By Mohammed Legally-Cole
The Heads of the United Nations Peace Mission in West Africa was on November 4, 2007 held its eleventh meeting in Dakar, Senegal under the auspices of the Chairmanship of Lamine Cisse, Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) for West Africa (UNOWA). This high level meeting was attended by Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdullah, former Head of UNOWA and newly appointed SRSG (UNPOS), Allan Doss, SRSG (UNMIL), Shola Omoregie, SRSG (UNOGBIS), Abou Moussa, Officer-in-Charge (UNOCI) and Genremedhin Hagoss, Deputy to the ERSG (UNISOSIL).
The SRSG and Representatives of the Secretary General reviewed the overall situation in West Africa. They welcomed some of the progress made by the various UN Missions in support of the restoration of stability in the sub region, but remained concerned with the persistence threats to human security, such as the drug trafficking and irregular migration taking place in the context of abject socio-economic conditions, including youth unemployment. They also expressed concern about protracted insecurity, such as caused by the use of landmines in the northern parts of the sub-region bordering the Sahara desert.
Regarding Liberia, the Heads of Mission acknowledged the progress made in the restoration of peace and stability. They noted that Security Council had endorsed the next stage of the consolidation and drawdown and strategy of the mission in extending the mission’s mandate for the year. They also encouraged further collaborations between the Government, the mission and the International partners of the country in meeting the critical challenges of job creation. They noted that the situation in Cote d’Ivoire has evolve positively over the last few months and equally noted note that the holding of inclusive, free, fair and elections remains the main challenge to the peace process in order to guarantee sustainable stability.
It could be recalled from concerns expressed at the previous meetings, the Heads of Mission highlighted the crucial importance of drug trafficking and organised crime in the West Africa sub-region. With regards to Guinea-Bissau, the Heads of Mission expressed concern about the alarming increase in drug trafficking and the threat posed to stability both in the country and in the sub-region. They accredited the importance of the Security Council Presidential Statement of 19th October 2007 on Guinea-Bissau as a key step towards a concerted effort by the International Community to mobilized assistance to combat this phenomenon. In this connection, they looked forward to a positive outcome from the Lisbon International Conference and the ECOWAS Regional Conference on combating drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau and in the sub-region.
On Sierra Leone, the Heads of Mission expressed satisfaction with the recent peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections and the political maturity demonstrated by the Sierra Leoneans. They commended UNIOSIL for ensuring a broad-based political dialogue among the national actors. They also commended the international community for providing financial and technical assistance toward the elections. They expressed the need for a continued UN political presence in order to assist the new Government with its political stability.
At the invitation of the SRSG (UNOWA), the Head of OCHA Regional Office and Humanitarian Advisor to the SRSG briefed the Heads of Mission on the humanitarian situation in the sub-region, highlighting in-particular the impact of recent floods, especially in Ghana and also the human insecurity caused by land mines in Mali and Niger.
As a follow-up to the Eleventh High-level meeting which focused on the issue of irregular migrations, the Diplomatic Adviser and Coordinator on Migration issues in the Senegalese Ministry of Interior, Mr. Mustapha Ly also provided a comprehensive update on the issue of illegal migration. Mr. Ly implore for the establishment of a consultative operational framework that will place a greater focus on formulating actions plans and secure funding for sustainable solutions to the plight of the sub-regions youth.
However, the SRSG agreed to hold the Twelfth High-level meeting of Heads of Peace Missions in Freetown (Sierra Leone).
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