COMESA Secretariat was among Regional Economic Communities that participated in the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union on terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government held on 28 May 2022 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

The Summit assessed the persistent threat that the upsurge of terrorism and incidences of unconstitutional changes of government have continued to impact on the peace, security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States.

The Summit agenda was aligned with COMESA activities with the AU, Civil Society and other RECs implements through the Governance, Peace and Security Programme. Among them is the COMESA Early Warning System (COMWARN) that identifies structural vulnerability/ resilience drivers at a very early stage and provide ample time for decision makers to initiate the necessary and appropriate responses. The initiative is part of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) framework.

In 2021 COMESA collaborated with the African Union’s Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) to support Zambia in undergoing the Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (CSVRA) process where nationwide multi-stakeholder consultations were held with various stakeholders in order to enhance the resilience and address vulnerabilities identified.

On consolidation of democracy in the region, COMESA has been supporting Member States through the deployment of election observer missions. On terrorism, efforts have been made as well towards strengthening linkages and cooperation between the AU’s Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (CAERT) and select national counter-terrorism centres aimed at enhancing peer learning and capacity-strengthening through training.

COMESA was represented at the Summit by the Director of Gender and Social Affairs Mrs Beatrice Hamusonde and Mr Raymond Kitevu- the Conflict Early Warning Expert.

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