Several associations want civilians protected in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel
Paris, France (PANA) - Several humanitarian organizations on Wednesday signed a joint statement urging ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to make the protection of civilians a top priority in the Sahel region.
They will make their intention known during the Extraordinary ECOWAS summit on terrorism, scheduled for Saturday in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
"Faced with a situation of generalized insecurity that is also reflected in an increase in inter-community conflicts, the security situation will not be able to stem the crisis in the long term. It is therefore essential to involve the communities in the search for solutions to the conflict, by giving an equal place to men, women and young people, while respecting their rights," said the signatories to the communiqué, a copy of which was transmitted to PANA in Paris.
ECOWAS will hold an extraordinary summit on September 14 in Ouagadougou to better coordinate the fight against terrorism and prevent inter-community clashes with the main objective of adopting a priority action plan to fight against terrorism.
The signatory organizations have called for political solutions, which respond to the demands and needs of the communities, particularly around the improvement of governance, gender justice and the fight against inequalities with the support of the international community, including France.
The document said that in Burkina Faso, "the situation is becoming more and more worrying. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) jumped from 60,000 at the beginning of the year to more than 271,000 at the end of August. The projections now speak of more than 300,000 displaced people by the end of the year.
In Mali, the communique added, "in addition to some 310,000 officially registered IDPs or refugees, 920 schools remained non-functional at the end of the 2018-2019 school year in the regions affected by the crisis.
"Faced with these multiple crises that people face, the international community must mobilize widely to support the states of the region to fight against economic inequalities, poverty and social injustices: the security will not be able to stem the crisis in the long term, "stressed the humanitarian associations.
They argued that aid should not be used for security purposes, but to enable vulnerable people to escape poverty and live in dignity, because the security objectives remain different from the objectives of aid and respect for humanitarian principles, which notably allows access to the most vulnerable populations, must be guaranteed.
"Priority must be given to the needs of communities through a human security approach, which not only takes into account the security threats perceived by the states, but rather the threats of protection identified by the communities themselves, through a participatory and inclusive process. To do this, the space for expression and participation of communities and civil society must be protected," they concluded.
Signatories of the communiqué are Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), CARE, COOPI, the Network of Farmers Organizations and Producers of West Africa (ROPPA), the Association for the Promotion of Livestock in the Sahel and in Savane (APESS) and the Bilital Maroobe Network (RBM).
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