G5 Sahel force

• November 2, 2022

Ambassador Harold Agyeman, Ghana’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said the jury was still out on the use of sanctions to bring Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to heel over his decision to challenge the sovereignty of Ukraine. With Russia pulling the plug on the Black Sea grain deal recently — then rejoining it, …

Africa, Climate Change, Security Council Presidency, Terrorism, UN Peacekeeping

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As French Troops Leave Mali, Will the UN Mission Face Deadlier Risks?

Clair MacDougall

• March 23, 2022

As the world’s deadliest United Nations mission, in Mali, registered its first two peacekeeper deaths for 2022 from improvised explosive devices, uncertainty looms over the role that the French military operation Barkhane will play in helping protect UN bases from fatal attacks. Mali’s military junta ordered the French troops out of the country in …

Africa, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Fragile Niger Concludes Its UN Security Council Term With a Presidency

Stéphanie Fillion

• December 2, 2021

When Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa, started its term on the Security Council almost two years ago, Covid-19 was not an international crisis yet, Operation Barkhane, a French antiterrorist operation launched in 2014, was full-fledged in the Sahel region and Mahamadou Issoufou was still president of Niger as the country prepared for …

Africa, Security Council Presidency

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Humanitarian Aid Is France’s Big Theme for July

Stéphanie Fillion

• July 1, 2021

France is in the diplomatic spotlight at the United Nations as it’s not only leading the Security Council for the month of July, but it is also just finishing up hosting the long-awaited Generation Equality Forum, a UN-led gathering that brings together governments, corporations and citizens groups to secure commitments for achieving gender equality. …

Africa, General Assembly, Humanitarian Aid, Security Council Presidency, UN Peacekeeping

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A Wedding Party Hit By French Forces in Mali Killed Mostly Civilians, UN Report Says

Clair MacDougall

• March 31, 2021

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — From above, the photographs show a stretch of charred land in the middle of the desert and a mass grave covered in dried tree branches, where people living around Bounti, a village in central Mali, said those who had been killed by French airstrikes were buried. On the ground were …

Africa, Human Rights, Peace and Security, Secretary-General, Security Council

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Niger Brings the Voice of the Sahel Into the UN Security Council

Stéphanie Fillion

• September 1, 2020

Niger hasn’t been a member of the Security Council for almost 40 years, and now that it has a voice on one of the world’s most visible platforms, it intends to use it to build more alliances with influential world powers while furthering a regional agenda. September will require Niger, a landlocked country in …

Africa, Security Council Presidency

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A Survey on Mali for Malians: What They Want for Their Country

Dulcie Leimbach

• June 24, 2019

Since 2012, a German political think tank has surveyed Malians regularly on their country’s current affairs across a legion of crises. These include the 2013 jihadist incursion in the nation, the French-led militarization to oust the jihadists, the post-conflict stabilization work done by the United Nations and a new cycle of intercommunal violence erupting …

Africa, Security Council, UN Peacekeeping, US Foreign Relations, US-UN Relations

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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENCY

Security Council Presidency: Two Old Friends, France and Germany, Now Share an Office

Stéphanie Fillion

• March 4, 2019

As a united front in the fight to preserve the European Union, France and Germany are about to gain a global audience. During March and April, their top United Nations ambassadors, François Delattre and Christoph Heusgen, will take turns — in alphabetical order — presiding over the Security Council, marking the first time for twin …

Climate Change, Gender Violence, Security Council Presidency

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WORLDVIEWS

The G5 Sahel Force, Failing the Region and Failing Itself

Joe Penney

• December 16, 2018

BAMAKO, Mali — The G5 Sahel Force was conceived to enable greater coordination among five countries in the Sahel region of West Africa in fighting jihadist groups and to strengthen regional administration and development while relieving the United Nations mission in Mali of those burdens. Yet ever since the group — Burkina Faso, Chad, …

Africa, Security Council, US Foreign Relations, WORLDVIEWS

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WORLDVIEWS

The UN Base in Timbuktu: A Demanding Deployment in the Sahara

Benoit Bryche

• October 30, 2017

TIMBUKTU — Who wants peace in Mali? If everyone says they want it, why is carrying out the 2015 peace agreement and its cease-fire so difficult? Part of the challenge for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali is not only helping to implement the agreement in the major cities, such as Timbuktu, but …

Africa, Terrorism, UN Peacekeeping, WORLDVIEWS

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GEOPOLITICS

The UN Peacekeeping Mission in Mali Escapes Trump’s Hatchet

Susan Manuel

• June 30, 2017

After a month of contentious debate between the United Nations Security Council and UN budget committees, agreement has been reached for the UN to stay focused on Mali and the Sahel region, where terrorism is threatening to destabilize the area. The region extends across Africa from east to west in an arc right below …