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UN / WEST AFRICA SAHEL
STORY: UN / WEST AFRICA SAHEL
TRT: 04:57
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 11 JANUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, flags alley at the UNHQ
11 JANUARY 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (French) Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS):
«Over the past six months, the situation in West Africa and the Sahel has been marked by contrasting developments. On the one hand, significant progress has been made in consolidating democracy, and this reflects an increasingly demanding younger generation’ s desire for change. On the other hand, the security situation and governance-related challenges remain major concerns. And this has a significant impact on the lives of communities and constantly threatening to crash progress achieved in other areas.»
4. Med shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS):
“As we move into a post-MINUSMA Mali, we need to take stock of that decade-long experience and draw lessons required to inform a fast-approaching future. As a legacy of MINUSMA, the UN will continue to maintain a key role in support of the Malian people. We remain committed to deliver.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS):
“All the while, the closure of MINUSMA, the departure of foreign forces, and the uncertainty about the G5-Sahel following the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Niger portend a reconfiguration of regional security coordination mechanisms. Conversely, coordinated operations under the Multinational Joint Task Force have contributed to some tenuous stabilization in the Lake Chad region.”
8. Med shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS):
“As the number of children out of school remains disturbingly high – with thousands of schools closed due to insecurity compounding the deficits of education systems already thinly stretched before – in November 2023, UNOWAS held a colloquium on the nexus between security, access to education, and governance in the Central Sahel and West Africa, in pursuance of Security Council Resolution 2601(2021). Going forward, the deliberations offered an entry point for a multi-stakeholder roadmap to provide emergency education as the most important lever for children to shape their future and build their countries.”
10. Med shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS):
“A few weeks ago, the COP-28 ended, marking another step towards tackling climate change. As we all know, though least contributing to global warming, fragile ecosystems especially in the Sahel band are particularly affected. As evidenced by the situations in the Lake Chad Basin and the Liptako-Gourma region, the negative impact of climate change, such as prolonged drought and unpredictable rainy seasons causing flooding, on peace and security in West Africa and the Sahel is a lived reality we cannot ignore.”
12. Wide shot, meeting ended
13. Pan left, ambassadors walk in
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations:
“We, the Security Council members that have joint pledges related to climate, peace and security - France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America - have come together for the first time this year as a group, welcoming the new pledgers. Today, the Council convinces to discuss the situation in West Africa and the Sahel, and the activities of the UN regional office UNOWAS. We express deep concern regarding the severe adverse impact of climate change on peace and security in West Africa and the Sahel and call for urgent action.”
15. Pan right, ambassadors walk away
The head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Leonardo Santos Simão, said that over the past six months, the situation in the region has been marked by contrasting developments. On one hand, he said, significant progress has been made in consolidating democracy in some parts of the region, while on the other hand, the security situation and governance challenges remain a major concern.
Briefing the Security Council today (11 Jan), Simão said, “as we move into a post-MINUSMA Mali, we need to take stock of that decade-long experience and draw lessons required to inform a fast-approaching future. As a legacy of MINUSMA, the UN will continue to maintain a key role in support of the Malian people. We remain committed to deliver.”
He continued, “all the while, the closure of MINUSMA, the departure of foreign forces, and the uncertainty about the G5-Sahel following the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Niger portend a reconfiguration of regional security coordination mechanisms.”
Simão said, “conversely, coordinated operations under the Multinational Joint Task Force have contributed to some tenuous stabilization in the Lake Chad region.”
The head of UNOWAS added, “as the number of children out of school remains disturbingly high – with thousands of schools closed due to insecurity compounding the deficits of education systems already thinly stretched before – in November 2023, UNOWAS held a colloquium on the nexus between security, access to education, and governance in the Central Sahel and West Africa, in pursuance of Security Council Resolution 2601(2021).”
“Going forward, the deliberations offered an entry point for a multi-stakeholder roadmap to provide emergency education as the most important lever for children to shape their future and build their countries,” he said.
Simão noted, “a few weeks ago, the COP-28 ended, marking another step towards tackling climate change. As we all know, though least contributing to global warming, fragile ecosystems especially in the Sahel band are particularly affected.”
He concluded, “as evidenced by the situations in the Lake Chad Basin and the Liptako-Gourma region, the negative impact of climate change, such as prolonged drought and unpredictable rainy seasons causing flooding, on peace and security in West Africa and the Sahel is a lived reality we cannot ignore.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of the Security Council meeting, French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, whose country is holding the Presidency of the Council for the month of January, said, “we, the Security Council members that have joint pledges related to climate, peace and security - France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America - have come together for the first time this year as a group, welcoming the new pledgers.”
He continued, “we express deep concern regarding the severe adverse impact of climate change on peace and security in West Africa and the Sahel and call for urgent action.”
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