First High-Level Dialogue on Humanitarian Access in Niger
Niamey, Niger (PANA) - Two weeks after the terrorist attack that claimed the lives of eight people, including six French and two Nigeriens, in the tourist reserve of Kouré (60 km east of Niamey), the Nigerien authorities are organizing the first high-level dialogue on humanitarian access in Niger.
The dialogue, which opened on Sunday in the village of Kouré, is chaired by Nigerien Prime Minister, Brigi Rafini, and attended by representatives of some 173 humanitarian organizations operating in Niger.
According to Rafini, the dialogue demonstrates "Government's determination to combat terrorism and organized crime".
After reassuring that the Government of Niger has done everything possible to ensure that the perpetrators of the Kouré crime are "identified and punished", the Prime Minister said that the humanitarian community is making an invaluable investment, and vowed the administration's unflinching support in the implementation of Niger's policies in this regard.
Rafini also noted that the Nigerien government has created a conducive environment to ensure that humanitarian intervention is done in a secure situation", stressing, however, that the security context must now be taken into account.
In this sense, he revealed that Niger, with the support of France, is currently planning to draft a resolution on the protection of humanitarian workers to be submitted to the United Nations.
He went on to say that Niger already has a civil-military coordination framework that allows for better collaboration between humanitarians and the security forces, which will have to be shared.
Mr. Rafini stressed the need to continue working on the effectiveness of humanitarian actions, insisting that there should be better coordination with humanitarian workers to enable the Government to better rationalize its resources, but above all to better protect the workers.
For his part, the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr. Attaher Maïga, bemoaned the assassination of humanitarian workers, who had chosen to serve needy populations.
He reiterated the commitment of the humanitarian community to continue its activities in Niger, calling on all parties to play their part.
Mr. Maïga congratulated the Government of Niger for its leadership in promoting humanitarian action.
According to him, the humanitarian community, made up of some 173 organizations operating in Niger, wants the Government to put the displacement of humanitarians at the heart of security protection, just as it should share its civilian assistance activities.
At the end of the dialogue, the Prime Minister said that their discussions helped contextualize the notion of humanitarian access in relation to the situation in Niger.
"We have agreed on a number of mechanisms and measures that we will implement to ensure that humanitarian access is effective so that Nigerien populations in need are rescued, protected and assisted.
"Humanitarian workers are volunteers; they are people who have made themselves available to protect others. But to achieve this objective, they too must be protected," the Prime Minister said, adding that the sole purpose of the dialogue is to protect and assist the people of Niger.
-0- PANA SA/BEH/MTA/VAO 23Aug2020
