Horn Dialogue Opens in Uganda, Focuses on Africa’s Evolving Peacekeeping Role

The Horn Dialogue Series IV opened Monday at the Hilton Golden Inn in Kampala, putting a spotlight on Africa’s evolving approach to peacekeeping and its ambitions beyond 2025. The two-day forum, themed “Peacekeeping in a Changing Global Order: Situating Africa’s Role and Future Trajectory,” brings together diplomats, military leaders, scholars, and regional peacebuilding practitioners.

The dialogue is organized by the FDRE Institute of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Life & Peace Institute (LPI).

Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Etsegent Bezabih Yimenu, officially opened the meeting with a wide-ranging address that underscored Africa’s determination to shape its own peace and security landscape.

Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Uganda, H.E. Etsegent Bezabih Yimenu, addressing the conference

“It is my distinct honor to warmly welcome you all to this vital Horn Dialogue Series,” she said, noting that the theme comes at a defining moment for the continent. She emphasized that sustaining peacekeeping operations rooted in African realities is “essential in the years to come.”

Ambassador Yimenu highlighted the rise of political turmoil, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and extremism as factors intensifying instability across the continent. These challenges, she said, require responses grounded in prevention, early warning, community mediation, and accountability.

Reflecting on Africa’s peacekeeping legacy, she reminded participants that the continent has long contributed to UN missions while increasingly taking the lead in regional operations.

“Ethiopia remains a major troop contributor,” she said, citing deployments in Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan. She praised the sacrifices of Ethiopian troops working “shoulder to shoulder with Uganda, Djibouti, Kenya, and others in the fight against Al-Shabaab,” stressing that collective action has helped rescue Somalia “from fragility to a capable state.”

However, she cautioned that the transition beyond ATMIS, inadequate funding, operational gaps, and the resurgence of Al-Shabaab remain serious hurdles. “These challenges continue to undermine peace efforts in the Horn,” she noted, recalling her experience participating in the 2024 ATMIS and 2025 AUSSOM Heads of State summits hosted by Uganda.

Ambassador Yimenu reiterated the continent’s commitment to the longstanding doctrine of “African Solutions for African Problems,” saying African nations are shifting “from being recipients of peacekeeping missions to becoming primary providers and strategic partners to the United Nations.”

She called for strengthening the AU Peace Fund, diversifying security partnerships— including with the private sector— and supporting regional initiatives such as the Comprehensive Framework Agreement in the Nile Basin and cooperation linked to Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

“Institutional reform will be crucial to fill the vacuum left by UN withdrawals,” she said, urging an integrated approach that combines military, political, and civilian components to address the roots of conflict.

The Ambassador also urged condemnation of “any actions that destabilize peace in the Horn of Africa,” stressing that regional stability must remain a shared responsibility.

As the dialogue continues, participants are expected to explore the future of African-led missions, financing models, and mechanisms for navigating the shifting global security order.

The event is attended various dignitaries including EU Deputy Head of Mission in Uganda, Ambassador Guillaume Chartrain, scholars, security experts among others.