the Audit of the African Union of 2007
Ms. Winnie Byanyima, Director, Gender Team, Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme
The Global Observatory
Interview with John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Mr. Prendergast discusses the international justice system and the new ground forged by Invisible Children's Kony2012 campaign.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.