Statement [Made on Behalf of the Security Council, at the 7081st Meeting, 12 Dec. 2013, in Connection with the Council's Consideration of the Item Entitled "Peace and Security in Africa"]

S/PRST/2013/20View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Presidential Statement of the Security Council, under agenda item 100 Peace and security in Africa, published in 2013.

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Cooperation Between Organizations Development Strategies Humanitarian Assistance Regional Security Sanctions Sudano-Sahelian Region Technical Cooperation Terrorism

What’s in this document?

15 paragraphs

At the 7081st meeting of the Security Council, held on 12 December 2013, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “Peace and security in Africa”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:

“The Security Council reiterates its continued concern about the alarming situation in the Sahel region and reaffirms its continued commitment to address the complex security and political challenges in this region, which are interrelated with humanitarian and developmental issues as well as the adverse effects of climate and ecological changes. The Security Council reiterates its strong condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks perpetrated in the region. The Security Council also strongly condemns the abuses of human rights and violence against civilians, notably women and children, committed in the region by terrorist and other extremist groups.

“The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of countries of the Sahel region.

“The Security Council underscores the importance of a coherent, comprehensive and coordinated approach encompassing governance, security, humanitarian, human rights and developmental aspects to respond to the threats to peace and security across the Sahel region as well as to address the root causes of these challenges and reaffirms its request, in this regard, to the Secretary General to ensure early progress towards the effective implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel. The Security Council stresses the importance of coordinating political, security, development and humanitarian efforts throughout the Sahel region.

“The Security Council welcomes the convening by the Secretary-General on 26 September 2013, of the High Level Meeting on the situation in the Sahel, on the margins of the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations. The Security Council expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for the Sahel for their efforts and personal engagement in raising awareness of the challenges facing the Sahel region and mobilizing international support for the region.

“The Security Council commends, in this regard, the joint visit of the Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group, with the participation of the African Union, European Union and African Development Bank, to the Sahel region from 4-7 November 2013, in support of the countries of the region and of the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel. The Security Council welcomes the announcements in planned funding, aiming at supporting major national and regional development priorities and tackling the other specific and complex challenges of security, stability and resilience and calls upon regional, multilateral and bilateral partners to ensure strengthened and sustained engagement in favor of the Sahel region and to avoid duplication through effective coordination.

“The Security Council underscores the importance of national and regional ownership of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel and recognizes the need for the Strategy to be implemented in close consultation with Member States of the Sahel, West Africa, and the Maghreb as well as regional, multilateral, and other bilateral donors and partners. In this regard, the Security Council welcomes the holding of the Ministerial meeting on the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel, in Bamako, Mali on 5 November 2013, as an important step in that regard, as well as the full support of the Member States of the region for this strategy.

“The Security Council takes note of the outcome of this Ministerial meeting, including the decision to establish a coordination platform that would meet biannually and under the chairmanship of Mali for the upcoming two years, as well as the announcement to establish a flexible technical Secretariat to support coordination efforts of the region, co-chaired by the United Nations Secretariat and the African Union Commission, and comprising the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Community of Sahelo-Saharan States (CENSAD), the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank (ADB), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Security Council encourages all actors involved, including major bilateral donors, to make this coordination platform fully operational.

“The Security Council reiterates its call on Sahel, West African and Maghreb States to enhance interregional cooperation and coordination in order to develop inclusive and effective strategies to combat in a comprehensive and integrated manner the activities of terrorist groups, to prevent the proliferation of all arms and to fight against transnational organized crime including illicit activities such as drug trafficking in the Sahel region, and its increasing links in some cases with terrorism. The Security Council welcomes, in this regard, the holding of the Second Regional Ministerial Conference on border security between Sahel and Maghreb States held in Rabat, (Morocco), from 13-14 November 2013 and takes note of the outcome of this Conference (S/2013/707).

“The Security Council commends the ongoing efforts undertaken by Sahel States and relevant regional organizations in addressing the humanitarian challenges in the region as well as in strengthening resilience. The Security Council also commends the support provided by countries in the region and by other donors and calls for their continued assistance to Sahel States to this end. The Security Council applauds the efforts of the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, with the support of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, other humanitarian actors and agencies, to continue to draw attention to the scale of the challenges facing the Sahel region, provide humanitarian assistance to the affected populations and build and strengthen resilience at local, national, and regional levels with the aim of reducing the impact of disasters.

“The Security Council welcomes the efforts of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, Special Representatives for West and Central Africa as well as the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and other United Nations entities operating on the ground in support of States of the Sahel region.

“The Security Council reiterates the importance of a coordinated approach by all concerned United Nations entities involved in the implementation of the United Nations Strategy for enhanced cooperation with a view of maximizing synergies. In this regard, the Security Council welcomes the work undertaken by UNOWA in coordination with the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel region and relevant United Nations entities working in the Sahel region to establish an effective and detailed coordination mechanism to prioritize activities and to ensure coordinated implementation by the United Nations System of the United Nations Strategy.

“The Security Council considers sanctions an important tool in countering terrorism, and underlines the importance of prompt and effective implementation of its relevant resolutions, in particular, Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) as key instruments in the fight against terrorism. In this regard, the Security Council commends the initiative of the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee and its Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to engage with Member States of the Sahel, Maghreb and adjoining regions to consider ways in which the sanctions regime can support and enhance the inputs of affected States, in order to be integrated into national and regional responses to the Al-Qaida threat in the region.

“The Security Council welcomes the efforts of the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate to ensure the full implementation of resolutions 1373 (2001) and 1624 (2005) and to facilitate technical assistance to Member States, including of the region and, in this regard, commends the initiative to organize a special meeting with Member States and subregional, regional and international organizations on “Enhancing Cooperation and Technical Assistance to States in the Sahel Region to Strengthen their Capacity in the Global Fight against Terrorism” held at United Nations Headquarters on 20 September 2013.

“The Security Council looks forward to the Secretary General’s written report on the progress towards the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel to be presented no later than 30 June 2014.”

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