Sectarian clashes, attacks against suspected Gaddafi loyalists and violence targeting the central government have marred Libya’s transition to democracy.
While northern Mali remains under the control of armed groups, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) prepares an intervention force to assist Malian forces in a battle to restore Mali’s sovereignty.
Events of July 2016 have shattered the progress towards peace in South Sudan. The international community needs to put in more efforts to ensure that leaders of warring factions fulfill their commitments for a peaceful future for the people of South Sudan.
Given the lack of feasibility of other policy initiatives in order to deal with Libya, from where majority of migrants cross-over, militarisation remains the only option. Even the military solution is going to achieve partial results and human trafficking will continue to thrive. In all the chaos, migrants will be caught between a rock and a hard place, with Libya being unpropitious to stay and journey to Europe being increasingly perilous.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Africa will go a long way in cementing ties with the African countries in the field of food security, energy and defence. At the same time, this visit will put to rest criticism of India’s visibility deficit in the region.
The TCC have to shed their colonial legacies and participate in UN peacekeeping on equal terms rather than merely being service providers. It is necessary that the UNSC decisions are more inclusive and reflective of the new world order.
Libya today is a highly fragmented state with porous borders and unidentified alliance formations. In this scenario, a resolution to partially lift the arms embargo may have widespread undesirable consequences.
At relatively little cost to either party, a mutually beneficial partnership has evolved over the decades, with the NCG and India being inextricably intertwined. It is to the credit of both countries that this relationship has lasted and thrived and continues to grow stronger without undue fanfare or hype and without, thus far, any tangible problems.
The larger ‘China-Africa Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Security’ that was simultaneously launched was meant to integrate security issues into FOCAC, but was in need of further refinement to move from rhetorical commitment to more institutionalised involvement.
