Statement by Fergus Eckersley, UK Chargé d’Affaires to
the UN, at the Security Council briefing on West Africa and the
Sahel
Thank you Mr President. Like others, we would like to
congratulate you on assuming the Presidency this month and
congratulate Albania for their excellent stewardship of the
Council in June.
We welcome the Special Representative back to the chamber and
thank him for his very helpful update. We also welcome the
presence of the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission and thank
Ms Magagi for her briefing.
Mr President, as we have heard there have been some positive
developments since we last met. The peaceful elections in the
Gambia and Senegal are a welcome example of progress in West
African democracy.
We remain very concerned by the political situation in Mali,
Guinea and Burkina Faso. Although the recent progress made
on election timelines in Mali and Burkina Faso is encouraging.
Sustained progress towards the organisation of credible elections
and a return to constitutional order is vital.
The UK encourages UNOWAS to continue to focus on democratic
election processes across the region, in close coordination with
ECOWAS and the AU. We also welcome the focus we heard today on
boosting women’s participation in these processes.
Mr President, it is also clear from today’s briefing that the
security situation in the region remains fragile. Progress in the
Gulf of Guinea is welcome but the UK remains concerned by the
deteriorating security situation in Nigeria, the central Sahel,
the Lake Chad Basin, and by ongoing conflict, including involving
extremist groups. The presence in the region of mercenary groups
including Wagner is a dangerous, destabilising factor.
We encourage UNOWAS to focus on the practical steps the UN can
take, in a coordinated fashion, to address the root causes of
conflict, including through the implementation of the UN
integrated strategy for the Sahel, as the Special Representative
said.
The UK, for our part, is committed to working with Nigeria to
respond through our Security and Defence partnership, and to
supporting long-term stability in Mali and the wider Sahel
including through our contribution to MINUSMA. Like others, I’d
like to take this opportunity to offer our deep condolences for
the deadly attack on Egyptian peacekeepers last week.
Mr President I also want to focus today on the humanitarian
situation, given the worrying developments we’ve heard.
We are particularly concerned about the food security situation,
especially where humanitarian access is restricted, and where the
effects of the global food crisis and climate change compound the
situation.
The UK is committed to improving the humanitarian situation
including through providing over $200 million of development
assistance across the Sahel between 2019 and 2021.
The UK calls on all actors to continue cooperation with UNOWAS at
the national and regional levels to facilitate humanitarian
access. We hope the SRSG can use his good offices role to work
with all parties to conflict, and the wider UN system, to ensure
safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian actors.
Finally, Mr President, we are concerned by the challenging human
rights situation outlined in the latest report from the
Secretary-General. We urge UNOWAS to continue to work with states
to ensure accountability and improved compliance with
international human rights standards.
