The United Nations Special Representative for Libya, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, has expressed worry at the rate of regional integration among criminal networks and terrorist groups in African Union member states.
She observed that with such developments, institutions among member countries were compelled to play catch-up, which unfortunately they were not doing very well.
Ms Tetteh, therefore, called for concerted efforts to re-establish state authority.
Delivering the 21st annual lecture of "Kronti ne Akwamu" (Democracy and Good Governance) organised by Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) in Accra last Wednesday, Ms Tetteh said until member states addressed the root cause of this new development, such criminal activities would not only persist but expand.
"This should engage all of our attention because it is a new normal and we do not have to joke with it," Ms Tetteh said.
The lecture was on the theme: "The changing global and multilateral order: Implications for Ghana and Africa's strategic positioning."
Ms Tetteh urged member countries to go beyond negotiating for peace agreements and ensure that such agreements were implemented.
While addressing conflict situations in the sub-region and the Sahel, Ms Tetteh called for equal attention to be given to post-conflict recovery.
She said expecting affected countries to simply "pull" themselves out of the quagmire and return to the path of development amounted to expecting miracles, particularly in States where institutions had collapsed and capacities no longer existed.
Ms Tetteh, who is also the Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, said it was time to prioritise inclusive governance in Africa's multi-ethnic and multi-cultural context.
Focusing on Ghana, she said, many Ghanaians took the country's peace for granted simply because it had enjoyed stability for so long.
"We cannot take our peace for granted and assume that because we have not been hit by these kinds of conflicts yet, it will not happen”, she stressed.
Addressing the correlation between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and conflict as well as human life, Ms Tetteh called for a common African position on AI governance.
She acknowledged the impact that AI could have on conflict development and many aspects of individual social lives and called for inclusive AI governance.
"For our continent to achieve its development aspiration, it must be at peace with itself and within its borders. At present, it is clear that it is going to take a significant effort to achieve that," she added.
On the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Ms Tetteh called for the implementation of the policy to strengthen the continent's market space.
She said it was not enough to agree and rectify such protocols, but they must be domesticated within local institutions and the private sector supported, to be able to take advantage of it to derive the full benefits.
She said Ghana was privileged to have the AfCFTA headquartered in Accra but asked whether, as a country, Ghana was ready to take full advantage of it.
