Global Courant 2023-05-17 01:03:21
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The security situation in the Sahel remains very worrying and the spiraling crisis in Sudan is an additional source of concern, a senior UN official warned the Security Council on Tuesday.
“Stateless armed groups continue to carry out large-scale attacks against civilian and military targets and are involved in clashes over access to resources, territorial control and influence,” said Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, part of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and UN Peacekeeping Operations.
The Council met to assess the state of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, which unites Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Established in 2017, its main role as an international military operation is to counter the rising threat of terrorism, improve criminal justice, border security and the spread of militant religious extremism.
Extremists clash
“Terrorism and violent extremist groups often target border areas, especially the border triangle of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, Liptako-Gourma. In this regard, earlier this year there was an increase in clashes between the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (ISGS) and Jama’at Nu rat al-Islam wal-Muslirnin (JNIM),’ she added.
In this context, “the recent instability in the eastern Sahel, Sudan, is an additional source of concern,” said Ms Pobee, adding that “the devastating effects of the ongoing destabilization of the Sahel will be spread far beyond the region and the region. felt”. African continent.”
Dire humanitarian situation
She recalled that the security crisis exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation. In Burkina Faso, an estimated 4.7 million people will need humanitarian assistance this year, up from 3.5 million in 2022. And in Mali, 8.8 million people will need assistance, up from 7.5 million.
With regard to the G5 Force, the senior UN official noted that the staff had made steady progress in its operationalization, in a context of redeployment of European and French forces, Mali’s withdrawal from the Force and rising threats in the tripoint .
She stressed that the G5 Sahel countries are determined to strengthen intra-regional cooperation, including by establishing bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms with the Malian armed forces in the fight against terrorism.
The insecurity continues
However, she noted that, despite these efforts, insecurity continues to increase in the tripoint.
Ms. Pobee stressed that the tripartite agreement between the European Union, the G5 Sahel and the UN is expected to end in June. With the expiration of this agreement, logistical and operational support from the UN mission in Mali, MINUSto the G5 Sahel Joint Force, will end.
She said it “provides an opportunity to reflect on how the international community should renew its approaches to supporting regional security mechanisms”.
Ms. Pobee added that through the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHRthe UN has continued to support the Joint Force in the implementation of its framework for compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law, noting that “significant institutional, legal and behavioral progress and changes have been made”.
The Joint Force now has an internal mechanism to allocate responsibility for incidents, analyze patterns, take necessary corrective action and adjust its operational behaviour.
“Going forward, continued human rights work with regional and national security actors in the Sahel will remain essential in the context of the deteriorating security situation,” she stressed.
In this regard, Ms. Pobee stressed that political and operational support from partners remains essential for the stabilization of Mali and the entire Sahel region.
Renewed international support will prevent the Sahel crisis from upsetting the region’s fragile political equilibrium and help prevent “a new overflow of insecurity in coastal countries”.
“For its part, the United Nations stands ready to further support the efforts of the G5 Sahel, including by providing support for capacity building in areas such as the prevention of violent extremism and radicalisation, the rule of law and the management of border security,” she said. .
She recalled that the UN is committed to working with all partners to ensure that governance structures become more democratic and open and that the people of the Sahel have greater confidence in their institutions.
“Decisive progress in the fight against terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime in the Sahel must be made desperately. Without significant gains, it will be increasingly difficult to reverse the security trajectory in the Sahel and the continued expansion of insecurity into coastal countries in West Africa,” she concluded.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.
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