UN Envoy calls for the integration of G5 Sahel Joint Force into UN peacekeeping operations

After a joint summit of the G5 Sahel and the UN held in Dakar (Senegal) on 20-21 May, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, has called for supporting the G5 Sahel Joint Force through compulsory contributions to allow its integration into UN peacekeeping operations.

“Contrary to what many people think, the Force today has a Chapter VII mandate, which means that it has been authorised to fight terrorism,” Mr Annadif explained in an interview with the United Nations Information Center in Dakar.

“But what is at issue today is that it is not a United Nations force and it cannot benefit from assessed United Nations contributions. So far these are voluntary contributions,” he added.

Mr Annadif reiterated the UN Secretary-General's call to integrate the G5 Sahel Joint Force into peacekeeping operations in order to receive mandatory funding. "Until then, in the Security Council, there is still reluctance," he said.

The G5 Sahel was created in 2014 with the aim of uniting and co-ordinating actions to fight terrorism in the five countries it brings together, namely Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Chad. Since then, the United Nations has worked with the security alliance to co-ordinate economic and social development programs, as well as a unified response in terms of security and the fight against terrorist and criminal groups operating in the region.

The head of United Nations peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, stressed the crucial role played by the Joint Force of the G5 Sahel in the fight against terrorist groups in the region before the Security Council on May 18. 

According to him, in the future, the strengthening of the police component of the G5 Sahel would be an important step not only towards improving the monitoring of military operations, but also "to link them with state building, support for the justice sector and penitentiary reform, as well as the efforts made in the framework of respect for human rights”.

During the summit in Dakar, the executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel, Maman Sambo Sidikou of Niger, reiterated this need to strengthen local actors and authorities, which necessitates further funding.

 

Source: commonspace.eu with agencies
Photo: Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and the Sahel (archive); UNOWAS

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

Dozens participate in new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue process as societies prepare for the signing of historic peace agreement

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently agreed the text of a historic peace agreement that ends years of animosity and warfare. The agreement is expected to be signed soon. LINKS Europe, which has a long history of engagement with the process of peace in the region, recently launched a new Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue format in the framework of the European Union's EU4Peace initiative. In the last two weeks dozens of Armenians and Azerbaijanis, including academics, students, civil society activists, journalists and other professionals, many of them young, were involved. The work is organised in five thematic groups focusing on peace and security, connectivity, environment, governance and gender and equality and in phase 2 of the project, which has just ended, around fifty participants took part in in-person and online meetings, and more than twenty others were involved indirectly. The Chairpersons of the five thematic groups met in Vilnius, 3-6 July to launch the third phase of the program. The five thematic groups are now working on separate reports, which are expected to be finished in November and presented to the two governments and other stakeholders. The reports will outline a vision, up to 2040.