President Julius Maada Bio has outlined five priorities for securing lasting peace in Africa, calling for stronger democratic institutions, preventive diplomacy, regional cooperation, people-centred security and sustainable financing for African-led peace operations.
He made the remarks while delivering a keynote lecture titled “Building Lasting Peace in Africa: The Catalytic Role of ECOWAS” at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, as part of its Director’s Global Leadership Series.
President Bio stressed that lasting peace requires more than ending wars, noting that countries must address the underlying causes of conflict, including injustice, insecurity and economic exclusion.
“The absence of war is the beginning of peace. It is not its guarantee,” he said.
Drawing on Sierra Leone’s post-war recovery, the President highlighted the importance of national ownership, justice and effective institutions in sustaining peace. He cited the country’s peaceful transfers of power in 2007 and 2018 as examples of democratic progress.
He called for early intervention through preventive diplomacy, proposing a Regional Prevention Compact that would trigger mediation when early warning signs of conflict emerge.
On regional cooperation, President Bio urged West African countries to address shared security challenges collectively. He also reaffirmed the importance of dialogue with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, while acknowledging the need for ECOWAS to learn from past shortcomings and deliver tangible benefits to citizens.
The President further emphasised the need to invest in young people and ensure that they have access to opportunities, arguing that peace cannot be sustained where poverty, injustice and exclusion persist.
He also called for sustainable financing for African-led peace operations and renewed support for reform of the United Nations Security Council to strengthen Africa’s representation in global peace and security decisions.
“The greatest achievements in peacebuilding are the wars that never began, the elections that passed peacefully, the young people who found work instead of weapons,” President Bio stated.
He concluded that the success of peacebuilding should be measured not only by the absence of conflict but also by whether people, particularly young people, enjoy security, opportunities and confidence in their future.
