Catholic Bishops of Ghana to host national security forum in July

As West Africa grapples with the growing threat of violent extremism and regional instability, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference is intensifying efforts to forge partnerships ahead of a National Forum on Security, scheduled for July 15.

The forum, to be held under the theme “The Political Economy of Conflict: Exploring Youth Unemployment as a Catalyst for Building Stability,” is part of the broader Sahel Peace Initiative (SPI) — a regional response to the escalating threat of violent extremism, radicalisation, and terrorism in the Sahel and its spillover effects on Ghana and neighbouring countries.

In the lead-up to the event, Fr. Michael Quaicoe, Director of Governance, Justice and Peace at the Conference’s National Catholic Secretariat (NCS), led a delegation to meet with Ghana’s Minister of Defence, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, on May 12. The meeting was aimed at exploring collaborative strategies to ensure peace, security, and social cohesion in Ghana and the wider West African sub-region.

“This meeting is one of many we are holding with government ministries and agencies, civil society, and faith-based organisations,” Fr. Quaicoe said.

“The goal is to raise awareness about the regional crisis and work together on solutions, particularly to address the spillovers of conflict from the Sahel into Ghana,” he added.

The meeting with the Defence Ministry, he added, is part of an ongoing series of engagements to build national consensus and align efforts. “We want to bring all stakeholders together — the government, civil society, and religious leaders — to pool our ideas and resources. It’s about supporting the state in its constitutional duty to protect its people and territory.”

The Sahel Peace Initiative, under which the forum falls, is a strategic framework supported by the Catholic Church and its partners across West Africa. It seeks to provide not just emergency responses, but long-term peacebuilding mechanisms rooted in justice, governance, and inclusive development.