UNSC adopts Morocco’s presidential declaration calling for inter-regional coordinated approach on Sahel

New York (United Nations), December 10, 2012 (AMP)

The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a presidential statement prepared by Morocco calling for a coordinated and inclusive inter-regional approach to the multidimensional crisis in the Sahel-Saharan region.

This declaration adopted at a ministerial meeting on the situation in the African Sahel, in presence of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Special Envoy for the Sahel, Romano Prodi and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, was prepared by Morocco, which chairs the Security Council for the month of December.

The debate was attended by several foreign ministers, including Colombia, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire, on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as well as representatives of sub-regional organizations and international organizations, in addition to the European Union.

In its statement, the Council welcomed “the initiatives and measures” taken to address the problems that the Sahel region face, reaffirming its “commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and unity of the countries of the Sahel region,” and stressing “the importance of strengthening cooperation at the regional, inter-regional and international levels on the basis of a common and shared responsibility.

The Council urged for strengthening cooperation and coordination between the Sahel and Maghreb countries and within each region, in collaboration with relevant UN bodies and regional and international partners to fight against the Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and prevent the progression of its members and of its affiliated groups in the Sahel and the Maghreb and beyond, and to combat the proliferation of weapons and transnational organized crime, including illicit activities such as drug trafficking.

The UNSC also underlined the importance of adopting a holistic approach that embraces the issues of security and development and humanitarian issues, in such a way to meet the immediate needs of the Sahel region.