Border Security and Management in the Sahel - Phase II Project No. DSH-4000000964 Final Narrative Report
In Fafa (Gao Region, Mali), a group of young girls take part in a recreational activity as a prelude to an awareness-raising session on the risks associated with the presence of small arms and light weapons in the community (March 2019)
Funded by
1 PROJECT INFORMATION
Name of Organization: Danish Refugee Council – Danish Demining Group (DRC-DDG)
Project Title: Border Security and Management in the Sahel – Phase II
Grant Agreement #: DSH-4000000964
Amount of funding allocated: EUR 1 600 000
Project Duration: 01/12/2017 – 30/09/2019
Countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger
Sites/Locations: Burkina Faso: Ariel, Nassoumbou, Markoye, Tokabangou, Thiou, Nassoumbou, Ouahigouya Mali: Fafa, Labbezanga, Kiri, Bih, Bargou Niger: Koutougou, Kongokiré, Amarsingue, Dolbel, Wanzarbe Number of beneficiaries: 17 711 beneficiaries
Sustainable Development Goal: Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Date of final report 30/01/2020
Reporting Period: 01/12/2017 – 30/09/2019
2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Border Security and Management Programme was launched in 2014 by the Danish Demining Group’s (DDG). Designed to improve border management and security in the Liptako Gourma region (border area shared by Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger), the programme applies an innovative and community-based cross-border approach in the interests of the communities living in the border zones, with the aim of strengthening the resilience of those communities to conflict and armed violence, including violent extremism, namely through: • Facilitating endogenous processes to identify community security needs and priorities by its members; • Supporting the implementation of locally defined responses as part of this endogenous vision of human security at the community level; • Building local capacity for prevention, peaceful management and conflict mediation, including working with existing local mechanisms, but also with local and community radio stations, women's organizations and youth associations; • Providing risk education on small arms and light weapons and landmines and other explosive devices; • Supporting the establishment of constructive dialogue frameworks between local communities and state institutions (civil administration and defence and security forces); • Strengthening cross-border relations and cooperation, through communication, collaboration and co-building responses to common cross-border challenges.
Since December 2017, the second phase of the Border Management and Security Programme has been implemented, with a financial contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The programme has consolidated its activities in the border communities where BSM activities began in 2014. The overall objective of the project under review was to promote stability, build resilience and prevent and reduce armed violence in border areas in the Liptako Gourma region by ensuring improved community safety, effective, accountable and responsive border security and management and cross- border collaboration. To achieve this objective, the project worked across 16 intervention communities spread over Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, plus 2 extension communities in Mali (Bentia and Karou in the Circle of Ansongo, Gao Region). During this period, the project reached 17,711 beneficiaries. (Annex 1: Map of the area of intervention).
A first no-cost extension was granted in December 2018 and a second one in June 2019, extending the original duration of the project by 7 months. Those no-cost extensions were necessary due to the challenges of working in a difficult area where the security situation has deteriorated massively during the period, but also to certain HR challenges, including high rate of staff turnover in key posts, which slowed programme’s implementation. The institutional context of the programme raised a further challenge because of the merger — first in terms of operations and later identity — between the DDG and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC). Even though, according to the external evaluation conducted in 2019: “The « Border Security and Management » Programme has been a remarkable success since its launch in 2014”1, demonstrating that the intervention logic of DDG’s approach has proved to be valid.
This report covers the period from 01/12/2017 to 30/09/2019 of the project “Border Security and Management in the Sahel – Phase II”.
1 Évaluation Formative Indépendante du Programme « Border Security and Management », 2014-2018.
3 ACTIVITIES & RESULTS
Outcome 1: Community resilience is strengthened through building community safety, conflict management capacities and preventing youth-at-risk engaging in violent extremism in border areas
Community Safety DDGs community safety approach encourages communities to engage in their own safety based on their own capacities and resources. Through a participatory and inclusive process communities are invited to define a common vision of security taking into account both the needs common to all, as well as the specific needs of certain groups: women - men, girls - boys, young - old, specific socio- professional status, etc. Based on this vision, it is then a matter of prioritizing the essential challenges and proposing solutions taking into account the resources available.
This exercise results in Community Safety Plans (CSP) which takes into account both physical security needs — and propose to respond to them through actions such as dialogue with the defence and security forces, risk education on small arms and mines and other explosive remnants of war, or public information on state of emergency measures —, and basic social needs, the absence of which is a risk factor. The solutions proposed in the CSP for basic social needs often include income-generating activities, particularly for at-risk groups, small community infrastructure such as wells, health posts, classrooms, etc.
In the framework of the project, a total of 13 community safety plans (CSP) were updated & monitored with follow-up meetings held on a monthly basis with community members, as detailed below: • Burkina Faso: 6 CSP updated & monitored in the communes of Bom and Tokabangou (Oudalan Province), Arréel and Damba (Soum Province) in the Sahel Region, and in the communes of Kain and Yensé (Yatenga Province) in the North Region. • Mali: 5 CSP updated & monitored in Fafa and Labbezanga villages in the Circle of Ansongo (Gao Region), and in the villages of Koro, Kiri and Bih in the Circle of Koro (Mopti Region). • Niger: 2 CSP updated & monitored in the villages of Kongokiré and Koutougou in Tillabéri Department (Tillabéri Region).
A total of 4412 community members participated in CSP related sessions, out of which 34% were women and 17% youth (among which 47% were young girls). Engaging in community safety plans discussions has helped to maintain a participatory dynamic in the management of concerns at community level. Meetings between CSP committee members were spaces of free exchange and reflection, were all categories of people were able to participate.
Once the CSP are developed, validated by the community and presented to local authorities, their implementation is the primary responsibility of the community and works are done by community members to ensure genuine local ownership. Operationalisation of these plans starts with the creation of local committees composed by women and men from the community. These committees meet regularly to plan, pilot and monitor the implementation of plan's priorities. Plans’ activities are carried out by community members according to their skills for specific activities and rely primarily on local resources available at a lower cost. DDG provides technical, logistical and financial support to meet the needs that cannot be met by the community alone. Hence, DDG’s support consists in providing a limited number of manufactured materials that cannot be produced within the community, such as sheets of metal, ceiling installation and concrete. DDG also engages in dialogue and advocacy with
4 local authorities for them to support other community needs. In a logic of accountability, committees report regularly to the community and keep local authorities informed of plan's implementation progress. In Kiri (Circle of Koro, Mopti region, Mali) for example, DDG supported community members who mobilized to build the livestock pound foreseen in community’s CSP. The pound was then inaugurated in the presence of local authorities, and has since reduced conflicts related to livestock theft or damage caused by stray animals. Other examples of concrete initiatives from the Community Safety Plans implemented with project’s support, include: • Support with donkey-drawn ploughs for community fields in Bom (Oudalan Province, Sahel Region, Burkina Faso) • Construction of a health post (“case de santé”) equipped with solar panels in Koutougou (Tillabéri Department, Tillabéri Region, Niger) • Construction of a livestock pound for stray animals whose presence used to be a source of conflict between Kiri and Bih communities (Circle of Koro, Mopti region, Mali) • Material support for the construction of 02 latrines and equipment support to promote sport and social cohesion in Tokabangou (Oudalan Province, Sahel Region, Burkina Faso) • Training provided on soap production and marketing in Fafa (Circle of Ansongo, Gao Region, Mali) • Vocational training provided with starting kits in sewing, motorcycle mechanics and water pump repair in Arréel (Soum Province, Sahel Region, Burkina Faso) • Practical Training for young men in food block manufacturing for livestock in Labbezanga (Circle of Ansongo, Gao Region, Mali) • Allocation of tricycles in Kain and Yensé (Yatenga Province, North Region, Burkina Faso) • Barriers to Girls’Education awareness day, and provision of school equipment in Kongokiré (Tillabéri Department, Tillabéri Region, Niger)
A total of 106 actions were facilitated in the framework of the different CSP in 12 communities, strengthening social cohesion among members of the communities. In Ayorou, Amarsingue and Téra in the Tillabéri Region (Niger), the project could not support CSP’s implementation mainly due to lack of access (see also Challenges). To ensure ownership of community safety mechanisms in each community, 30 focal points (2 per community) were trained on community-based approach.
Vocational training session in cutting and sewing In a context heavily marked by the presence and proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), mines and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), supporting communities in mitigating the threats posed by those weapons and explosive devices requires awareness raising and education on their risks. Although these risks affect the entire civilian population, the analysis of the context in the Liptako-Gourma reveals that children are more exposed to accidental explosive risks. In the framework of the project, 78 risk education sessions were held in 18 communities reaching a total of 2,404 persons; 1,158 adults (641 men, 517 women), 221 young people (109 young men, 112 young women) and 1,025 children in school and out of school (348 girls and 677 boys). For the sessions, DDG’s staff used the image box that serves as an awareness-
5 raising tool developed between 2016 and 2017 by DDG in collaboration with the national commissions in charge of combating the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
Since then DDG has become a reliant partner of the National Commissions in all three countries. In October 2018, DDG took part in the Reflection on Security Messages on Small Arms and Light Weapons day, organized in Bamako by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Programme and Mali’s National Commission for the Fight against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (Commission Nationale de Lutte Contre la Prolifération des Armes Légères (CNLPAL) in French). Days’ overall objective was to promote reflection and constructive dialogue on the different experiences in raising awareness on SALW as well as on the most appropriate awareness-raising messages to protect the civilian population against the risks associated with firearms accidents. DDG’s awareness-raising/risk education tools, in particular the image box, as well as the key messages, and the awareness-raising techniques that support its implementation, were presented during that day.
In June 2019, DDG was invited by the CNLPAL to participate in the review of Mali’s legislation on weapons and ammunition. Following the review, the draft law was transmitted to the National Assembly by the technical services of the Ministry of Security and Civil Protection.
From July to September 2019, the CNLPAL organised, with project’s support, a series of two- day workshops on the legal framework for SALW artisanal firearms manufacturers and traditional
Workshop on SALW legal framework: CNLPAL’s meeting with hunters’ associations and groups in Bamako, Sikasso artisanal arms manufacturers and associations of traditional and Mopti in order to capture the dynamics in each hunters in Mali. Bamako, July 2019. zone.
Conflict Prevention and Management In its strategy to support the reduction of armed violence in the areas of intervention, the project strengthened existing local conflict management mechanisms and platforms for the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflict. Project’s support included the facilitation of 17 conflict management training sessions, providing 439 participants (out of which 44% were women of all ages) with tools to intervene as a neutral third party and contribute to the mediation of local conflicts. However, young people represented only 13% of the members of these committees, demonstrating a significant need to strengthen the presence and voice of youth within these mechanisms, particularly in a context where young people are usually labelled as being more part of the problem than part of the solution. Specific youth engagement platforms (Intra/intergenerational dialogue forum) to address the low level of youth involvement in the community safety planning and other local governance processes were piloted in Mali in 2018 and implemented in the 3 countries in 2019. These forums made it possible to identify certain factors of community resilience, in particular the feeling of belonging to a community, which remains a determining factor in keeping young people within their communities of origin and not joining radical armed groups for fear of rejection by the community. The participation of young people in the community safety decision process has been the most dealt with during those forums. For example, the intergenerational dialogue forum held in Labbézanga in July 2019 highlighted the rise in youth drug consumption in the locality. The outcome of this dialogue led to the creation of a collaboration framework between young people and the security forces to combat the phenomenon. Periodic meetings, facilitated by DDG, are held for this purpose between the various stakeholders.
6 The programme is based on a detailed understanding of the general context of the region, but also of the specific context of each of the intervention communities. To this end, in consultation with communities’ members, the project produced and updated 13 community monographies enabling DDG to analyse the evolution of the context, year after year. The participatory monographies development workshops and the context analyses based on individual interviews and focus group discussions, engaged the participation of 617 persons, out of which 39% were women.
By their nature, community radios are close to the communities and while they can play a very effective role in resolving conflict at the local level, they can also ignite them. In order to minimise the later, the project conducted 8 awareness raising sessions aimed to empower 83 journalists (31% were women) on positive communication and conflict sensitivity, and to promote community radios as an agent of peace and reconciliation in their own communities. The community radios of Gorom-Gorom, Djibo and Ouahigouya in Burkina Faso, of Koro and Ouattagouna in Mali and Ayorou, Amarsingue and Dolbel in Niger benefited from this action.
Outcome 2: Relations and trust are built through improved communication, concrete collaboration and information-sharing between communities and security providers
Dialogues and joint initiatives Often, the climate of mistrust and mutual incomprehension prevailing between communities and security providers and authorities, causes tensions and further weakens the security of the communities and the stability of the entire area, in an already fragile context. To respond to this challenge, DDG facilitates regular dialogue sessions between these different actors, from the community level, to the commune level, the department level (in Niger), the province level (in Burkina Faso) and the Circle level (in Mali). Cross-border dialogues have also been organized and facilitated to address issues common to at least two countries.
In the framework of the project, DDG continued to facilitate 75 such dialogues, with a total involvement of 4045 participants, including 3695 community members (out of which 32% were women and young women and 34% were young women and young men); 213 representatives of the security forces (92 police officers — including 2 women —, 81 gendarmes and 40 customs officers); and 137 representatives of local civil and administrative authorities. These dialogues helped to unblock locally situations that would otherwise have had to wait for treatment far away in the capital. Moreover, they enabled the communities to exchange with the security forces, particularly the police, the gendarmerie and the customs, on the security context and to make proposals for action plans to strengthen security and social cohesion in the intervention communities. In Ayorou for example, those dialogues had many effects including, among others, the setting up of a bi-weekly consultation framework between the communities and the defence and security Forces, the implementation of an action plan to strengthen collaboration between the users of the river, the rapprochement between the populations and the security services, etc.
Seven specific dialogue fora for youth with security forces took place on the question related to the involvement of young people in security management and the fight against violent extremism. A total of 150 people participated in those fora, out of which 98 young women and men (young women representing 24%), 24 representants of the security forces (police, gendarmerie and customs) and 28 local administration representatives.
7 Recreational activities are an effective way to showcase local culture in an engaging way, while contributing to social cohesion. From the traditional pirogue races to braiding competitions, football matches, or cultural activities such as theatre performances, these activities provide a space, but also opportunities for community members to convey messages of awareness about living together, respect and mutual understanding, and communication with defence and security services. A good example is what happened in the Ansongo circle in Mali, where young people from Fafa and Labbézanga staged and performed a play on peaceful conflict management and relations between populations and military forces. The performance was so successful within the community that it was performed again before the local authorities on Mali’s Independence Day (22 September) and was widely acclaimed (see picture).
Outcome 3: Sustainable cross-border community safety mechanisms and collaborations improves security and social cohesion in border areas
Cross-border collaboration Given the porous nature of the borders and the close links between communities on both sides of the border, the promotion of peace and security for border communities requires the strengthening of positive cross-border relations. To this end, maintaining a regular dialogue on common challenges and opportunities and setting up joint projects aimed at enhancing local resources through shared management are proving to be effective drivers of cross-border cohesion.
In the framework of the project, DDG accompanied neighbouring communities on both sides of the border to meet, to make joint diagnoses of their common realities, and to propose solutions based on cross-border collaboration, with the endorsement of local authorities on both sides. This included 9 dialogues between communities, traditional and administrative authorities with a total participation of 541 persons, out of which 39% women, and 30% young people. It also included the development of cross-border community protection plans and the pooling of human and material resources on both sides of the border for their implementation. The Koro-Thiou Cross-Border Community Protection Plan was updated between the communities of Yensé in Burkina Faso, and Kiri and Bih in Mali, and community activities of this plan were carried out between the three communities. It included a training in conflict prevention and management, the establishment of a cross-border conflict management mechanism, regular exchange meetings and information sharing between local authorities, and cultural and sports activities between women and youth of both sides of the border. To be highlighted is the fact that at the end of this training, the 21 participants from the three localities, including 9 women, unanimously expressed the wish to formulate a Declaration of solemn commitment to preserve good neighbourly relations between their localities, in a context of the
8 extension of the spiral of violence throughout the area. After consultation with the village committees, the Declaration of Koro was signed on 31 May 2019.
Outcome 4: Enhanced Information Management improves relevance, synergies and efficiency among border programmes
Sharing project results and experience is a strategy for communicating the value of the Border Security and Management programme in the Liptako Gourma, sharing DDG’s approach on Armed Violence Reduction and Community Safety to strategic partners and individuals, securing more funding, and influencing policy decisions. In the framework of the project, few materials enhancing information on the project were produced, published and disseminated.
In February 2019, DDG conducted a participatory needs assessment and perception survey in selected areas, in order to understand the nature of local perceptions, relationships and dynamics of conflict and armed violence impacting the civilian populations. While the main objective of the survey was to determine the possibility of extending project's geographical coverage by integrating new communities into existing programmes, DDG realised that the data collected allowed for a contextual analysis likely to be of interest to a wider range of actors. Hence DDG decided to publish, in July 2019, the study "Border populations facing conflicts and armed violence in Liptako-Gourma: Experiences and local perceptions on the Mali-Burkina and Mali-Niger border" with the main results of the survey (available at https://danishdemininggroup.dk/media/5575111/ddg-experiences-perceptions-rapport- french-juillet-2019.pdf). On a programmatic perspective, the results made it possible to refine the context analysis of the project’s intervention zone and to identify new intervention communities the three countries.
A film documenting the experience and results of the programme in Mali through storytelling and direct testimonies was produced in French and English in February 2019. For security reasons, its dissemination is limited to certain fora in order to protect the beneficiaries who appear on the video.
In November 2019, the paper “Navigating borderlands in the Sahel: border security governance and mixed migration in Liptako-Gourma” was published by DRC’s Mixed Migration Centre based on data collected between July 2018 and February 2019 in the framework of the project (available at: http://www.mixedmigration.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/083_navigating_borderlands.pdf). The research report explores the intersections between border security and cross-border mobility in the Liptako-Gourma. The first part of the study maps, compares, and contrasts border security and migration governance measures put in place in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as in their respective regions in Liptako-Gourma. Building on this analysis, the second part aims to shed lights on the mutual relationships between border management, security governance and mixed migration in region, addressing a variety of interrelated questions relevant to policymakers, humanitarian and development actors and scholars.
A participatory action-research on the nexus justice-security-conflicts and the demand for social justice in the Mopti region was also conducted with the Institut Malien de Recherche-Action pour la Paix (IMRAP). The study, to be published beginning of 2020, documents the expectations, challenges and difficulties, but also the possible solutions expressed by the populations in the Region regarding the articulation between justice-security-conflict management.
9 The BSM Programme is also about strategic partnerships through which DDG expands the network of actors involved in promoting and implementing the security priorities of border communities. Highlights of the project in this area include:
• The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Liptako–Gourma Authority (Autorité de développement intégré de la région du Liptako-Gourma (ALG) in French) which formalizes a collaboration that has been effective for many years, and which will enable future support for cross-border initiatives such as the creation of a framework for consultation between the Governors of the border regions of the three countries in order to encourage channels of communication and collaboration between the Governors, with a view to better coordination of the response to common concerns such as the challenges related to growing insecurity and access to basic social services. The first meeting was held in Niamey in March 2019. The 10 regions represented were Mopti, Gao, Timbuktu and Ménaka (Mali), Dosso, Tahoua and Tillabéry (Niger) and East, North and Sahel (Burkina Faso).
• The signing of a MoU with International Media Support (IMS), which paves the way for the implementation of a new component to raise awareness of local and community radios on conflict-sensitive communication as part of local conflict prevention efforts.
• The granting of new funds from the EU’s Instrument for Stability and Peace (IcSP), allowing project activities to continue and expand to the benefit of the communities.
CHALLENGES
Community-based approach needs time… The impact and sustainability of community safety plans depend on the degree to which they are locally rooted and owned by the communities themselves. Without a common vision of security shared by leaders and the population, there is no foundation on which to anchor a community security approach. The rise in intercommunal violence and extremists’ activities across the region had a negative impact in project’s implementation. However, DDG remains convinced that a community- based approach where everyone has a real voice is essential not only for local ownership, but also for sustainability.
Security context, movement restrictions and access issues… During project’s implementation period, the security context in the three countries has deteriorated significantly, with an increase in the number of attacks by non-state armed groups in the region2, leading to repeated movement restrictions in northern and eastern Burkina Faso, and in Niger’s Tillabéri Region. In Niger, for example, the government had imposed the obligation for NGOs to travel with a military escort, a measure against humanitarian principles. These incidents have made it difficult or impossible to access some communities, impacting on project operations and leading to sporadic suspensions — for periods ranging from a few days to several weeks — of project implementation.
Strategic changes in organization chart and coordination chain Strategic changes were made in DRC-DDG coordination chain, particularly with the country offices taking responsibility of project implementation at national level, while before the project was under the responsibility of Mali’s DRC Country Office. Although necessary, these changes have led to a transition period with different experiences and difficulties from one country to another.
2 https://www.acaps.org/sites/acaps/files/key-documents/files/acaps_humanitarian_perspectives_2019- 2020_conflict_in_the_sahel.pdf
10 EXTERNAL EVALUATION In 2019, an external evaluation of the BSM programme was conducted in order to examine the work of the programme over the period 2014 to 2018. The evaluation report highlighted good practices, lessons learnt, challenges still to overcome and recommendations for the future.
The « Border Security and Management » Programme has been a remarkable success since its launch in 2014. Designed to improve the management and security of the borders of three countries (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger), the programme applied an innovative and community- based cross-border approach in the interests of the communities living in the border zones of the Liptako-Gourma region. The main objective of the programme was to reinforce the resilience of border communities faced with violent conflict, armed violence and violent extremism in the Liptako-Gourma region. To achieve this objective, the programme worked across 13 intervention communities spread over three countries in two phases of funding (BSM 1 and 2) from 2014 to 2018. During this period, the programme reached 35,900 beneficiaries. In 2019 this Independent Formative Evaluation was commissioned in order to examine the work of the programme over the period 2014 to 2018. The evaluation report seeks to highlight good practices, lessons learnt, challenges still to overcome and recommendations for the period of implementation still to come.
Achievements for the period 2014-2018 The BSM programme and the Danish Demining Group’s (DDG) approach to armed violence reduction are unique in seeking to put communities at the centre of managing their own security. This community-based approach depends on a high degree of acceptance within the communities, which is secured, on the one hand, by the quality of the activities the programme offers and on the other hand, by the continuous presence of DDG staff in the field. The BSM was thus able to maintain a field presence when every other humanitarian actor was forced to withdraw due to deteriorating security. The reputation and credibility of the BSM in the eyes of its partners is based on the continual presence of the DDG staff in the field and this presence has contributed considerably to the visibility of the programme at national levels.
The mains strengths of the programme during its first five years are: • Putting human security at the centre of a community-based approach; • The degree of acceptance within communities and the socio-cultural proximity that results from a continued presence of staff in the field; • The strong rate of improvement in contact and attitude on the part of communities towards security services; • The effectiveness of the conflict management and violence prevention mechanisms based on inter- and intra-community dialogues; • A rare degree of strategic patience in achieving the intangible social impacts central to the success of the BSM programme.
ANNEXES Annex 1 - Map of project interventions Annex 2 - BSM programme external evaluation
11