Appraising the Role of African Union: the New Partnership for Africa’s Development in Conflict prevention and Management in Africa

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development is the latest in a long line of initiatives or framework intended by African leaders to place African continent on a path of growth and sustainable development. The development challenges that face Africa are enormous and varied. Th e crisis of political instability, bad governance, lack of peace and security, poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDs. NEPAD recognized peace and security as condition for good governance and sustainable development. Therefore, in absence of peace and security, democracy and good governance cannot strive and where there is no good governance, we cannot witness sustainable development. This paper argues that peace and security has been elusive in much of Africa. The failure of the Organisation of African Unity to ensure peace and security in Africa and to address Africa’s post-cold war legion of challenges, the successor organisation, the African Union and its attendant development programme, the NEPAD were established. The first issue which is critical to NEPAD is, solving armed conflict and civil unrest on the continent. Currently, twenty percent of the people of Africa are living in condition of conflict. These conditions cause terrible suffering and hold back economic development in the affected countries. The extent of conflict is so great that the whole continent is affected and this creates a major barrier to inward investment. On the resolution, NEPAD is in a position to make considerable progress. It was learnt in Sierra Lone that with concentrated international eff ort, conflict can be successfully ended and institutions of a properly functioning state can begin to be rebuilt. The paper therefore examines the origin of the NEPAD, NEPAD and challenges of peace and security in Africa and involvement of AU/NEPAD in Darfur and Cote D’Ivoire crises. It further discusses the AU/NEPAD conflict mechanisms for conflict prevention, management and resolution and draw conclusion.