UN, AU, ECOWAS, G5 Sahel formally launch Independent Panel on Security & Development in the Sahel

 A High-Level Event on the Sahel was held on 22 September 2022 in New York, on the margins of the 77th United Nations General Assembly, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) Commission, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel).

In their statements a copy of which was made available to Newsclick Nigeria, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel, and the Secretary-General of the UN formally launched the Independent High-Level Panel led by former President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou. The panel will take strategic stock of the broader international engagement in the Sahel and make recommendations on how to improve overall effectiveness.

They highlighted the underlying challenges in the Sahel, including the surge in violent extremism, growing fragility of the economies of the region due to the impact of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as complex political transitions.

They called for coordinated international, regional and local efforts in the Sahel and in the broader region to address the current security, governance and development challenges and adopt people-centred security approaches based on inclusive political strategies.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel, and the Secretary-General of the UN called on the international community to scale up responses commensurate to the needs in the region, including by providing much needed technical, financial, material, and logistical support.

 They reaffirmed the support of the four organizations to the work of the Independent High-Level Panel led by H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, former President of Niger, and looked forward to the emerging findings of the Independent Strategic Assessment being presented during the 36th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government in February 2023.