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7979th Security Council Meeting: Peace and Security in Africa
The Security Council welcomed the deployment of the Group of Five Sahel joint force (Force conjointe du G5 Sahel - FC-G5S) that would address the threat of terrorism, as well as the serious challenges posed by transnational organized crime in the region.
Unanimously adopting resolution 2359 (2017), the Council welcomed the joint force’s strategic concept of operations, saying it intended to review the deployment in four months’ time. It requested that the Secretary-General, in close coordination with the Group of Five (G5) Sahel States – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, as well as the African Union – provide an oral update within two months.
Also by that text, the Council urged the joint force of up to 5,000 military and police personnel, as well as the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and French forces in that country to ensure adequate coordination and exchange of information regarding their operations, within their respective mandates. In that regard, it reiterated its request that the Secretary-General enhance cooperation between MINUSMA and the G5 Sahel States through the relevant intelligence and liaison officers.
By other terms, the Council urged the G5 Sahel States to continue efforts to make the joint force operational in a sustainable, viable and effective manner. It also welcomed the European Union’s commitment to provide €50 million in financial support, and encouraged further support from bilateral and multilateral partners.
Emphasizing the important role of women in preventing conflict and peacebuilding, the Council underlined the need to take a gender perspective into account in implementing all aspects of the strategic concept of operations.
François Delattre (France) said the text’s unanimous adoption expressed the Council’s full support for the joint force, and called for international support for the initiative, including at an upcoming donor conference. France would make it a priority during its Council Presidency in October, he added. The joint force would complement MINUSMA, enabling that Mission to focus on its priority tasks. Noting the presence of the French military “Operation Barkhane”, he said the Sahel must not become a haven for terrorism, emphasizing: “In the Sahel, all of our security is at stake.”
Issa Konfourou (Mali), speaking for the G5 Sahel countries, said there was no need to highlight the importance of the joint force for regional stability. Its creation reflected the collective will of Sahel Heads of State to pool efforts in combating terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking. It would also help to create the conditions that would enable MINUSMA to carry out its mandate, as well as an environment for implementing the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. He affirmed that the joint force would respect gender, human rights and international humanitarian law, and emphasized the need for more consistent bilateral and multilateral support. “We wish to move quickly because criminal groups will not wait,” he said, adding that the G5 Sahel States would hold a summit in Bamako on 2 July, with the President of France participating.
