The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), which Khatir Mahamat Saleh Annadif directs, presented the most recent report on events over the previous six months in fields like politics, security, and human rights.
Mr. Annadif emphasized a few of the contrasts present over a sizable area that continues to “grow at diverse rhythms.” While voters are free to exercise their right to vote in some nations, “military stakeholders” are attempting to control politics in other nations.
“National conversations are ongoing in many countries to strengthen democratic governance.
At the same time as over broad portions of the Sahel, men and women are abandoning their land, seeking safety, and making sure that their children can attend school,” he said.
“No magic brew,”
Regarding security, Mr. Annadif claimed that it was “no longer a secret to anyone” that extremist organizations and criminals were preying on vulnerabilities made worse by frequently ineffective State structures.
He claimed that extreme violence is spreading southward and has transformed from an anomaly of isolated instances into a very real menace in coastal nations. He used Togo as an illustration, where the northern region has been proclaimed to be in a state of emergency.
Speaking in French, Mr. Annadif added, “There is no magic cure to provide an effective counter to this problem of insecurity.”
“What we need, instead, is democratic and responsible governance, including the establishment of decentralized administrations that can address the needs of the population on a daily basis while upholding the social contract for participation and the reciprocal commitments between the Government and the citizens.”
Discussion and agreement
The Gambia and Senegal, which just had local and legislative elections, are two nations that the envoy claimed “are successfully reinforcing pillars of democratic government.”
Additionally, a conversation process is underway in a number of nations. In light of the upcoming elections in Nigeria, he continued, “This fosters political consensus and offers a chance to strengthen societal cohesiveness.
The UN and the regional group ECOWAS, according to Mr. Annadif, have been actively involved in easing political tensions in Sierra Leone, which will conduct elections in June.
Additionally, he has communicated with the transitional leaders in Guinea and Burkina Faso, emphasizing the urgency of restoring constitutional order as soon as possible.
In the line of fire
Military leaders are having trouble dealing with the Sahel’s deteriorating security situation in the meanwhile.
According to Mr. Annadif, as of May, the number of civilians killed by extremists in the central Sahel had surpassed that for the entire year of 2021.
In addition to being targeted by anti-terrorist operations by the national security and defense forces, he claimed that civilians had also been caught in the crossfire between rival armed groups.
The catastrophe that is unfolding in this region of the world is conveyed by the information that we all hear about killings of defenseless and innocent civilian populations, especially women and children.
The violence occurred as West Africa was going through a “unprecedented” food crisis, which had an effect on the humanitarian situation.
Around 12.7 million people in the so-called G5 Sahel countries—Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger—are food insecure, a 45 percent increase from the previous year.
the defense of coastal states
Mali withdrew from the G5 Sahel and its Joint Force on counterterrorism last month, and Mr. Annadif claimed that security provisions are currently being jeopardized by military redeployments.
The UN representative is still working with ECOWAS and other allies to promote the Accra Initiative, a 2017 strategy to stop instability from spreading to coastal nations.
They are now wrapping up talks to form a secretariat and assisting the UN Office on Counter-Terrorism with capacity building (UNOCT).