NAIROBI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Securing African borderlands amid multiple threats, including climate shocks, human trafficking, conflicts and transboundary crimes, requires joint research and the sharing of best practices, Kenyan defense officials said Wednesday.
The officials, speaking at the African Borderlands Research Network annual conference held in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, said that enhancing security at the continent's borders depends on leveraging knowledge and empirical data.
John Omenda, vice chief of the Kenya Defense Forces, said that through collaborative research, African policymakers can gain insights into the nexus between peace, security and development.
Policymakers, defense officials, representatives of multilateral lenders, and academics attended the Nairobi conference, which provided a platform for sharing research findings on improving the security of African borderlands.
The conference was organized under the theme "Resilience and Social Cohesion in Africa's Borderlands," with a special focus on agro-pastoralist mobility, labor diversification, peace, security and regional integration.
Omenda said that collaboration in empirical research, training and education will inform new approaches to securing African border regions, which are vital for fostering trade and human mobility.
"We have a shared commitment to advancing peace, security and resilience across Africa's borderlands," Omenda said, urging African states to harmonize policies and legislation on border security.
Joyce Sitienei, director of the Nairobi-based International Peace Support Training Center, said that information sharing, combined with the creation of a platform for fostering dialogue, is key to understanding the evolving dynamics in Africa's borderlands.
According to Sitienei, the security of the continent's borderlands is directly linked to sustainable development, social cohesion, trade and investment, all of which are necessary to lift marginalized communities out of poverty. ■