To address the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel despite the existence of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, Germany and France presented, on Sunday 25 August, to the G7 in Biarritz, a new initiative discussed with African partners to involve the international community, starting with G7 members, in efforts to stabilise the region and extend the security perimeter to countries neighbouring the G5 Sahel (see EUROPE 12311/1).
This initiative will therefore go beyond the support provided by Force Barkhane, Minusma and EUTM, support for the G5 Sahel Force and the Alliance for the Sahel initiative launched in 2017 by France and Germany.
"With the spread of terrorism, we have decided, together with Ms Merkel and the members of the G5 Sahel, to expand this support and launch a new initiative with the Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel (...) Our objective is to change scale, method, and to involve more widely" (the international community: Editor's note), French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters. The security perimeter will be extended to ECOWAS countries, he said.
"This partnership is open to other countries outside the G7. The objective is to meet the needs of the G5 Sahel countries. Mr Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (President of Burkina Faso, who currently chairs the G5 Sahel) will be our interlocutor. He will tell us what they need in terms of logistical support, equipment and training", said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to her, the 5 countries of the G5 Sahel must be able to ensure their own national security. She added, "This is urgent. Germany will make every effort to achieve this. This is a priority initiative for us".
At the end of the year, France and Germany will organise a conference to launch the work programme of this broader cooperation framework than the G5.
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré stressed the impact of the war in Libya on the security situation in the Sahel and the urgent need to find, with G7 partners, a solution to curb the spread of terrorism, this "gangrene". "We need an international partnership for security and development". According to him, "the idea was accepted so that we could benefit not only from massive support in terms of military activities, but also in terms of development". On 14 September, a meeting between the G5 Sahel and ECOWAS coastal countries is scheduled on security and the fight against terrorism, for greater effectiveness.
He indicated that discussions had continued over the past several years on the possibility of placing the G5 Sahel force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. "If the 7 battalions in place obtain the means to finance their army, it will be something to be gained in the fight against terrorism", he said. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)