On 4 and 5 March 2026, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), as co-chair of the Global IHL Initiative’s workstream on IHL and peace, co-hosted in Addis Ababa an All-Africa high-level expert workshop exploring how disarmament can reinforce respect for international humanitarian law and support peace efforts across the continent, together with the ICRC and in collaboration with the African Union (AU). The event brought together representatives from 32 African States.
Participants agreed on follow-up actions and adopted key recommendations focused on humanitarian demining, preventing illicit arms transfers, and “silencing the guns”. They highlighted the importance of regional cooperation, capacity-building, integrating disarmament into peace processes, and investing in technology and capacity-building for effective mine action, among other measures.
The event concluded with a high-level panel featuring representatives of the Ethiopian MFA, the AU Silencing the Guns initiative, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’ Small Arms and Light Weapons Division.
During the panel, speakers presented the recommendations and discussed possible ways forward. The workshop also formed part of a broader effort to raise the political profile of IHL within the AU and among its member States. In that context, Sierra Leone, with the support of the ICRC, is working towards the adoption by the AU of a Declaration to strengthen respect for IHL in Africa. The declaration would help strengthen political will to make IHL a stronger political priority for the AU and its member States.