A
ministerial meeting of the International Coalition for the Sahel was held on
Friday, 12 June 2020 and co-chaired by Mauritania, the EU and France.
The
Sahel is going through enormous challenges. Therefore, an initiative like this
conference can only be considered as positive. The problem is, however, that the
emphasis was basically placed on the security dimensions, without a proper
discussion about the human rights issues and the poor governance that prevails in
much of the region. The armed forces of the G5 Sahelian countries – Burkina Faso,
Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – are weak, except for the Chadian ones, and have
a questionable record in terms of human rights. The weaknesses are ignored by
the European partners and the human rights dimensions are always absent from
the debate. Besides that, there has been a proliferation of militia groups,
particularly in Burkina Faso. They are supported by the national governments and
the experience has shown that they have become part of the problem
The
Europeans, led by the French, are not fully sincere when discussing the Sahel
situation. Their dialogue with the Sahelian leaders is not frank. It is too formal, full of niceties. It does not
touch the root causes of the ongoing conflicts. And without frankness, there is
no way the fast deteriorating situation can be addressed. It will continue to worsen.
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