South Africa emphasizes the importance of building local capacities and the p...

South Africa emphasizes the importance of building local capacities and the provision of training, especially targeting women, in order to enhance existing capacities at the national level, as they are usually willing to participate in the rebuilding of their homes, communities and countries. In this context, South Africa has played a significant part in postconflict capacity- and institution-building in Africa through multilateral, bilateral and trilateral mechanisms, in such countries as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone, among others. On behalf of the African Union (AU), South Africa continues to lead the committee on postconflict reconstruction and development in the Sudan, whose role is expected to become even more critical in the post-referendum phase, especially in Southern Sudan.