News & Events Event Reports

ESA Regional Hub National-Local Dialogue: How Local Governments Can Prevent Hate, Extremism and Polarisation and Promote Unity and Social Cohesion in Malawi

Publication Date:

08/04/2024

Content Type:

Event Reports

Share:

Tags:

Climate ChangeCommunity-Based PreventionESA Regional HubLilongweMalawiMigrationNational StrategyNational-Local CooperationSTRIVE Cities

— 4 minutes reading time

Event Details

Description: A dialogue between national and local actors in Malawi on how local governments can support the implementation of the country’s new National Counter Terrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism Strategy and to enhance national-local cooperation (NLC) on prevention.

Where & When: 19 – 20 March, Lilongwe, Malawi

Partners: Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, City of Lilongwe, City of Zomba

Cities Represented:

• Cities of: Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba
• Districts of: Karonga, Kasungu, Mangochi, Mulanje and Salima

Partners Represented:

• Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Malawi
• ICLEI Africa
• International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Key Takeaways

For Mayors & Cities:

• Mayors and the local governments they lead should incorporate hate and extremism prevention mandates and objectives into existing multi-actor structures both at the city and district levels (e.g., District Peace and Unity Committees).
• They should also tap into community-based actors, such as religious and/or traditional leaders, to reach and better understand the needs of marginalised communities. Such actors should be considered partners in public service delivery, community engagement and enhancing trust in local government.
• Mayors and the local governments they lead should consider how to better integrate migrant and refugee communities into the socioeconomic fabric of their cities, including through inclusive urban planning, leveraging existing tools by relevant actors – such as the International Organisation for Migration and ICLEI Africa – to do so.
• District Peace and Unity Committees should more proactively engage city-level leaders and councils, which are currently excluded from these structures.

For National Governments:

• Relevant national government ministries should engage directly with city councils rather than just at the district level. City councils can provide the national government with a more local and contextualised perspective of the threat landscape and needs for prevention and response than district councils may be able to.
• The national government should also consider district and city councils as partners in implementing international conventions it has ratified, particularly around migrant/refugee safeguarding and integration. Here, the national government should partner with local governments to make human rights-based migration management a core function of local government, as it is local governments that grapple with the implications of mass migration on their resources and the social cohesion of their communities. This process can be led by the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture as it implements its new Decentralisation Policy.
• The Malawi Peace and Unity Commission – which has made important progress with NLC through establishing and supporting multi-actor Peace and Unity Committees at the district-level – should deploy this model to all 28 of the country’s districts. The Commission should also add hate and extremism prevention to the capacity-building it offers these committees.
• As the Ministry of Homeland Security develops a counter terrorism centre (modelled after Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Centre), it should consult with local governments and ensure local actors are involved in the centre’s activities and decision-making.

For Partners & Donors:

• Although Malawi has not experienced a major terrorist or violent extremist incident, it faces a complicated and increasingly volatile threat landscape exacerbated by global crises such as climate change. Partners and donors should proactively invest in and push for a truly whole-of-society approach to mitigating the spread of hate and extremism by ensuring local actors are included in relevant programming in the country.
• Partners and donors should build on the work of IOM in Malawi and invest particularly in migration and border management. Importantly, efforts by partners to support cross-border collaboration should include cities, as cities on borders serve as important transit points for many migrants while often lacking the resources to adequately accommodate them.

Next Steps

• The dialogue concluded with district and city officials, as well as national government representatives, sharing priorities for enhancing city-led action against hate, extremism and polarisation and NLC on this topic. Participants created draft roadmaps for achieving both these objectives, which the ESA Regional Hub will consolidate into a single roadmap in consultation with the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, which has committed to taking ownership over the roadmap’s implementation.
• Meanwhile, city and district representatives have committed to sharing learnings from the dialogue with council members and other local actors, while Davie Maunde, Mayor of Zomba and President of the Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA) noted that MALGA will raise awareness about the dialogue’s outcomes and next steps with its network. The ESA Regional Hub will provide technical and other support throughout this process and with implementing priorities outlined by participants. 

Additional Resources

• A Guide for Mayors: Preventing and Responding to Hate, Extremism and Polarisation, Strong Cities Network, September 2023
• A Guide for Cities: Preventing Hate, Extremism and Polarisation, Strong Cities Network, September 2023
• A Guide for City-Led Response. Strong Cities Network, April 2024
• Addressing the Overlooked Role of African Cities in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, Strong Cities Network, July 2023
• Preventing and Responding to Election Disruption and Violence: Ten Considerations for Cities, Strong Cities Network, March 2024
• National-Local Cooperation Toolkit, Global Counterterrorism Forum, September 2023
• Memorandum of Good Practices on National-Local Cooperation, September 2020
• National Strategy for Countering Terrorism and Preventing Violent Extremism, Government of Malawi, October 2023

Donors

News & EVENTS

Stay up to date with recent news, articles and event reports

News & Events

Looking for something in our Resource Hub?

Or explore all resources

Nominated for Best Animated Short at Cannes

Watch now

Join US

Looking to become a Strong City?

Get in touch