West Africa: The United Nations Security Council in the Sahel

Under the French presidency, the Security Council will visit the G5 Sahel States this week. That is a regional grouping composed of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. Countries that are experiencing a security crisis since 2005, the year of the first major Western hostage-taking and the year of major armed attacks against the national security forces. The Sahel is also a transit area where various trafficking, especially in drugs, cigarettes and human beings, has gradually become widespread.

It is frequent for the Security Council, the UN most important body, to undertake fields' visits to learn more about a crisis before returning to New York with more ideas for possible solutions. Specifically, at the beginning of the 2,000 decade, the Council had made well publicized trips to countries ravaged by violent civil wars: Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone. All are countries where the United Nations had invested massively for peace through the deployment of peacekeeping troupes and humanitarian assistance. Countries that are now rather stable, which gives hope for the Sahel.

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