Peacekeeping missions today face some of the most complex environments in their history. In September 2015, President Obama reaffirmed U.S. support for United Nations peace operations and directed a range of actions to strengthen them for a new era. Ghana, with its long history of contributing to peacekeeping and with soldiers in 12 of 16 U.N. missions, provides lessons in effective training, policymaking and non-violent conflict resolution.

Pictured from left to right, Amb. George Moose, Col. Emmanuel Kotia, Dorina Bekoe, Paul Williams
Pictured from left to right, Amb. George Moose, Col. Emmanuel Kotia, Dorina Bekoe, Paul Williams

Understanding the political, operations and conflict environment is key to successful peacekeeping. That’s a priority for the United States, which provides almost 30 percent of the annual peacekeeping budget and, in 2014, pledged $110 million a year for three to five years to build the capacity of the continent’s militaries for rapidly deploying peacekeepers in response to emerging conflict.

Ghana, the eighth-largest contributor to U.N. peacekeeping operations, has significant troops in Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Liberia, South Sudan and Côte d’Ivoire. It also has supported missions of the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union.

On March 11, a panel of experts convened to discuss the future of African peacekeeping. Panelists included Colonel Emmanuel Kotia, chief instructor and academic programs coordinator at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana, and author of the book, "Ghana Armed Forces in Lebanon and Liberia Peace Operations".

Continue the conversation on Twitter with #PeacekeepingUSIP.

Panelists

Amb. George Moose, Welcoming Remarks and Moderator
Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of Peace

Col. Emmanuel Kotia, Panelist
Chief Instructor and Academic Programs Coordinator, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Ghana

Dorina Bekoe, Panelist
Faculty, Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Paul Williams, Panelist
Associate Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University

NDU Logo

Related Publications

Donna Charles on Ghana’s Democracy Amid West Africa’s Instability

Donna Charles on Ghana’s Democracy Amid West Africa’s Instability

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

By: Donna Charles

Ghana represents a “bastion of democracy” in a region beset by political instability. With Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo visiting Washington, D.C., this week, the United States can deepen cooperation in a way that “really supports the U.S. message of bringing peace through democracy,” says USIP’s Donna Charles.

Type: Podcast

Ask the Experts: The Fight Against Violent Extremism in Coastal West Africa

Ask the Experts: The Fight Against Violent Extremism in Coastal West Africa

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

By: Andrew Cheatham;  Ambassador Terence P. McCulley

An explosion of violent extremism in the Sahel has begun spilling over into Coastal West African states. International efforts to stave off the spread have fallen short, which recently prompted the United States to include five countries in the region — Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo — in the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability. USIP’s Andrew Cheatham spoke with Ambassador Terence McCulley about the strategy’s focus on good governance as a means to counter violent extremism, the need for sustained coordination in the strategy’s implementation and the hope that this might spark further international support for peace and stability in Coastal West Africa.

Type: Blog

Democracy & GovernanceViolent Extremism

View All Publications