Promoting peace through the Sustainable Development Goals: What role for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation?

Ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in South Africa from 4-5 December 2015, Saferworld and the Southern African Liaison Office (SALO) have co-produced a briefing on the role of FOCAC in promoting peace through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Although implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs will be driven primarily through action at national level, existing global partnerships and initiatives such as FOCAC will need to be leveraged in order to support national level action.

Key findings from the briefing include:

• China and Africa’s shared commitment to promoting African peace and security and their acceptance of peace in the 2030 Agenda form a strong basis for cooperation.
• Given the many overlaps between the existing Action Plan and the SDGs, the next FOCAC Action Plan could be used as a framework to guide China’s support for implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
• China and Africa should use this Summit as an opportunity to promote a more holistic and preventative approach to promoting peace in Africa in the next Action Plan.

Download Promoting peace through the Sustainable Development Goals

“China has committed to coordinating its position with that of African countries and has now accepted the inclusion of Goal 16, which aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies.”

Saferworld, SALO