S/PV.7087 Security Council

In accordance with rule 39 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite Mr. Said Djinnit, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa, to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of the members of the Council to document S/2013/732, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa. I now give the floor to Mr. Djinnit.

I have the honour to introduce the twelfth report (S/2013/732) of the Secretary-General on the activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa, which covers the period 1 July to 31 December 2013. I have the pleasure to inform the Security Council that, during that period, the region continued to move forward along the path of stability, thanks to the ongoing commitment of the leaders and peoples of the region, especially in the context of the Economic Community of West Arican States (ECOWAS) and other subregional bodies such as the West African Economic and Monetary Union and the Mano River Union. The efforts to mobilize and the initial actions by ECOWAS to address the crisis in Mali, with the support of the African Union, the United Nations and the entire international community, were followed up by the Organization through the deployment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. Mali’s territorial integrity and constitutional order were restored and, following the election of President Boubacar Keita, the process of dialogue and national reconciliation is now under way — even if major challenges persist with regard to security and stability. Having drawn the lessons from the crisis in Mali, West African leaders are determined to establish a regional and continent-wide rapid- reaction force to equip the region with the necessary capacity to respond effectively to regional crises and other common threats. Following long and complicated electoral processes, legislative elections were ultimately held in Togo, Guinea and Mauritania. The decision of the Supreme Court in Ghana to confirm the victory of President John Dramani Mahama brought to an end the post-electoral challenge in that country. West African leaders took advantage of that period of calm in the subregion to relaunch structural development projects and to expand regional integration, in particular on the ocassion of the ECOWAS ordinary summit held in Abuja in July and, especially, during the extrarodary summit held in Dakar on 25 October, which was devoted to economic issues and regional integration. As in the past, the United Nations Office for West Africa focused on carrying out its mandate through actions aimed at preventing conflicts and crises by supporting good offices, mediation and facilitation efforts. During the period under review, in addition to initial efforts to support the dialogue that led to the Ouagadougou Agreement between the Government of Mali and rebel groups in the north of the country, as well as to support the electoral process in Togo, the Office helped the parties in Guinea to implement the political agreement of 3 July concerning the preparations for the holding of the 2013 legislative elections. Those elections were held peacefully on 23 September in conditions deemed suitable in the Guinean context. During my recent visit to Conakry, from 9 to 11 December, the leader of the opposition reiterated to me the decision to have those elected take their seats in the National Assembly. The country’s President also informed me of his intention to convene the National Assembly before the holidays at the end of the year. I took the opportunity to encourage the Guinean parties to pursue dialogue on the reforms necessary to consolidate their democratic institutions and to work to entrench them in the country’s political life, including in the National Assembly. I assured all parties of the ongoing support of the United Nations. I take this opportunity to reiterate my appreciation to the Guinean parties and to the other members of the follow-up committee for their cooperation and support for my role as international facilitator. I also thank the Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, the Department for Political Affairs and the Peacebuilding Support Office for their support for my efforts, in particular through their contributions to the Peacebuilding Fund. The border demarcation process between Cameroon and Nigeria has continued to benefit from the good offices of the Secretary-General through his Special Representative. In that respect, it is my pleasure to inform the Council that the follow-up process to the Greentree Agreement, signed in June 2006 by Cameroon and Nigeria with the Secretary-General and marked by the ceremony transferring authority over the Bakassi area on 14 August 2008, was successfully concluded. In fact, at the end of the five-year transition period, characterized by a gradual return of trust between the two countries, the heads of delegations of the two parties, Cameroon and Nigeria, and myself signed a joint declaration on 22 October stating that, as of 14 August 2013, Cameroon exercised its sovereign rights over the entire Bakassi zone. Moreover, significant progress was made in demarcating the border, including placing the markers. In addition, efforts are under way, in cooperation with the United Nations country teams in Cameroon and Nigeria, to promote local development projects that will be benefit the people of both countries on either side of their common border and help them reaffirm their long-standing links of solidarity. Above and beyond that significant success for United Nations preventive diplomacy, I welcome the climate of trust and cooperation that gradually emerged between the two States as part of the process of implementing the judgment of the International Court of Justice under the auspices of the United Nations. In order to illustrate that positive development for those pivotal States of West Africa and Central Africa, I note that over the past few years Nigeria has become Cameroon’s most important trading partner. The Office has also supported initiatives to address the challenges of regional security in the three fragile zones that have been identified in West Africa. With respect to the Sahel, the recent tour of the Secretary-General to some Sahel countries, accompanied by officials of the World Bank, the African Union, the African Development Bank and the European Union, helped to establish greater mobilization for the Sahel and to strengthen the partnerships between States of the region and the international community in the search for sustainable solutions to the multidimensional challenges of the Sahel. In following up on the Council’s request, the Office has established a coordinating mechanism in Dakar for the various United Nations entities implementing the strategy, including the Office of the Special Envoy for the Sahel, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, and the African Office of the United Nations Development Programme. I am happy to inform the Council that there is now positive momentum within the United Nations system in Dakar, in coordination with all entities concerned, for the coordinated and integrated implementation of the United Nations strategy for the Sahel in the framework of the steering committee led by the Special Representative. In the coming weeks, we must strive, under the authority of the Malian presidency and together with the African Union and other organizations, to implement the coordination platform established during the ministerial meeting in Bamako on 5 November. The second area of tension that has required sustained efforts is the Mano River basin. Once again, I am pleased to inform the Council that significant progress has been made in implementing resolutions 2000 (2011), 2062 (2012) and 2066 (2012), calling for the development of a cross-border security strategy in the Mano River area. Following a process initiated by the Office, in close cooperation with ECOWAS and the Mano River Union and with the support of United Nations peacekeeping missions in the region, the Heads of State of the Union adopted a strategy for cross-border security in the Mano River Union at an extraordinary session in Dakar on 25 October. I am pleased to pay tribute to the leaders of the region, as well as their ministers and respective experts, for the enthusiasm they have shown and the interest they have brought to bear on that initiative, which is now fully owned by their institutions, namely, ECOWAS and the Mano River Union. I also wish to thank the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs and Security and the Secretary General of the Mano River Union for their commitment and cooperation. We launched the implemention of the strategy by organizing in-depth consultations with civil society organizations from countries of the region in Freetown from 11 to 13 December. Over the next few weeks, I will use my stay in New York to intitiate in-depth consultations with partners on providing support for the implementation process of the strategy, together with ECOWAS and the Mano River Union. Finally, in an attempt to eliminate the threat of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, efforts have been undertaken to implement the strategic framework adopted at the Yaoundé summit on 24 and 25 June, particularly by establishing an interregional coordinating centre, which will be based in Cameroon. The United Nations Offices in West and Central Africa are working with ECOWAS, the Economic Community of Central African States, the Gulf of Guinea Commission and other partners, including the Group of Eight Plus Friends of the Gulf of Guinea, to ensure follow-up to decisions made at the Yaoundé summit. Since the previous report of the Secretary-General (S/2013/384), the Office has pursued its support for the development of regional capacities in security sector reform and national initiatives, in cooperation with such partners as the Department for Peacekeeping Operations, the Peacebuilding Support Office and the United Nations Development Programme. In that respect, we have continued to support the process of developing the ECOWAS Regional Framework on Security Sector Reform and Governance. I am pleased that the review of the relevant document is now in its final stages. In addition, countries of the region are pursuing their efforts to combat drug trafficking and organized crime. The updating of the ECOWAS Regional Action Plan to Address the Growing Problem of Illicit Drug Trafficking, Organized Crime, and Drug Abuse in West Africa has been launched with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, among others. Likewise, the political committee of the West Africa Coast Initiative has endorsed the revised concept focusing its activities on entities fighting transnational crime, which will contribute to strengthening the institutional network combating drug trafficking in West Africa. I welcome the initiative of the French presidency to devote a meeting of the Council to considering the issue of drug trafficking and organized crime in West Africa, thereby demonstrating the Council’s unwavering interest in these issues, which pose a genuine threat to stability in the region. With respect to the threat of terrorism, I note that, at a brainstorming session organized by the Office in Dakar in September, United Nations bodies, ECOWAS, the African Union and centres for research and studies associated with that initiative emphasized the need to help the countries of the region and their regional institutions to better understand the causes of terrorism and their vulnerability to it, as well as the factors that are fueling this growing threat. In that regard, it is important to ensure that the many security initiatives adopted by the various national, regional and international stakeholders are coordinated in order to ensure practical, effective and coordinated action to address this growing threat. The United Nations Office for West Africa has actively pursued its work to involve women in conflict prevention and resolution. In that regard, I am pleased to inform the Council that, in the context of the follow-up to the conclusions of the ministerial meeting organized by the Office in 2010 with the relevant United Nations entities, 12 out of 16 countries of West Africa have adopted action plans on implementing resolution 1325 (2000). In that spirit, at every opportunity we make use of the services of women who have benefited from mediation training organized by our Office in collaboration with UN Women. Despite the praiseworthy efforts made by leaders of West African countries and their people, the region remains fragile and continues to require ongoing support from the international community, especially the United Nations. Many countries in West Africa, including the most powerful, notably Nigeria, have experienced shocks that pose risks and threats to peace, stability and sustainable development. The growing power of organized crime in different forms, which benefits from porous borders and weak national institutions, is, in my view, the most serious menace. Organized crime feeds on weak institutions, widespread corruption and on the impunity that in turn exacerbates the situation. Moreover, West Africa has to confront the risks of instability during electoral procedures. In that regard, West Africa is preparing to cope with a wave of crucial and sensitive elections in the upcoming period. I remain confident that the Council will be well disposed to renewing the UNOWA mandate, particularly given its important role in supporting efforts at conflict- prevention and peacebuilding and thereby promoting an environment conducive to sustainable development in the West African region. I thank Council members for the sustained attention they are according to the situation in West Africa.

I now invite Council members to consultations to continue our discussion on the subject.