By Ibrahim Sesay

The Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion (ICPNC) and the National Early Warning and Response Mechanism Coordinating Centre (NCCRM), has, on Tuesday November 18, 2025 held a joint technical session with the ECOWAS Early Warning and Response (EPSG) Technical Mission Team. With support from GIZ, the meeting aimed at strengthening collaboration on peacebuilding, conflict prevention and crisis response in Sierra Leone.

Held at the ICPNC office on Tower Hill in Freetown, the meeting brought together senior officials, analysts and technical experts from both institutions to review the existing coordination structures and define areas for strengthened collaboration ahead of the country’s critical governance cycle from 2026 to 2028.

Delivering her opening remarks, Hawa Samai, Executive Secretary of the ICPNC, underscored the importance of collaboration in sustaining peace and national cohesion. She noted that the Commission’s work has always been “people-centered,” stressing that peace initiatives must be owned by citizens to be effective.

“You cannot work without the people. Our culture has been people-centered and we always ensure that people own the process,” she said. Hawa Samai added that despite financial and logistical challenges, the Commission continues to respond swiftly to early warning signals shared by partners such as GIZ and other local structures.

With major national processes ahead which includes the 2026 census, constitutional review, lower-level elections and the buildup to the 2028 general elections, she described the coming period as “a very challenging year,” emphasizing that the need for long-term collaboration is more urgent than ever.

Ruth Adwoa Frimpong, Technical Advisor for Early Warning Response under the ECOWAS EPSG Project, spelt out the mission’s objective to strengthen Sierra Leone’s early warning and early response architecture. She explained that their assessment is in line with regional priorities under the ECOWAS Peace and Security frameworks.

“This mission hinges on the project’s core objective to enhance ECOWAS’ ability to detect and respond to conflicts by strengthening NCCRM and ICPNC in their joint mandate,” she said, noting the importance of designing sustainable interventions that can outlast the project’s duration. “After the project ends, after we are all gone, what happens to the interventions? Sustainability is key.”

During the technical sessions, both institutions examined coordination gaps and opportunities within Sierra Leone’s peace infrastructure. Discussions explored how NCCRM’s data analysis could better inform ICPNC’s mediation and conflict resolution efforts and how local mediation insights could be integrated back into the national early warning system.

Francess Nyuman, Executive Director of the NCCRM, explained how the Centre gathers and validates information for its quarterly trend analysis. She emphasized that collaboration with other Government Ministries and Agencies helps ensure accuracy. “You do not do things alone; you will never succeed,” she said. She added that their continuous collaboration with key stakeholders makes it difficult for people to challenge their reports.

The meeting concluded with a joint roadmap in which partners agreed to focus on strengthening the Early Response Center’s website, developing joint peace messaging for strategic communication as well as rolling out joint training initiatives and providing technical support to the ongoing national fragility study. These key actions are expected to enhance coordination and improve the country’s overall conflict prevention framework.

In her brief closing address, ICPNC's Executive Secretary thanked all partners for their commitment and reiterated the Commission’s readiness to work closely with the NCCRM, ECOWAS and GIZ in the coming years. She emphasized that sustained collaboration will be crucial as Sierra Leone enters a sensitive governance period. https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/icpnc-nccrm-and-ecowas-launch-roadmap-to-enhance-early-warning-and-crisis-response-framework/