Comments on the G5 Sahel summit in N'Djamena     

17 February 2021 

Comments by members of the People's Coalition for the Sahel to the G5 Sahel Summit in N'Djamena, Chad, which brought together Sahelian, French, African Union and European Union leaders and other international partners of Sahelian countries on 15 and 16 February 2021:

The People's Coalition for the Sahel takes note of developments that could lead to a change of approach that it is calling for, in order to put the needs of the people first. The summit's final communiqué refers to the protection of civilians, the necessity to address the root causes of the crisis, including governance, the humanitarian emergency and the fight against impunity, which are the four priorities identified by the People's Coalition for a more effective response to the security crisis in the region (the People's Pillars) - see in particular points 9, 15, 17, 19, 24, 26, 27, 32 of the communiqué.

Niagalé Bagayoko, President of the African Security Sector Network (ASSN), member of the "People's Coalition for the Sahel". 

“The N'Djamena summit reaffirmed the priority given to the fight against terrorism in the Sahel. But beyond the military dimension, the heads of state of the region and their international partners also addressed essential issues that had been largely ignored until then, such as the protection of civilians, governance, respect for human rights and the fight against impunity for abuses committed by the defense and security forces which, it must be reiterated, killed more civilians last year than jihadist attacks.

In response to the massive misappropriations of defense budgets revealed in recent months in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, they also, for the first time, made commitments to greater financial transparency in the security sector.

This is a very positive sign of a change in approach to better take into account the needs of the populations to address the crisis in the Sahel. Civil society will be vigilant to ensure that these new commitments are more than just words on a piece of paper.”

Alioune Tine, Founder of Afrikajom Center, member of the "People's Coalition for the Sahel":  

“The Pau summit a year ago was the one of the "military surge". At the N'Djamena summit, President Macron called for the "beheading" of terrorist groups. But he also called for a "civilian surge". And indeed, the summit led to new commitments for the protection of civilians, respect for human rights and international humanitarian law.  

I am very encouraged by the willingness shown by summit participants to fight impunity regarding abuses committed by the defense and security forces. They referred to the first upcoming trials of Malian soldiers accused of crimes. It is now necessary to set a date for these trials, and to obtain the actual launch of investigations in Niger and Burkina Faso as well.

Last year, more civilians were killed in the Sahel by men in uniform than by terrorists. This is a distressing situation that undermines public confidence in the authorities who are supposed to protect them, and fuels a cycle of violence by providing a fertile ground for recruitment by extremist groups.  

If this issue begins to be seriously addressed, then we are approaching a solution to the Sahel crisis, which cannot be tackled with arms alone.  The People's Coalition for the Sahel, of which I am a member, is now waiting for concrete evidence of the implementation of this N'Djamena commitment.”