• News by AUN News correspondent
• Tuesday, March 28, 2023
• AUN News – ISSN: 2949-8090

Summary:

• “Favorable conditions” for expansionThe Secretary-General voiced grave worry over the inroads made by terrorist organizations in the Sahel and elsewhere in Africa.

• Thus, hundreds of foreign militants and warriors surged into the Sahel, contributing to the importation of terrorist groups onto the continent and “an unchecked circulation of weapons.

• He pledged to “spare no effort” to ensure the success of an AU flagship campaign to “quiet the firearms” by 2030. In various contexts, the global menaceTerrorism, like climate change, is one of the most significant challenges to the international community, said Mozambican President Nyusi in his inaugural address to the United Nations Security Council.

• According to the Global Terrorism Index for 2022, approximately 48 per cent of terrorism-related deaths occurred in Africa, and the Sahel is the “new epicentre” of terrorist attacks.

• President Nyusi also provided ideas for the following review of the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy, pushing countries to establish a fund to build local community resilience, including job creation programmes for young people, notably in Africa and the Middle East.

Leaders from around the continent joined ambassadors in examining how to prevent violent extremism better and combat terrorism through enhanced cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations.

Mozambique’s President, Filipe Nyusi, led the discussion. The nation, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month, has been fighting a violent insurgency in the north for over five years.

“Favorable conditions” for expansion

The Secretary-General voiced grave worry over the inroads made by terrorist organizations in the Sahel and elsewhere in Africa.

“Despair, poverty, hunger, a lack of basic amenities, unemployment, and unconstitutional government changes continue to provide a fertile environment for the development of terrorist groups into new regions of the continent,” he stated.

In addition, he stated that fighters, finances, and weapons are rapidly moving across areas and the continent while terrorist organizations forge new partnerships with organized crime networks and piracy gangs. These “violent ideals” are also disseminated via the Internet.

Unified anti-terrorism mechanism to combat terrorism

“Just as terrorism drives people apart, combating it can bring countries together,” said Mr Guterres, citing initiatives in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin, and Mozambique.

He added, “The United Nations stands with Africa to end this plague.” “This includes our continuous partnership with the African Union (AU) and regional and sub-regional African organizations.”

Mr Guterres stated that the United Nations provides tailored assistance to African nations as an anti-terrorism mechanism in prevention, legal aid, investigations, prosecutions, reintegration, and rehabilitation.

Respect human rights

Along with Nigeria, the United Nations is co-organizing the forthcoming African Counterterrorism Summit and enhancing cooperation on significant peace initiatives. The Organization also advocates for new “robust” peace-enforcement missions and anti-terrorism operations led by the African Union and mandated by the Security Council. He urged nations to support this essential endeavour.

The Secretary-General also looked ahead to June, when the 2006-adopted UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy will undergo its eighth assessment. This will be a “crucial opportunity” for governments to devise new, more effective ways to combat the conditions that foster the growth of terrorism.

He noted that the summit would serve as a reminder that human rights must be at the forefront of anti-terrorism measures.

“Research demonstrates that counterterrorism operations that are purely focused on security rather than human rights might inadvertently deepen marginalization and exclusion, worsening the situation,” he said.

Terrorist ‘contagion’ continues

President Azali Assoumani of Comoros, the new chairperson of the African Union, stated that although terrorism has existed for centuries, “since the Libyan crisis in 2011, it has exploded, particularly in Africa.”

Thus, hundreds of foreign militants and warriors surged into the Sahel, contributing to the importation of terrorist groups onto the continent and “an unchecked circulation of weapons.”

“In this manner, the scope of terrorism in Africa grew from north to south and east to west as time passed. And the terrorist contagion continues to spread throughout nearly all of Africa, he stated through an interpreter.

He pledged to “spare no effort” to ensure the success of an AU flagship campaign to “quiet the firearms” by 2030.

In various contexts, the global menace

Terrorism, like climate change, is one of the most significant challenges to the international community, said Mozambican President Nyusi in his inaugural address to the United Nations Security Council.

“The expansion of terrorism is quite threatening, and a variety of context-specific factors fuels it. “On the one hand, radicalization based on identity variables fueled by intolerance and, on the other hand, the manipulation of socioeconomic factors have accelerated recruitment to terrorist groups, especially among young people,” he stated through an interpreter.

According to the Global Terrorism Index for 2022, approximately 48 per cent of terrorism-related deaths occurred in Africa, and the Sahel is the “new epicentre” of terrorist attacks.

African solutions and know-how of anti-terrorism

President Nyusi stated that African nations, the African Union, and regional organizations on the continent – including the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the West African bloc ECOWAS, and its East African counterpart IGAD – have accumulated years of experience in conflict resolution.

Since nearly two years ago, the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) has been combating terrorists in the northern province of Cabo Delgado – an example of “African solutions to African issues” that may be reproduced elsewhere.

“For Mozambique, this experience has added value, as we are currently fighting terrorism by combining SADC regional multilateral efforts with bilateral efforts between Mozambique and Rwanda, and we are doing so successfully,” he said.

Support youth job programmes.

President Nyusi also provided ideas for the following review of the UN Global Counterterrorism Strategy, pushing countries to establish a fund to build local community resilience, including job creation programmes for young people, notably in Africa and the Middle East.

His additional proposals included prioritizing assistance for regional solutions to combat terrorism and advocating an all-encompassing approach that integrates security, legal, and socioeconomic interventions.

He also emphasized the need to assist indebted developing countries that cannot adequately respond to the effects of “climate change and other artificial catastrophes.”

Change global financial systems

He warned that current affairs make these nations more susceptible to extremism, terrorism, and violent conflict.

“For these countries to emerge from the current crisis, we are calling on the international community to restructure their debt and allow their access to reasonable credit,” he said.

To achieve this objective, multilateral financial organisations must reform the worldwide economic system.