An international conference on the post-conflict situations in West Africa’s fragile states, namely Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire, organized by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), the Laurier Centre for Strategic Military and Disarmament Studies (LCSMDS) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), is to be held in Accra, Ghana, from December 6-7, 2007. The conference will focus on the peace-building efforts currently underway and the role of the private sector in leading the reconstruction initiatives in those three statesThe conference will bring together 30 leading international academics and respected policy-makers from around the continent and elsewhere, who have been directly involved in issues relating to peace-building efforts and economic reconstruction initiatives. Their task will be to expand ideas and policy-related recommendations on the steps that are necessary to ensure that these fragile states do not slide back into civil strife, but rather become a catalyst in the further economic growth and political stability of this historically war-ravaged region. The aim is to highlight lessons learned which will then be incorporated in a book to be published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press.