Dakar, 21 August 2023 - Continuing his good offices efforts, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mr. Leonardo Santos Simão, was in Niamey on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 August to facilitate, in coordination with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a peaceful settlement of the Nigerien crisis.

The Special Representative encouraged his Nigerien interlocutors to do everything possible to reach a peaceful resolution of the crisis, and a return to constitutional order, in the interest of Niger and the entire sub-region.

The Special Representative underlined the impact of this crisis on human lives and called on the Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie (CNSP) to take the necessary measures to facilitate the delivery and access of the humanitarian assistance provided by the United Nations system and other humanitarian agencies, to vulnerable populations in Niger.