Africa’s pre-eminent peacebuilding organisation, the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), has called for a global reassessment of foreign military deployments, urging the United Nations and the wider international community to consider a phased shutdown of foreign military bases worldwide in light of escalating tensions in the Middle East.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by its Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, PeacePro argued that the ongoing crisis involving the United States, Israel and Iran, as well as Gulf states, highlights the risks associated with forward military positioning and alliance-based security arrangements.
“Militarisation breeds escalation,” Hamzat said.
PeacePro maintained that the presence of foreign military bases often transforms regional disputes into broader international confrontations.
“The continued expansion of foreign military bases across sovereign territories has increased the likelihood of global entanglement in regional conflicts,” Hamzat stated. “The Middle East crisis is a reminder that militarised deterrence frequently produces escalation rather than peace.”
The organisation warned that foreign bases can render host nations potential targets during geopolitical disputes, heightening civilian vulnerability and destabilising entire regions.
PeacePro urged major global powers, including the United States, China and Russia, to commence negotiations towards a multilateral agreement aimed at reducing permanent foreign troop deployments outside their home territories.
According to Hamzat, a gradual demilitarisation framework could include the phased withdrawal of foreign combat forces; the conversion of certain military facilities into joint humanitarian or peacekeeping hubs; the strengthening of regional security mechanisms independent of great power rivalry; and the expansion of diplomatic and conflict resolution frameworks.
Framing the issue as one of sovereignty and global equity, Hamzat said: “No region should become a chessboard for major power competition. True security must be built on cooperation, not encirclement.”
He argued that long-term peace depends less on military deterrence and more on economic cooperation, inclusive diplomacy and respect for sovereign decision-making.
While acknowledging that the proposal may face resistance, PeacePro insisted that the current Middle East tensions present a critical opportunity to rethink global security architecture in the 21st century.
The organisation called on the United Nations and relevant regional blocs to convene a global summit focused specifically on the future of foreign military basing arrangements.
“The world must decide,” PeacePro concluded, “whether security will continue to be built on confrontation, or whether humanity is prepared to move toward cooperative coexistence.”
PeacePro has consistently championed advocacy for the demilitarisation of Africa and the closure of all foreign military bases across the continent.
