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Meeting informally, Security Council focuses on regional approach to Africa's conflicts

Meeting informally, Security Council focuses on regional approach to Africa's conflicts

A regional approach to dealing with conflict in Africa topped today's agenda for the Security Council as it met informally to discuss possible new ways to address the continent's ongoing problems.

Based on the theme "Regional approaches to conflict management in Africa," today's unofficial talks focussed on the advantages and shortcomings for the United Nations system, particularly the Security Council, to deal with conflicts in Africa from a regional perspective.

Having looked for many years at conflicts on the continent predominantly from a "national" perspective, the UN is now trying to shift to a more "regional" and "subregional" approach.

The meeting, which placed particular emphasis on West Africa and the Great Lakes region, was organized by Colombia, the current president of the Council, and the International Peace Academy.

The Colombian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Guillermo Fernandez de Soto, and the President of the International Peace Academy, David Malone, opened the informal meeting, which was held at the Princeton Club in New York.