Reports

While COMESA’s work on conflict prevention is anchored on Article 3(d), “to cooperate in the promotion of peace, security and stability among Member States in order to enhance economic development in the region” that work cannot be complete without essential documentation. Documentation and Information is one of the important processes as articulated in Article 118 of the COMESA Treaty. More specifically, documentation is important for capacity building as stakeholders benefit from the wide range of experience captured in documentation. Documentation also ensures standardisation and sustainability of conflict prevention efforts. As part of the Governance, Peace and Security programme, COMWARN since its onset has been documenting its activities in the form of reports and several publications. Among some of the documents developed include the Rules of Procedure for the COMESA Committee of Elders, the Rules for Accreditation of CSOs and the COMWARN SVA Primer (2011). Concerted efforts continued in 2019 leading to the development of additional manuals on various areas of implementation. These included the following:

Guidelines on the Conduct of COMESA Election Observer Missions		The Guidelines on the Conduct of COMESA Election Observer Missions provide a framework used by COMESA to guide the observation of elections upon invitation by Member States. The development of the Guidelines was necessitated by the need to develop a standardized framework to support regular and periodic elections in Member States which are an expression of people’s sovereignty from which the authority and legitimacy of government is drawn. This support would also enhance peace and stability in Member States. The guidelines have been developed in line with the international and regional regimes that guide the conduct of elections. These go as far as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, among others. Furthermore, COMESA Election Observer Missions are also guided by the national legal regimes that guide the conduct of elections.
The COMWARN Structural Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) Primer		The Primer introduces SVAs as well as provides an overview of the Africa Prospects software tool as developed by the African Union to assess structural vulnerabilities of countries. It provides the key features of the African Prospects. The Primer further highlights the customization of the Africa Prospects by COMESA to undertake SVAs for a composite target, the COMESA Peace and Prosperity Index (CPPI). The bulk of the Primer is a detailed ten-step process of conducting COMWARN SVAs, including the specification of the Target Variable, the selection of the Explanatory Variables, the compilation of indicator data sets, building and running the model, comparing results, collating results from the forecasted levels of CPPI, the identification of country-specific indicators and their associated levels of CPPI, evaluation of the forecasts, and the formulation of actionable recommendations to mitigate structural vulnerabilities.
The Compendium of COMWARN Data and Data Sources		This is a compilation of the global data sources as used by the COMWARN model. It details the twelve data sources including a description of the indicators derived from these sources. It provides such information as the name of the indicator as used by the developer and the name as used by COMWARN, and the basket in which the indicator fits. A brief description is given on the data source, the methods used to develop the indicator, the relevance of the indicators to peace and prosperity and any limitations of the indicator with respect to its usage to support the analysis. Out of the twelve data sources, COMWARN gets 97 of its 144 indicators from three data sources, the World Bank (64), the World Economic Forum (16) and the Mo-Ibrahim Foundation (14). Therefore, the description of indicators from these sources is less detailed than the indicators sourced from the other nine sources. The document is supported by two annexes, the first contains the “Candidate Indicators” for COMWARN that were adopted by the 11th Meeting of the COMESA meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs that was held in Lilongwe in October 2011. This followed the identification of common structural factors that affect COMESA peace and prosperity. The second annex provides a listing of all 144 indicators with a brief description of each.
COMESA Training Manual on Conflict Analysis		The manual is developed for use by any practitioners in the field of conflict prevention and peace building including students of peace studies. In addition, any person involved in developing early warning reports, mediation or mediation-related roles needs to have a good understanding of conflicts and their dynamics. The Manual is a practical tool and reference guide which recognizes that conflict analysis is both a critical and complex endeavour that requires a systematic approach. Conflict analysis is a science which can be enhanced and strengthened through education and continuous exposure to the various methodologies, approaches and tools.  This Training Manual captures the multi-dimensionality of conflict by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach which seeks to understand the political, social, economic, security and environmental drivers of peace and security. Comprising of eight chapters, this Training Manual starts with an overview of key concepts, including conflict, peace and security. The manual then zeroes in to focus on unpacking the concept of conflict analysis and provides an outline of the principles of conflict analysis, as well as a detailed examination of the COMESA Conflict Analysis Framework.
The SVA Training of Trainers’ Manual		The Training Manual acknowledges the efforts towards supporting capacity in fully understanding the drivers of peace and conflict, and therefore builds on the COMESA COMWARN Structural Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) methodology, which is anchored on the COMESA Peace and Prosperity Index (CPPI). The development of the Training Manual was based on the need for stakeholders in Member States to fully understand the COMWARN SVA model and be able to train other stakeholders on the SVA methodology using this manual as a guide.
COMESA Handbook for Mediation in Natural Resource Conflicts		This Handbook seeks to assist mediators work­ing on electoral-based conflicts including the COMESA Committee of Elders and other mediators/stakeholders to mitigate and resolve electoral-based conflicts in the region. The design of this Handbook was based on the premise that the mediation of electoral-based conflicts is unique and differs somewhat from the mediation of other conflicts. To this end, peace mediators should be aware of this if they are to deal adequately with electoral-based conflicts, they need to acknowledge their specific nuances and complexity.
Rules of Procedure for election of CCOE		The document is for use by the COMESA Committee of Elders as well as COMESA Secretariat. It includes the Rules of Procedure to guide the operations of the COMESA Committee of Elders. The Rules of Procedures are supported by two annexes, the first is a set of mediation guidelines and the second are Rules of Procedure for the nomination and elections of the Committee of Elders. It serves as a good reference document for the Elders that are deployed to support COMESA Missions. The Rules of Nomination and Election are useful to the Member States in their processes of nomination of eminent persons to join the Committee and in the elections process that is typically done by the COMESA Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The Rules were initially developed by the COMESA Committee of Elders, reviewed by the COMESA Committee on Peace and Security and Ministers of Foreign Affairs before going through the COMESA Sub-Committee of Legal Affairs. The Rules were adopted by the Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General on 6th November 2013.