During a recent Security Council video conference focusing on the Sahel, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, emphatically urged the G5 Sahel Joint Force and its member states to “spare no effort” in upholding human rights.
This apprehension has been steadily growing for several months, coinciding with ongoing condemnations of jihadist actions and widespread inter-communal violence in the area.
In early April, the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) highlighted a “multiplication” of alleged wrongdoings attributed to national armies. The UN documented 101 extrajudicial executions carried out by the Malian army between January and March, along with approximately 30 more by the Nigerien army within Malian territory. Guillaume Ngefa, director of MINUSMA’s human rights division, confirmed that “these figures, names, and circumstances have been thoroughly documented.”
Mid-May saw the deaths of twelve individuals, detained on suspicion of complicity with jihadists, in gendarmerie cells in Burkina Faso. Relatives and non-governmental organizations assert that these individuals were civilians subjected to summary executions. Judicial investigations into these incidents have been promised.
– “very serious allegations” –
In Niger, a list of missing persons circulating in April suggested that 102 individuals were allegedly killed by the army in the western Tillabéri region. While the Ministry of Defense pledged an inquiry, it also praised the “professionalism” of its troops.
Consistently, human rights organizations have been publishing lists of names and photographs, lamenting the disappearance of individuals following military operations. A significant number of these missing persons are from the Peul ethnic group, who are often unfairly associated with jihadist collaborators.
A representative from the Malian Peul association Tabital Pulaaku, speaking anonymously, expressed frustration: “We can file reports, denounce that so many Peuls have been killed and thrown into a well, or show the world a mass grave, but nothing is done afterward.” Abou Sow, president of Tabital Pulaaku, told the press that while “it is undeniable that some Peuls have embraced jihadism, it is naive to reduce jihadism to a single ethnic group.”
Sahelian governments have historically stood firm in support of their armies. These forces, often under-equipped and inadequately trained, bear a heavy cost in the ongoing battle against jihadism.
Addressing the Security Council on behalf of the G5 Sahel (comprising Mauritania, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali), Mauritanian Foreign Minister Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed stated that “achieving full capacity for the Joint Force entails its ability to fully grasp the human rights dimension.” He affirmed that Mauritania is “undertaking actions to ensure respect for the law.” Niger’s Ambassador Abdou Abarry, a non-permanent member of the Council, echoed this sentiment, declaring, “We fully adhere to human rights,” even as nations like Belgium voiced concerns over “very serious allegations.”
– “a related objective” –
Following its meeting, the Security Council issued a statement on Friday, noting that it “took note of the measures announced by several Sahel governments in response to these allegations of human rights violations, and encourages their finalization.”
These accusations against national armies emerge at a pivotal moment for the Sahel.
The UN, for its part, faces skepticism from some Security Council members regarding the scale of its mission in Mali, which numbered 13,000 personnel in mid-June.
Meanwhile, France re-evaluated the terms of its engagement in the Sahel after 13 of its soldiers died in November.
The combined presence of France, MINUSMA (whose mandate is up for renewal), and the G5 Sahel Joint Force, established in 2017, has regrettably failed to stem the tide of violence that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands since 2012.
Ibrahim Maïga of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Bamako remarked that “civilian protection is merely a related objective” compared to the military forces’ “number one priority, which is to neutralize” jihadists.
In May, General Pascal Facon, commander of the French anti-jihadist force, when questioned by AFP about the alleged abuses by national armies, described them as “intolerable” and potentially damaging to the “credibility of the forces.”