GCERF and G5 Sahel Commit to Curbing Violent Extremism in Liptako-Gourma Region

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

GCERF and G5 Sahel Commit to Curbing Violent Extremism in Liptako-Gourma Region Nouakchott, Mauritania, 25 February, 2021 - The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) signed an agreement today to refocus global attention on the threat of violent extremism in the region. The signing in Nouakchott today was a commitment to bolster local efforts seeking to interrupt the cycle of violence in the Central Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, starting with the Liptako-Gourma region. GCERF, the global fund for preventing violent extremism, already funds grassroots organisations working to curb radicalisation in Mali. The Secretary General of the G5 Sahel, S.E.M Maman Sidikou, said the partnership exemplifies “the determination of the G5 Sahel to partner with organisations that are both willing and able to help resolve the security crisis in the region. The situation in the Sahel is a matter of international stability and security. It is a pressing problem that has ramifications beyond the immediate region”. Conflicts in the Lake Chad Basin and the Liptako-Gourma region have created fertile environments for violent extremism and serious organised crime in an already fragile region. The Executive Director of GCERF, Dr Khalid Koser, said “the time was right to direct global resources to communities on the frontline of preventing violent extremism in the Sahel”. “GCERF’s work in Mali has shown that for a modest sum, communities can seize control of the agenda and guide the international response. It is the community leaders, activists and small NGOs – those who have the established trust of their communities - that can really steer people onto a positive path, and away from participating in acts of terrorism,” Dr Koser said. The signed memorandum of understanding commits both parties to work together in the fields of justice, human rights and good governance with the overall ambition of preventing violent extremism in the region. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in French. To request a copy in full, find details for the relevant media contacts below. About GCERF GCERF is the global fund for preventing violent extremism. GCERF finances locally-led efforts to curb radicalisation to violent extremism in Albania, Bangladesh, Kenya, Kosovo, Mali, Nigeria, the Philippines, Somalia and Tunisia. GCERF has reached more than 1.9 million beneficiaries and is set to expand operations in 2021 to Niger, North Macedonia and Sri Lanka. Media Contact Yuko Narushima, Communications Specialist, Geneva +41 79 570 4056 or [email protected] About the G5 Sahel The Group of Five for the Sahel was founded in 2014 as a regional, intergovernmental organisation. It provides an institutional framework to promote development and security within its five member countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. Media Contact Abdoul Salam Diagana, Chargé Communication, G5 Sahel, Nouakchott +222 46 48 10 54, or [email protected] .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

S/2019/868 Security Council
United Nations S/2019/868 Security Council Distr.: General 11 November 2019 Original: English Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel Report of the Secretary-General I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2391 (2017), in which the Council requested me, in close coordination with the States members of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and the Niger) and the African Union, to report on the activities of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel. It provides an update since my report of 6 May 2019 (S/2019/371) on progress made in the operationalization of the Joint Force, international support for the Force, the implementation of the technical agreement signed between the United Nations, the European Union and G5 Sahel States in February 2018, challenges encountered by the Force and the implementation by the G5 Sahel States of a human rights and international humanitarian law compliance framework. 2. The period under review was marked by low-intensity activity by the Joint Force due to the rainy season, which hampered the movements of the Force, and the impact of persistent equipment and training shortfalls on its operations. In accordance with resolution 2391 (2017), international partners continued to mobilize in support of the G5 Sahel. The attack of 30 September on the Force’s base in Boulikessi, Mopti region, central Mali, inflicted heavy casualties. The terrorist group Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.
[Show full text]
Case Study One: the G-5 Sahel Background
Case Study One: The G-5 Sahel Background: G5 Sahel countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – face a plethora of complex challenges, including the growing threat of violent extremism, governance deficiencies, climate change and demographic growth. The interconnectedness of these challenges have made it imperative that countries coordinate their efforts to promote regional development and tackle cross-border insecurity. The G5 Sahel, which is an inter- governmental organization established in 2014 in Nouakchott was intended to do exactly that. So far, however, the response of the involved countries has been largely dominated by a security focus. In 2017, the G5 Sahel launched a Joint Force (Force conjointe du G5 Sahel, FC-G5S). This concept of joint military operations was not new in the Sahel. Rather, this collaboration sought to resurrect a short-lived joint Malian-Mauritanian experiment that had taken place in 2011. In Operation Benkan (Unity), the forces of both countries collaborated to dislodge militants of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) from their base in the Wagadou forest on the Malian side of their border. In 2013, the Nigerian, Malian and French armies conducted Operation Roussette on the border between Mali and Niger. After Operation Roussette, a handful of cross-border military operations were carried out in early 2014 by hundreds of troops from the five armies concerned. Each army operated on its side of the border, but had a right of hot pursuit, and was assisted by French troops who provided support in terms of planning, logistics, intelligence, air cover, and medical evacuations. After a year of coordinated military action in which the practice of coalition warfare proved promising, the necessity for the affected states to institutionalize their military consultation, planning, and operations became more pressing.
[Show full text]
S/RES/2359 (2017) Security Council
United Nations S/RES/2359 (2017) Security Council Distr.: General 21 June 2017 Resolution 2359 (2017) Adopted by the Security Council at its 7979th meeting, on 21 June 2017 The Security Council, Recalling its resolutions 2295 (2016), 2253 (2015), and 2227 (2015), Recalling its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, Affirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, Expressing its continued concern over the transnational dimension of the terrorist threat in the Sahel region, as well as the serious challenges posed by transnational organized crime in the Sahel region, including arms and drug trafficking, the smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons, and its increasing links, in some cases, with terrorism, and underscoring the responsibility of the countries in the region in addressing these threats and challenges, Recalling the listing of MUJAO, the Organisation of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, Ansar Eddine and its leader Iyad Ag Ghali, and Al Mourabitoun on the Al-Qaida sanctions list established by the 1267/1989/2253 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, reiterating its readiness, under the above- mentioned regime, to sanction further individuals, groups, undertakings and entities who are associated with Al-Qaida and other listed entities and individuals, and taking note of the merger of AQIM, Al Mourabitoun and Ansar Eddine terrorist groups into Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin
[Show full text]
The Sahel Alliance
POLICY BRIEF DISORDER FROM CHAOS: WHY EUROPEANS FAIL TO PROMOTE STABILITY IN THE SAHEL Andrew Lebovich August 2020 SUMMARY France, Germany, and Sahel countries launched the Sahel Alliance in 2017 with the aim of bringing together major international donors to better coordinate development assistance and other financing efforts for the region. The Alliance aimed to integrate security, development, and governance perspectives but has struggled to find coherence and effectiveness – although it has adopted some novel approaches. The worsening security situation in the Sahel led international actors to then set up new initiatives, including the Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel and, more recently, the Coalition for the Sahel. However, the relationship between these initiatives remains largely theoretical, with the practicalities of cooperation and burden sharing yet to be fully defined. These new initiatives risk privileging security solutions to complex problems, meaning that necessary governance reforms may fall by the wayside. This is despite widespread acknowledgement, including from senior French officials, that there is no purely military solution to the varied conflicts and challenges in the Sahel. Introduction Hopes were high when French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of the Sahel Alliance at a G5 meeting in Nouakchott, Mauritania in July 2017. The new alliance’s goal was for France and Germany, along with other international partners, to play a more effective role in improving stability in the Sahel by bringing development concerns together with security and governance work. The activities of the Sahel Alliance since its formation demonstrate some of the wide-ranging ambitions of European and international policy in the region.
[Show full text]
The Transmutation of Jihadi Organizations in the Sahel and the Regional Security Architecture
No. 10, April 2018 FUTURE NOTES THE TRANSMUTATION OF JIHADI ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SAHEL AND THE REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE Djallil Lounnas This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 693244 Middle East and North Africa Regional Architecture: Mapping Geopolitical Shifts, regional Order and Domestic Transformations FUTURE NOTES No. 10, April 2018 THE TRANSMUTATION OF JIHADI ORGANIZATIONS IN THE SAHEL AND THE REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE Djallil Lounnas1 In March 2017, the four most powerful jihadi organizations in the Sahel, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar al-Din, Al-Mourabitoun and Katibat Macina – the latter three linked directly or indirectly to Al-Qaeda – announced their unification and the creation of the Jama’a Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin’ (JNIM) also known as Group in Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), under the leadership of Iyad Ag Ghali. This unification ended the factionalism that had long characterized jihadi organizations in the region and gave birth to what can be considered as one of the most powerful Al-Qaeda affiliates. The creation of the GSIM is especially dangerous in view of the fact that the Sahelian sub-regional system is composed of weak states unable to quell the jihadi threat and geographically linked to Libya, a collapsed state and considered a safe haven for jihadi organizations, in spite of the presence of the international community, especially the French military operation Barkhane. Even more dangerous is the presence of an affiliate of the Islamic State, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) led by Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, an organization which, although on the surface appearing to be the main rival of the GSIM, has been following a strategy of rapprochement with Iyad Ag Ghali.
[Show full text]
Cooperation Or Competition? Security in West Africa Between ECOWAS and the G5
PERSPECTIVE | FES PEACE AND SECURITY Cooperation or Competition? Security in West Africa between ECOWAS and the G5 JAN GREBE December 2018 n Established in February 2014, the regional organisation G5-Sahel with its Member States Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad has aroused great expecta- tions with regard to a stabilisation of the Sahel region, which is plagued by numer- ous conflicts. At the same time, the region has increasingly moved into the focus of (European) public attention in recent years due to its role as a key route for migration to Europe. At present, however, caution is warranted with regard to the creation of new structures and coalitions, as cooperation and links with established security structures such as ECOWAS and the AU remain hazy. n ECOWAS and G5-Sahel signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they agreed on cooperation in various areas as recently as July 2018. Both sides stressed that they wanted to avoid duplication of efforts and exploit synergies between the two organisations. What form this ultimately takes in actual practice remains to be seen. There are still considerable misgivings within ECOWAS about the new organi- sation, as it was not involved in its inception. n There is a need for a comprehensive strategy to stabilise the Sahel region that does not rely solely on military components, as G5 Sahel is favouring at present. The inte- gration of G5 Sahel into the APSA context, and thus indirectly into ECOWAS as well, is important in a multidimensional approach to stabilising the Sahel. European policy should therefore assign greater support to the systematic leveraging of synergies based on the Memorandum of Understanding concluded by the two organisations, greater political coordination and a stronger role for ECOWAS with its civilian instru- ments in efforts to stabilise the Sahel region.
[Show full text]
Peacebuilding Commission Meeting on the Sahel Region and the United
Peacebuilding Commission Meeting on the Sahel region and the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel 28 April 2021, 10:00 AM (New York time) Concept Note Background Over the past few years, the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) has been supporting regional peacebuilding priorities in the Sahel, including within the framework of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and its UN support plan (UNSP)1. In S/PRST/2021/3, the Security Council encouraged the Peacebuilding Commission’s continued engagement in support of the Sahel and UNISS. The Council called on UNOWAS to work with all elements of the UN system at Headquarters and in West Africa and the Sahel, in particular the Regional Collaborative Platform, to strengthen integrated responses to the challenges facing the region, and in that respect welcomed the appointment of Abdoulaye Mar Dieye as the UN Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel. The Council also encouraged greater coherence and coordination with partners in the region to help enhance the regional implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the African Union Agenda 2063. In the last PBC meeting on the Sahel and UNISS on 14 October 2020, there were calls for scaling up in resource mobilization and even stronger support from the international community to ensure that the security, governance and resilience pillars of the UNISS are efficiently implemented. Since then, the situation in the Sahel has remained precarious, as evidenced by the intensification of terrorist and violent extremist attacks against security and defence forces as well as civilians, especially in central Sahel.
[Show full text]
The United Nations Foundation Team Traveled to Bamako, Gao, And
The United Nations Foundation team traveled to Bamako, Gao, and Timbuktu from September 16-26, 2018, to learn more about the United Nations Integrated Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). During our visit, we met with more than 50 UN officials, civil society groups, Western diplomats, and international forces including leadership in MINUSMA, Barkhane, and the G5 Sahel Joint Force. Below you will find our observations. Background The landlocked country of Mali, once a French colony and a cultural hub of West Africa, was overrun in January 2012 by a coalition of Tuareg and terrorist groups moving south towards the capital of Bamako. At the time, the Tuareg movement (MNLA) in northern Mali held legitimate grievances against the government and aligned itself with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), the Islamic militants and jihadists in the region. Simultaneously, a mutiny of soldiers launched a military coup d’ etat led by Captain Amadou Sonogo, who took power from then President Amadou Toumani Touré and dissolved government institutions, consequently leading to a complete collapse of institutions in the northern part of the country. This Tuareg movement declared Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu an Independent State of Azawad by April 2012. However, soon after, the Tuareg move- ment was pushed out by the jihadists, Ansar Dine and Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).1 In the early days of the conflict, the UN and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) put together a power-sharing framework which led to the resignation of President Toure. Dioncounda Traoré was subsequently appointed interim President and a transitional government was established.
[Show full text]
Projectsheet
May 2020 INTEGRATION FOR IMPACT: INTERPOL AND THE G5 SAHEL JOINT TASK FORCE – POLICE COMPONENT The aim of this project is to promote the effective use of INTERPOL policing capabilities in the member countries of the Sahel region to combat terrorism. A joint response The Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) was founded in 2014 as a regional, intergovernmental organization. It provides an institutional framework to promote development and security within its five member countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The Sahel region has experienced a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets. Terrorist groups are present across borders and repeatedly target communities and national institutions through coordinated attacks, taking advantage of porous and extensive borders. It is essential to identify terrorists, their movements and means of action, in order to prevent and disrupt their activities. As part of its security mandate, the G5 Sahel created the Joint Task Force in 2017 to strengthen the fight against threats to peace and security and bolster development. Its main objectives are to collect, process, exploit and share relevant criminal information among a diverse range of actors in a complex environment. It is structured around Military and Police Components, which are connected through the national and regional Security Cooperation Platforms (PCMS, in French “Plateformes de Cooperation en Matière de Sécurité”). � INTERPOL AND THE G5 SAHEL JOINT TASK FORCE – POLICE COMPONENT The project: integration for impact 3. Connecting and maintaining INTERPOL I-24/7 access – in the field and at strategic ports of entry in all G5 INTERPOL supports the Police Component of the G5 Sahel Joint Sahel countries to ensure access to INTERPOL databases for Task Force (FC-G5S PC) through a three-year project (2019-2022), frontline officers.
[Show full text]
Crossing the Wilderness
REPORT — SPRING 2021 Crossing the wilderness Europe and the Sahel This report is part of Friends of Europe’s Peace, Security and Defence programme. Written by Paul Taylor, it brings together the views of scholars, policymakers and senior defence and security stakeholders. Unless otherwise indicated, this report reflects the writer’s understanding of the views expressed by the interviewees and participants of survey. The author and the participants contributed in their personal capacities, and their views do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions they represent, or of Friends of Europe and its board of trustees, members or partners. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted, provided that full credit is given to Friends of Europe and that any such reproduction, whether in whole or in part, is not sold unless incorporated in other works. The Peace, Security and Defence programme is supported by the United States government. This report is produced in partnership with Publisher: Geert Cami Author: Paul Taylor Publication Director: Dharmendra Kanani Programme Manager: Elena Saenz-Feehan Programme Executive: Alex O’Mahony Programme Assistant: Krystal Gaillard Editors: Anna Muizniece, Angela Pauly, Teresa Carvalho & Daniel Pietikainen Design: Matjaž Krmelj © Friends of Europe - April 2021 Table of contents Foreword 6 Methodology and Acknowledgments 10 Executive summary 14 No promised land 14 Crisis of legitimacy 16 Instability and intervention 17 Containment, not victory 18 No proxy war, french lead 20 Widening coalitions, endless
[Show full text]
Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa Marco Cochi
Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa Marco Cochi ► Jihadist groups that formed the provinces of the Islamic State have proved to be fundamental to carry out apocalyptic al-Baghdadi's project of Salafi fundamentalist hegemony, allowing to its organization to continue to exercise its significance, even after the loss of Syrian and Iraqis territories. Among the various groups that in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Sahel have sworn loyalty to the Caliphate, one in particular stood out for the high lethality and the wide range of action. This group is known as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) led by the emir Adnan al-Sahrawi. The impact of the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara on security in the Sahel region On the first day of Ramadan in 2014, Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)1, announced the restoration of the Caliphate and decided to change the name of the group to Islamic State (IS)2. The proclamation led thousands of foreign fighters to decide to leave for Syria and Iraq to join the militias of the new Caliphate. Four months later, through official propaganda IS's bodies (al-Furqan Media Foundation and Dabiq Magazine), the terrorist organization announced that other jihadist groups had declared their affiliation to the Caliphate, assuming the name of provinces (wilayats) of the Islamic State. However, before swearing allegiance to the caliph al- Baghdadi, these groups would have to implement the military strategy and the government system of central core. Over time, the wilayats proved to be fundamental to carry out the apocalyptic al- Baghdadi's project of Salafi fundamentalist hegemony.
[Show full text]
Burkina Faso
Integrated Country Strategy Burkina Faso FOR PUBLIC RELEASE FOR PUBLIC RELEASE Contents 1. Chief of Mission Priorities ................................................................................................................ 2 2. Mission Strategic Framework .......................................................................................................... 8 3. Mission Goals and Objectives .......................................................................................................... 9 4. Management Objectives ................................................................................................................ 15 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE Approved: August 3, 2018 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE 1. Chief of Mission Priorities After 27 years under the Blaise Compaore regime followed by two tumultuous years that included shocks to its political and security structures, Burkina Faso now looks to President Roch Marc Christian Kabore to chart a new path for the country. His government has outlined three policy pillars: institutional reform, building human capital, and revitalizing the productive sector. This new government has also launched the donor-dependent National Economic and Social Development Plan (PNDES), which will serve as a framework for pursuing economic growth. The U.S. Mission should capitalize on its strong bilateral relationship with Burkina Faso to encourage government, security, and development progress and help stabilize the country and the region. Burkina Faso’s long-term development and security depends
[Show full text]