New York: The security situation across the Sahel is deteriorating rapidly, threatening peace and security in West Africa’s coastal States and beyond, delegates warned the Security Council today, condemning the deliberate targeting and exploitation of women and girls caught in the crossfire. The Sahel has become a convergence point for some of the world’s most pressing concerns, including terrorism, coups, environmental collapse, poverty, hunger, dwindling development financing, and a declining UN presence on the ground.
According to EMM, Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), highlighted that these crises land violently and disproportionately on the bodies and futures of women and girls. She noted that over 1 million girls in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are out of school due to terrorist attacks or threats, emphasizing that abduction is a tactic of terrorism in the Sahel. In Burkina Faso alone, the number of women and girls abducted rose by over 218 percent last year.
Bahous called for governments and regional bodies to ensure women’s full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation in transitional governments and peace efforts. She urged that at least 15 percent of violent extremism prevention funding be invested in gender equality, supporting the rapid deployment of women protection advisers to the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) to monitor sexual violence trends.
Levinia Addae-Mensah, Executive Director of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, echoed these sentiments, underscoring that women are not just victims but have tremendous capacity to foster change. She noted that women’s social networks are at the forefront of peacebuilding efforts in the Sahel, mediating local conflicts and leading trauma healing initiatives. However, she highlighted that women’s participation is often viewed as an add-on rather than a strategic imperative, contributing to chronic underfunding.
Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNOWAS, presented the Secretary-General’s latest report, citing the surge in terrorist activity in Mali, Benin, Togo, and Nigeria. He cautioned that young people are increasingly becoming prime targets for recruitment by terrorist groups. Simão noted that the member States of the Alliance of Sahel States have established a joint defense force and a Criminal Court in Bamako to address war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Despite these efforts, growing insecurity compounds an already dire humanitarian situation. With 12.8 million people projected to face acute food insecurity and 2.6 million children expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition by 2025, only 14 percent of funding for the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for the Sahel region has been received, prompting calls for resource mobilization.
During the ensuing discussion, delegates expressed concern over the horrific human rights situation of women and girls, including abductions, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and rape. Denmark’s delegate stressed the need for urgent access to justice and protection mechanisms for women, urging their full participation in electoral and peace processes.
Representatives from Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Algeria, Guyana, and Somalia voiced their concerns about the evolving security situation and the unprecedented surge in terrorist violence by groups such as Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Pakistan’s delegate underscored the importance of focusing on the root causes of terrorism, while the Republic of Korea highlighted the need for coordinated regional responses.
The United States delegate urged Sahelian States to coordinate their response to terrorism, citing the crisis in Sudan as a factor impacting peace and security in the Sahel. The Russian Federation’s representative expressed concern over the use of modern communication and drones by terrorists, while France and China emphasized a comprehensive approach to counter-terrorism, including upholding fundamental rights and supporting national governance.
In conclusion, the Security Council discussions underscored the need for a balanced strategy that addresses both security and development, with an emphasis on regional unity and international support for affected countries.