RABAT, June 18 (Xinhua) -- A two-day international conference opened Monday in the Moroccan capital Rabat to discuss challenges in peacekeeping operations on the African continent.
Organized by the Moroccan think-tank OCP Policy Center, the event brings together a hundred of participants including senior military officers, law experts, university professors and representatives of international organizations.
Youssef Amrani, Morocco's former foreign minister, said the multidimensional challenges facing Africa, including the persistence of conflicts, terrorism, migration and climate change, should be addressed in depth.
He stressed that the complexity and escalation of crises on the continent had demonstrated that peacekeeping operations and military responses alone could not be effective instruments to combat instability, insecurity or violent extremism.
It is fundamental to place peacekeeping operations within the framework of a political process, which will go along with political, socio-economic and development reforms at all levels, he added.
The conference agenda features political and strategic aspects of peacekeeping operations, achievements made by the UN blue helmets, protection of civilians during peacekeeping operations, peacekeepers' capacity building and the role of the African Union in peacekeeping operations.
