KAIPTC Marks Ibn Chambas’ 75th Birthday at Peace Symposium

The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre hosted a symposium on Saturday, Dec. 6, to honour Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas on his 75th birthday.

The event, themed “Inclusive Peacebuilding, Local Agency, and Multilevel Governance,” drew former heads of state, diplomats, senior officials, academics and civil‑society leaders to discuss community resilience and regional partnerships in West Africa and the Sahel.

Acting Commandant Air Commodore David Anettey Akrong opened the proceedings, describing Dr Chambas as “an extraordinary statesman, lawyer, diplomat and peace advocate.” He added, “Today we gather not only to celebrate a milestone in his life, but also to acknowledge his immense contributions to peace, security and governance across Africa and beyond.”

Akrong highlighted the diplomat’s long‑standing engagement with KAIPTC as Goodwill Ambassador and Chair of the Kofi Annan Peace and Security (CAPS) Forum, noting that his leadership has “strengthened the KAIPTC’s mission and inspired countless practitioners and scholars in the field of peace and security.”

Emerita Professor Takyiwaa Manu, former Director of the Institute of African Studies, said Dr Chambas’ career sits at the centre of Africa’s modern peace and security architecture. “At a time when multilateralism is under severe strain, few African leaders have played as central and sustained a role in shaping these responses as Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas,” she observed.

She outlined his milestones:

• Executive Secretary of ECOWAS – guided responses to crises in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire.
• Secretary‑General of the ACP Group – deepened South‑South cooperation and development partnerships.
• Joint AU‑UN Special Representative for Darfur – steered mediation in one of Africa’s toughest conflicts.
• UN Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel – championed preventive diplomacy and peaceful elections.
• AU High Representative for Silencing the Guns – mobilised political will to curb armed conflict.

Speaking to the assembled guests, Dr Chambas urged Africans to defend their dignity, identity and historical memory. “We are becoming too timid even to defend our dignity as African people. It is not acceptable,” he said, recalling the continent’s legacy of enslavement, colonialism and neo‑colonialism.

He praised institutions such as the Pan‑African Heritage Museum for preserving African heritage and called for a collective commitment to protect history from distortion. “We must begin to defend our history, our heritage, and not allow others to demean us as a people,” he asserted.

Dr Chambas concluded with an optimistic vision: “We just want to live in our countries peacefully, in dignity… and to prosper our continent. If we are all united, we can together make Africa a better continent for our generations and generations yet to come.”

The symposium not only celebrated a milestone birthday but also reinforced the urgency of inclusive peacebuilding and local agency in a region facing violent extremism, governance crises and fragile communities.

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