At the initiative of Germany, UNDP and the Liptako-Gourma Authority, members of the Sahel Alliance gathered on 20-22 November 2019 in Niamey, Niger for a regional workshop on the theme, “Governance and decentralisation: Vectors of peace and stability in the Sahel.” Some 30 participants coming from various administrative levels (local, regional, national) from Sahelian countries as well as international development partners discussed current decentralisation trends, problems and perspectives. Local government representatives from the three countries of the Liptako-Gourma region (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) issued a communiqué in which they urged members and partners of the Sahel Alliance to stronger involve them. Read on

In a move to expand its footprint across Africa, Russia held the first Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum on 23-24 October 2019 in Sochi under the theme “For Peace, Security and Development.” All 54 African states took part in the event, including 47 heads of state. Moving beyond business as usual dominated by arms and grain sales, the final declaration outlines a set of goals for Russian-African co-operation, including a new mechanism for dialogue. Read on

Livestock experts from across 17 countries of the ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS area gathered from 7-10 October 2019 in Accra at the 6th high-level meeting on the theme, “Peaceful transhumance and livestock mobility in the Sahel and West African coastal countries.” Civil society organisations approved a joint position statement with key recommendations on how to develop the livestock sector and pastoralism in the context of rising insecurity in the region. Read on

Alain Antil, a researcher from the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), provides an interesting analysis of the root causes of insecurity in Sahelian countries. While the areas affected by violence in the Sahel continue to expand, socio-economic and demographic trends further exacerbate existing fragilities, especially in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. “Far from being able to deliver basic services or even the most rudimentary infrastructure, the states no longer even fulfil their sovereign functions: security, justice... Other actors have taken over and exercise a sort of shared governance,” Antil explains. Read on