A Drizzle Of Hope Amidst The African Scorch
Suhas R Vaidya, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), evaluates the impact of the European Union’s (EU) involvement towards stability in the Sahel region.
The Sahel region reflects a delicious slice of pizza with extra cheese left in the freezer for a whole day. It seemingly appears to be tasty, but the tender insides are trapped by a thick, stretchy, and chewy outside. This can be attributed to the various factors that have time and again been successful in hindering any substantial progress towards alleviating the ill-effects of the same.
The Sahelian nations are affected by an assortment of issues that have altogether rattled the concerned states right at their foundations. Firstly, the deplorable lifestyle of a majority of the population has stagnated if not decreased the rates of development. This is a direct result of the ongoing food crisis, extreme drought, and the presence of a strong and concrete base of organised crime influenced by non-state actors in the region. Secondly, a pitiable and worrisome milieu of economic instability coupled with political volatility has managed to loosen the soil on which the developmental pillars rest. As a result, any concerted developmental effort taken by the states has not yielded substance worth commendation. Thirdly, a tumultuous air lingers between the plethora of tribes and the different social constructs in the Sahelian expanse, which has added tremendous pressure on the nation states to dissolve complexities.
The solution to these issues lies at tackling certain vital aspects of nation-building such as but not limited, to resource sharing, information sharing, terror mitigation, social collaboration with locals, economic cooperation, political solidarity, and confidence-building measures. The EU, at this juncture, lends the perfect remedy for this conundrum by donning the chef’s hat and fixing the proportion of the ingredients of the problematic pizza dough.
The EU over the past few years—particularly in the last decade—has taken massive measures to aid their African counterparts. European assistance to the Sahel nations, especially the G5 Sahel countries, has managed to assuage the issues and construct a provisional developmental roadmap for future growth. The Sahel Regional Action Plan (RAP) along with the EU Special Representation for the Sahel in 2015 have prioritised many vital aspects such as but not limited to, the prevention and countering of radicalisation, border management, prohibition of illicit trafficking, and transnational organised crime, in order to reduce the side effects they emanate.
Furthermore, sizeable humanitarian aid has assisted over a million people facing extreme food insecurity along with about 650,000 severely malnourished children amounting to approximately 206 million Euros spent in 2015, with an additional 139 million Euros spent in the initial part of 2016. In the area of security, the European Union fully supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force consisting of troops from Burkina Faso, the Republic of Mali (Mali), the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Republic of the Niger, and the Republic of Chad, with an initiative to ramp up security measures along the borders. The EU’s 100 million Euro investment launched a military training mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) between 2013 and 2015, whose undertakings have boosted protection in the nations. This was supported by the African Peace Facility in line with the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions—civilian missions in Niger (EUCAP SAHEL Niger) and Mali (EUCAP SAHEL Mali).Additionally, the Sahel Alliance, launched in July 2017, allowed for critical analysis of the issues, focusing on the outermost and fragile areas of the Sahel, thus identifying six priority areas spanning numerous social, economic, environmental, trade-related, and security arenas to be focused on for fruitful action.
In conclusion, the Union was able to lubricate the Sahel’s rusted chain of progress. This, though excellent, is but a temporary measure that can only inspire and encourage the African nations to stand firmly on their own feet. But the inability of these nations to catapult themselves with the abetment received has prevented them from shifting gears at the most strategic of times. The rugged road at the forefront is being smoothened by actors and agencies from all across the world. The question left unanswered is if the Sahel nations can accelerate ahead efficiently enough, without succumbing to the mirages that shall befall them.
Sources:
1. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage_en/4094/Sahel%20region
2. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-6670_en.htm
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
The Syndicate
It is about time the law enforcement bodies became as organised as the ones committing organised crime. Venkatesh Eleswarapu, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), talks about the persistent organised crimes in the nations of the Sahel region.
Increasing instability in the fields of economy and politics has always been a growing concern for the nations in the Sahel region. The actors involved in organised crimes, such as drug trafficking, bombings, blackmailing, and illegal manufacturing of weapons, currently wield decisive political and military influence in countries like the Republic of Mali (Mali) and the Republic of the Niger (Niger). Illicit activities have a long tradition of occurring in remote areas across the Sahel. The United Nations (UN) has recognised the threat that organised crime poses to regional security, governance, and economic development and has since tried to neutralise the situation. But why did the efforts fall short?
The Northern Mali Conflict—the armed conflicts between the northern and southern parts of Mali—started on 16 January, 2012. The conflict was primarily between the Malian government and the military organisation, National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), over the issue of providing an independent homeland for the Tuareg people. The G5 Sahel was formed in the year 2014 as a part of a counterterrorism mission to look after the security problems in this region. The conflict in Mali continued till 2015 and sporadic terrorist attacks occur even in the present.
Acknowledging the chaotic situation in the Mali region, the UNPBC laid down the establishment of The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in the year 2013. The main objective was to limit the organised crime, which was achieved to some extent by the introduction of novel intelligence analysis units. The units provide human intelligence and open source information which are crucial to dealing with threats like organised crime at both operational and strategic levels. The unit is mainly tasked with supporting Malian law enforcement to the very end of the line.
In a recent study on the case of the Sahel region, it was found that the majority of militants hired for the task of carrying out organised crimes like the bombing of a specific area were children. Children who were victims of illiteracy could be easily brainwashed into becoming a suicide bomber. The UN considers women across Africa’s Sahel region to be potential agents for a “new paradigm” for peacebuilding and development that would benefit everyone in the region.
The reason for people’s participation in organised crimes is the money it provides. The Sahel region comes under the most economically backwards regions of the world. Money, the root cause of all evils, is one of the agendas that require immediate attention. The people of the Sahel find it very difficult to make two ends meet. The most practical solution regarding the situation of organised crimes would be to provide financial assistance to help improve the economy of the Sahel region. More job opportunities should be created for the people to earn a living. The UN has provided funds through The World Bank for better agricultural practices. The people in Sahel are being told about new technologies that can help them with better crops yield as well as maintenance of their fields. Also, the UN has taken up the initiative of educating the masses in the Sahel region which will furthermore help in deduction of the organised crimes.
Sources:
1. https://theglobalobservatory.org/2018/02/organized-crime-corruption-mali/
2. https://carnegieendowment.org/files/sahel_sahara.pdf
3. https://oecd-development-matters.org/2017/09/29/the-blurred-boundaries-of-political-violence-in-the-sahel-sahara/
4..https://www.un.org/africarenewal/news/women-vital-%E2%80%98new-paradigm%E2%80%99-africa%E2%80%99s-sahel-region-security-council-hears
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)
Hollowing into a Historic Hourglass
Suhas R Vaidya, reporting from the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC), highlights the cultural unity of the Sahel nations as a driving force for their sustenance, through a historical lens.
Millions of years of evolution, passing through generations and generations of different eras and ages, have given rise to an assortment of species. Ecological succession at this point of time, places humankind as the dominant species and needless to say, the African mainland has seeded the growth of mankind as we know it today. Humans reached across the lengths and breadths of the globe and several millennia later view the African region as that of paucity, bleakness, and diffidence—in total disregard to their origins.
Nonetheless, the nations of the region—especially the Sahel countries—have managed to thrive; maybe not in modern standards of economy and polity, but in terms of a rich and varied heritage. Africa is and was a land of many different peoples, tongues, and praxes, all united on a common ground, through the mirrors of oppression and slavery. History traces slavery back to the 9th Century Anno Domini (AD), which reached its zenith and ill-famed glory in the 18th, 19th, and parts of the 20th Centuries AD. The magnification and amassing of anger, which had bottled up over centuries, finally exploded in the late 20th Century via the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the Republic of South Africa, whose ripples spread all across Africa.
Moving up to the Saharan and Northern Sub-Saharan nations, their uniqueness and exclusivity was mainly attributed to the omnifarious tribes, nomads, and wayfarers who roamed the sands. An interesting aspect to note here is that the nomads always travelled in groups. All issues, concerns, and hurdles that they faced were handled by the troupe as a whole—supporting each other in all matters. This pattern was observed in almost all countries of the North and West African expanse, seeping into the blood of the Sahelians through time. This presently dictates many of their decisions.
When tribes consolidated and structured themselves, primitive notions of governance and politics surfaced. Pan-African monarchies and polity dictated how their functioning worked, thus inferring that ideas of governance were ingrained in African genes. An ideal substantiation would be the Bedouin and Tuareg Confederations, both of which are a few of the largest and most organised ethnic associations currently dwelling the Sahel.
The Sahel, as a subset of Africa, ensconces most of the ideals of the continent. A lot of similarities exist in terms of their general psyche, accord, and drive. Modern gluttony and avarice, catapulted by globalisation and integration, have in some aspects diluted the ideals that define the simplicity of the populace. In conclusion, some original recipes need to retain their novelty; modification of the same may suit the dynamically changing times, but a threshold should be defined, beyond which the validation of their existence merely becomes vestiges of history.
(Edited by Keerthisree Raghu.)