National ownership is a must for the success of the security sector reform in West Africa and the Sahel

In the past few decades, countries in West Africa and the Sahel have enacted important and beneficial reforms to improve the performance of their political and economic institutions.

Significant progress has been realized in spite of the persistence of a multitude of challenges. The successive elections that were peacefully held in the sub-region have led to the promotion of new political alternation of power. Just as various ongoing or initiated reforms, such as the security sector reform, have helped improve governance and contributed to the emergence of an environment that is more dynamic at the economic level and more democratic and stable at the political level.
Indeed, many countries in the region have initiated reforms of their security institutions to make them more professional, efficient and accountable. Moreover, these reforms aimed at establishing an impartial and accessible judicial system, with the objective of laying the foundation of sustainable peace and development. The security sector reform was also to address the expectations of populations seeking protection and justice when facing abuses from institutions or individuals engaged in authoritarian practices not compliant with principles of law.

The various experiences of the security sector reform in countries of West Africa and the Sahel, like elsewhere in the world, are marked by historical and political realities that influence the reform process.

Each country sets up its own security system with its various actors, and defines threats it must face to meet populations’ expectations. The most common threats in the West Africa and Sahel region are organised cross-border crime, illicit drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, piracy and banditry on the high seas and on land. All these threats jeopardize security of individuals in the region and constitute a barrier to individual economic initiatives, development efforts and country stability.

It is critical to highlight how important the role of civil society organisations is in the reform process as their participation guarantees representation and inclusion while contributing to strengthening the control of the security sector governance.

But beyond the necessity to reform the security sector, it is vital that States and populations be a driving force in reform processes. Without the commitment of state and non-state actors at the regional and national levels, as well as the clearly expressed political will of government authorities, plans and programs implemented to carry out the security sector reform will not produce results.

With the assistance of regional and international partners, but mostly supported by strong political commitment, countries in the region have successfully launched the reform of their security sector and realized extraordinary progress.

The experience of Sierra Leone is significant and provides a good example of the importance of leadership and national ownership of the security sector reform process which allowed – by itself alone – to consolidate peace. There is no doubt that the Sierra Leone experience is an example that should be followed by other countries committed to the same type of reform.

Major countries like Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina, Mali or Gambia, to name only a few, have initiated reforms of their security sector that will be key to their stability and that of the region.

The security sector reform remains a cornerstone for stability and development. We – regional, national and international actors – must continue to support countries in the region in their endeavour to reform the security sector which will pave the way for populations’ access to the rule of law and prosperity.
This is the purpose of the regional commitment of UNOWAS through its support of the ECOWAS reform of the security sector and governance, and through its continued support of the capacity-building of leadership and the national ownership of reforms.

Ms. Hiroute Guebre Sellassie
Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel (DSRSG)

From preventive diplomacy to peaceful political transition in the Gambia

West Africa has witnessed a series of peaceful presidential and legislative elections, held in accordance with the democratic standards and principles recognized by the African Union, ECOWAS and the United Nations.

Definitively breaking with nondemocratic practices dominated by the alternation of coups d’etat and unlimited monopoly of power, Africa, and in particular West Africa, has moved serenely and resolutely towards political change based on the rules and principles of free elections that guarantee the choice of the people.
It is a political reality dictated by an awareness of Africans-citizens as leaders, that the objective of development can only be achieved through a new political culture based on good governance and the respect of rights.

Undoubtedly, there is still some way to go. But no one can deny or underestimate the progress made in the upholding of electoral processes and political change that West Africa has just experienced.

From Nigeria to the Gambia via Benin and Ghana - to mention just a few examples - African leaders and citizens have demonstrated great political maturity and a strong sense of responsibility that must be welcomed and supported.

Apart from some minor incidents between supporters of the various candidates, the last ten elections in the West Africa region were held peacefully and without any violence.

The example of the Gambia is in this sense significant. For a country that has been under autocratic rule for more than two decades, there has been little room for maneuver for peaceful political change.

Who would have thought that elections could be held freely? That the electoral commission could be independent and allow itself to announce results confirming the eviction of the power in place? And finally, who could have foreseen that the Gambians would peacefully vote and wait with a great sense of responsibility for the first results and the end of the political crisis brought about by Yahya Jammeh’s reversal and his rejection of the announcement by the Independent Electoral Commission confirming the candidate of the opposition coalition, Adama Barrow, as the third elected president of the Gambia?

This political maturity and sense of responsibility represent the foundation of the regional preventive diplomacy that eased the departure of former President Jammeh and allowed a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

The joint ECOWAS-UA-UN mediation dispatched to Banjul in the aftermath of Jammeh’s refusal to leave power testifies to the willingness of the countries in the region and of the regional organizations to ensure that the legal framework for peaceful political alternations is scrupulously respected. It also testifies to the determination of the regional organizations to appropriate problems and solutions in a preventive approach with the objective to safeguard peace and stability in the region.

The personal involvement of the presidents of Senegal, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Mauritania and Guinea during the crisis illustrates the engagement of African leaders to do everything possible to prevent another conflict, and to maintain the region in a dynamic peaceful change.

The departure without violence of Yahya Jammeh and the inauguration of Adama Barrow is a success of the regional preventive diplomacy. It is also the fruit of the exemplary attitude of Gambians.

But this success of regional preventive diplomacy can only be complete and effective if The Gambia is committed to pursuing the process of political change by abiding by democratic principles.

The decision of the new President Adama Barrow to set up a joint transition team composed of members of the former administration and of the new one is a strong signal of the new authorities’ commitment to the democratic process. The international community who was mobilized during the post-election crisis to assert the rule of law and the constitution must now provide the necessary support to consolidate the political change in The Gambia and to accompany the Gambians in their aspiration for development.

For this reason, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), in the wake of President Barrow’s return to Banjul, has sent an expert in political transition to support the incoming and outgoing administrations, to have a serene transition, and ensure a peaceful change of power.

In the coming days, the joint transition team will report to President Adama Barrow. This will mark the end of the transition period and launch a new era of political alternation.

But the latter cannot constitute an end in itself as political, economic and social challenges are multiple and require a strong political engagement from the new authorities.

In a country where 60% of the population lives in poverty, where one third has to live do with less than $ 1.25 a day, where there is a widening budget deficit that reaches 7% of GDP in 2016, the priority of new Gambian government will be undoubtedly to put in place economic recovery plans and launch structural reforms. The legislative elections scheduled for April 6 will be a real test for the ruling coalition.

Regional preventive diplomacy was crucial to safeguard the will of the Gambian people as expressed in the ballot box, and to strengthen peace in a region that needs it. Peaceful political transition is fundamental to consolidate the gains of political alternation through free elections.

The United Nations, and particularly UNOWAS - in coordination with regional organizations, will continue to support the Gambia in this important phase of its history.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas

Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel

“Not to take our eyes off the ball”

It is well known that the overall security situation in the Lake Chad Basin area remains precarious and volatile. The efforts exerted by the international community to confront and curb the horrendous violence perpetrated by Boko Haram are commendable, yet the group is still able to continue its campaign of terror. While it is avoiding direct combat, it relies on ambushes, use of Improvised Explosive Devices and suicide bombers targeting vulnerable groups.

As a result, the humanitarian situation has worsened, with an ncreasing number of people suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition. According to OCHA, of the 21 million people living in affected areas in Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger, about 2.4 million have been displaced by the insurgency. Additionally, over 9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across the region, including 7 million that are severely food insecure, and about 480,000 children facing acute malnutrition. And malnutrition rates are expected to increase in the coming months.

I repeat these statistics to remind all of us of the appalling conditions of daily life suffered by the affected communities, not to take our eyes off the ball, to keep in mind that women, children and elders remain most vulnerable. That is what I had in mind when I visited Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Maiduguri is a symbol of the suffering caused by the Boko Haram-instigated violence, with the hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) it is hosting, yet at the same time a demonstration of the courage, resilience and hospitality of its people.

During my visits to the NSG and Bakasi Camps, which host respectively 17,000 and 10,000 IDPs, I could see, through the distress in their eyes, that these statistics are a reflection and a consequence of a human-made ordeal. I assured the people of Borno State of the commitment of the UN to support them during these challenging times, and I appealed to the surge of UN humanitarian assistance.

I wholeheartedly commend the Nigerian government, the Nigerian Army, and the military coalition of the Multi National Joint Task Force in the fight against Boko Haram. It is imperative that the international community provide concrete and effective support to the Task Force to enable them achieving even better results. It is very worrying that the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan for the Lake Chad Basin region, necessitating US $739 million, is still only 41 per cent funded. It goes without saying that additional $163 million pledged by donors in September is welcomed. The needs are enormous, and an appropriate response should continue to help us provide much-needed support to the suffering populations.

It has now become common knowledge that addressing the roots causes of violent extremism and terrorism remains the key to curb the untold campaigns of violence we have been witnessing over the last years. This calls for a more equitable distribution of national resources, and meaningful action by policy makers to address structural issues of exclusion, social injustice, and deprivation.

In the same vein, it is worth underlining that the armies comprising the Task Force are national institutions, which are regulated by codes, principles and rules of engagement. According to these rules, the strict observance of standards of human rights and humanitarian laws must guide their action under all circumstances. State Security apparatuses and institutions should not resort to methods in combating terrorists that are likely to not only turn the population against them but also push them to the side of the insurgents.

Once again, I wish to reiterate the active solidarity of the UN and the entire international community with the governments and the peoples of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, in the fight against international terrorism which has manifested itself the Lake Chad Basin countries in the form of Boko Haram terrorist activities.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas

Special Representative of the Secretary-General
and Head of the UN Office for Africa West and the Sahel

"Together, we can build a better future"

West Africa and the Sahel are two important geographical areas in Africa that have the human and economic potential to play a leading role in the development of the continent. However, the two regions remain mired in recurrent problems that hinder their development.

Beyond the challenges of climate change, demographics and lack of development infrastructure, the West Africa and Sahel regions are today confronted with issues as complex as cross-border insecurity, mass migration, multifaceted violence, including violent extremism.

Aware of this reality, the countries of West Africa and the Sahel have taken and continue to take significant actions to overcome these problems and provide decent living conditions to their populations. However, it must be recognized that one country alone cannot solve this kind of challenges. There is a need for a shared vision: solutions will only come through coordinated mobilization of all actors.

It is against this background that the merger of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) and the Office of the Special Envoy of the United Nations for the Sahel (OSES) took place in January, resulting in the establishment of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).
In coordination with the countries of the region, UNOWAS intends to play a key role in contributing effectively to the actions of regional and international stakeholders.

The organization last month in Dakar, in partnership with IPI (International Peace Institute) and the Swiss-government, of a high-level conference on the need to invest in peace and the prevention of violence in West Africa and the Sahel; the recent visit to the G5 Sahel and the support provided during various electoral processes, are testimonies to the will of the United Nations and UNOWAS in particular, to work for peace and prosperity in the two regions.
The task is certainly difficult, but not insurmountable. Together we can build a better future for the people of West Africa and the Sahel.

Mohamed Ibn Chambas

Special Representative of the Secretary-General
and Head of the UN Office for Africa West and the Sahel