UN Nations Unies
 
Bureau Régional pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest

The humanitarian situation in Liptako Gourma : civil-military coordination, an imperative to ensure respect for humanitarian principles and vital assistance to the population

8 mars 2022
Bamako, Dakar, Niamey, March 07, 2022 : The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in West Africa (OHCHR) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), within the framework of the "Liptako-Gourma" project, have decided to strengthen the capacities of actors, mechanisms and structures that face existing challenges in the field of civil-military coordination, respectively in Mali from March 7 to 10, 2022, in Niger from March 14 to 18, 2022, and in Burkina Faso.

During his speech at the opening ceremony of the training session for military and civilian actors, including local authorities and civil society organizations in Mali, Mr. Julien Attakla-Ayinon, Acting Head of the Human Rights and Protection Division of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, indicated : "regarding the similarity that characterizes the multifaceted crisis affecting the countries of the central Sahel, the United Nations, through eight agencies including the OHCHR and in partnership with the Liptako Gourma Authority (LGA), have developed and are implementing since 2020, the program called "Joint Regional Support Program for the Implementation of Cross-Border Cooperation Activities in the Liptako Gourma Region", funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

In the Sahel, the United Nations is workingto allow the most vulnerable populations to enjoy their fundamental rights, including access to basic social services, civil-military coordination and this is through the operational deployment of humanitarians, in an environment characterized by a plurality of armed actors and in a security context marked by the activism of non-state armed groups, criminality, and organised crime. Indeed, maintaining the distinction between humanitarians and armed actors and between civilians and combatants is essential to preserve their neutrality and strengthen humanitarian action in communities.

According to the OHCHR regional representative in West Africa, Mr. Andrea Ori, "The overall objective of this program is to strengthen community resilience and human security in a context of environmental and climatic shocks and threats in the Sahel, particularly at the borders. This joint program is aligned with the priorities of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and its Sahel Support Plan as well as the priority areas of the Integrated Development Authority of the Liptako-Gourma Member States of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger and the Swedish Development Strategy for the Sahel"

This training on Civil-Military Coordination will provide participants with common knowledge and language of civil-military coordination, strengthen understanding of the human rights and humanitarian law protection framework including early warning and prevention. And finally, to create a network of resource persons who can support capacity-building initiatives of CMCoord in the targeted countries.

END

Pour plus d’informations contacter :

Afrique de l’ouest
Habibou Dia +221 774 472 776 | habibou.dia@un.org

Mali
Ibrahima Kone +223 75 99 55 81 | kone65@un.org

Niger
Laura Fultang +227 99 71 71 39 | fultangl@un.org