{"id":65178,"date":"2014-02-10T00:19:09","date_gmt":"2014-02-10T00:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=65178"},"modified":"2014-02-10T00:19:09","modified_gmt":"2014-02-10T00:19:09","slug":"a-messenger-of-peace-and-solidarity-goes-to-sahel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=65178","title":{"rendered":"A messenger of peace and solidarity goes to Sahel"},"content":{"rendered":"

For his four-country trip to the Sahel in November, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon adopted as his motto an African saying: \u201cOne hand cannot tie a bundle.\u201d His guests agreed.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On a breezy Monday night last November, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived on a visit to Mali, the first leg of a four-nation tour of the Sahel region. Much had changed in the country\u2019s fortunes. Not long ago, many considered Mali a beacon of stability and a model of democratization. Under its blue sky, it exuded a sense of serenity. Photo:\u2002Dominic Chavez\/World Bank.\u00a0 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from right), along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim (left), African Union Commission Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (second from left) and President Issoufou Mahamadou of Niger (right), talk to the media in Niamey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, even to the casual observer, the mood has turned sombre. And it is not only because of the lingering clouds of smoke oozing from burning mountains of trash near Bamako, the capital. In reality, a series of dramatic events in the recent past are mostly to blame. A military coup toppled an elected government in April 2012. Armed groups took over the country\u2019s north. A coalition of terrorists boldly attempted a total take-over of the country. At the last minute, French and Chadian soldiers forcefully stopped the terrorists\u2019 advance. Peacekeepers were soon deployed. A presidential election took place this past July. It was the first step in getting a derailed democracy back on the tracks.<\/p>\n

However, less than 48 hours before the UN chief landed in Mali, assailants killed two French journalists in the northern town of Kidal. Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, reporters with Radio France International, had been kidnapped and shot dead in the space of a few hours. Mr. Ban, French officials and the UN Security Council strongly condemned the killings. The secretary-general said that they were a reminder of the challenges facing Mali and the need for action to support its people. Across Mali, the commotion over the journalists\u2019 deaths was palpable.<\/p>\n

As Mr. Ban set foot in the region, he quickly moved to set the stage too. First, he stressed that he was visiting the region for the very first time, along with top officials of partner institutions. \u201cA dream team,\u201d one diplomat suggested. Among the visitors were Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission; Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank; Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank; and European Union Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs. Ibrahim Mayaki, chief executive officer of the New Partnership for Africa\u2019s Development, later joined the group.<\/p>\n

Shortly after his plane had landed, in front of a packed crowd that had come to greet him at the airport, Mr. Ban insisted, \u201cWe have come here to demonstrate our solidarity with the people of Mali and Sahel.\u201d Those words were central to his message over the next three days of his visit.<\/p>\n

A UN strategy for the Sahel<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

The events of the past two years in Mali have been central to the design of a unique initiative, now formally known as the UN Strategy for the Sahel. This is a broad and far-reaching response to the region\u2019s woes (see<\/b> page___<\/b>)<\/i>. Its purpose is to mobilize both the countries of the region and their international partners to find common and coordinated solutions. It focuses on three main areas: governance, security and resilience. The plan reflects the belief that peace and development are interconnected. \u201cOne is not sustainable without the other,\u201d Mr. Ban has said on many occasions.<\/p>\n

It was therefore apropos that the secretary-general started his Sahel tour at a gathering of the region\u2019s ministers in Bamako. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the recently elected president of Mali, had convened the meeting to serve as an initial platform for the implementation of the strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is the time for action,\u201d Mr. Ban urged the audience, adding that action can and must be regional in scope \u201csince the challenges facing the region respect no boundaries.\u201d The Sahel is Africa\u2019s most vulnerable region, where some 11 million are at risk of hunger while facing threats from terrorists and criminal networks. Referring to the delegation travelling with him, Mr. Ban remarked, \u201cWe have partnered together in this extraordinary way because we recognize that the Sahel region needs an extraordinary effort.\u201d Mr. Kim, head of the World Bank, said Mr. Ban had brought \u201cmultilateralism to a level never reached before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the ministers from Sahel countries and the heads of international institutions, there was consensus at the meeting that the UN strategy was timely and critical. After the Security Council\u2019s endorsement of the Sahel plan in July, the region and its development partners adopted it.<\/p>\n

The day before the meeting, in an unusual show of partnership, through a press release issued in Bamako on behalf of all the major visiting international partners, the European Union and the World Bank pledged over $8.2 billion to the region: the Bank pledged $1.5 billion in new regional investments over the next two years, while the EU announced it would provide \u20ac5 billion (US$6.75 billion) to the six Sahel countries over the next seven years. The money is to be used for a number of development projects, including agriculture and green energy.<\/p>\n

From a formal gathering with officials, the secretary-general headed north for a visit to the fabled city of Timbuktu, which has suffered the wrath of terrorist occupation and lost some of its historical treasures while its people endured, as Mr. Ban put it, \u201chorrendous human rights violations.\u201d Mr. Ban said that when Timbuktu\u2019s heritage was attacked, it was not a loss only for the Malians, but also for common world heritage.<\/p>\n

Support for Sahel\u2019s women and girls<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Having set the tone for his visit in Mali, the secretary-general proceeded to deliver the same message, emphasizing specific aspects, during subsequent stops. First, the next day, in the hot and dry weather of Niamey, Niger\u2019s capital, the secretary-general applauded President Mahamadou Issoufou for his support in improving the status of women and girls through concrete action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we give women the education they deserve, society becomes stronger. When we protect women\u2019s human rights, society becomes more just. And when we allow women to determine their own future, they will advance development for all,\u201d Mr. Ban declared at a ceremony titled the Call to Action on Demographic Issues. Much like the other officials, Ms. Dlamini-Zuma of the African Union Commission joined in encouraging countries of the Sahel to do more for their women and girls. \u201cThey are not only half of the society, they also gave birth to the other half,\u201d she quipped\u2014to general applause\u2014from a stage that resembled a set for American politicians\u2019 debates during electoral campaigns.<\/p>\n

Calling for common action in Niger, a country facing unique threats as a result of regional instability originating in Mali, Libya and Nigeria, and suffering the brunt of the region\u2019s recurring food crisis, was preaching to the converted. The UN chief told an extraordinary session of Niger\u2019s parliament later in the day that the region needed to confront armed conflict, political instability and economic development, not as isolated and unrelated problems but in a comprehensive way. \u201cOur United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel is based on identifying crucial connections\u2014and supporting your efforts to drive hard at them with well-coordinated solutions,\u201d the secretary-general further explained.<\/p>\n

Mediators and peacekeepers<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

As in Mali, the secretary-general and his delegation were warmly received in Burkina Faso and Chad, the last two stops on the agenda. With visible pride, Djibril Bassole, Burkina Faso\u2019s foreign minister, quickly pointed to the fact that \u201cnever before have we seen such an important delegation come to visit us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UN chief expressed his gratitude for Burkina Faso\u2019s role in addressing some of the region\u2019s most pressing challenges. By serving as mediator in a number of crises in West Africa, including in Mali, Burkina Faso has earned itself an enviable reputation as a peace broker, he said. \u201cYou play an active role in the Sahel,\u201d Mr. Ban told government officials in the capital Ouagadougou, following a meeting with President Blaise Compaor\u00e9.<\/p>\n

The secretary-general also pledged the continuing support of the UN and the international community as the country works to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, contribute to defining the Sustainable Development Goals and address the impact of climate change.<\/p>\n

A few hours later, in N\u2019djamena, Chad, Mr. Ban applauded the country\u2019s positive role in the Sahel region, particularly in confronting terrorists in northern Mali. He acknowledged Chad\u2019s contribution to the UN peacekeeping operation deployed there and the sacrifice made by the 39 Chadian peacekeepers who have died in the region. \u201cWe came to the region to continue and amplify our joint action,\u201d the UN chief added at his last press conference on the trip.<\/p>\n

On yet another breezy night in the Sahel, after some 72 hours of meetings, discussions and visits, and even as his \u201cexceptional delegation\u201d had started making its way back from the region, the secretary-general remarked, \u201cOur journey of solidarity with the people of the Sahel can and must continue.\u201d As he had told his audiences all along the way, he again added, \u201cNow is the time to act.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Andr\u00e9-Michel Essoungou, <\/i>Africa Renewal<\/a><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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