Although West Africa and the Sahel continues to face unprecedented security challenges, it is still “a land of immense opportunities”, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday. 

In her briefing, Giovanie Biha, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Office for the region, UNOWAS, urged ambassadors to continue to support a strategy centred on building resilience, promoting good governance, and strengthening peace and security.

Ms. Biha presented the latest UNOWAS report covering trends and developments over the past six months.

• Insecurity affecting millions 
• Commitment and support 
• Advocating for women 
• Opportunity knocks

For our part, UNOWAS will continue its collaboration with the Working Group on Women, Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel to assess the effectiveness of the current approaches, and to find new ways to ensure that half of the region’s population can make their voice heard in assemblies where decisions are taken, and budgets approved,” she said. 

Meanwhile, a process towards establishing a justice ministers’ forum among ECOWAS countries “can be a critical tool, given the recurrent allegations that the judicial system is being instrumentalized in the region.” 

Ms. Biha urged the Council to continue to support the UN strategy.
“Despite the many challenges facing the countries of the region, especially the Sahel region, the region remains a land of immense opportunities,” she said. 

“I take this opportunity to salute the enormous resilience of the population of the region, particularly the Sahelian people who faced with many challenges of unprecedented magnitude continue to fight every day for a better future”.