PSCC Talk: "Military cooperation in the Sahel: for whom, for what and to what end?"

In the Sahel, military cooperation (regional, bilateral and even international) engaged in the name of the fight against terrorism deserves to be diagnosed more closely, at a time when the announced end of the French operation Barkhane and its replacement by a new special operation "TAKUBA" raises concerns and questions. For, despite the plethora of active military cooperation in this region, extremist movements continue to advance their pawns. From Mali to Chad, via Burkina, Niger and Nigeria, deadly attacks are recurrent, tormenting populations that are sometimes left to their own devices. In all cases, military cooperation apparently does not solve any of the basic problems at the root of the Sahel security crisis. Proposals for cooperation have multiplied and some have come to speak of 'security bottlenecks'. This deliberately shows the limits of the repressive approach. At best, those in charge of military cooperation sometimes wonder about the problems of coordination and interoperability of programmes financed by the European Union, the United Nations, the United States, France, Germany, Spain and so many others, putting the efforts of the international community into question. The question therefore arises very bluntly as to:

• What is the purpose of military cooperation in the Sahel and who benefits from it?
• What are their impacts on the security and stability of the region?
• Do they effectively address the security concerns of the people of the Sahel or do they need to be readapted to the dynamic context of security threats in the region?

The conference, which was moderated by Mamadou Mignane DIOUF, Executive President of the Senegalese Social Forum, was held in the form of a round table in two panels led by the following experts and discussants Dr. Baba DAKONO, Executive Secretary of the Citizen's Observatory on Governance and Security, (Mali); Dr. Ndèye Amy NDIAYE, PHD in International Law, Lecturer IDHP/UCAD, Expert in Gender-Security and Human Rights, (Senegal); Dr. Serigne Bamba GAYE, Expert-Researcher, Lecturer in International Relations at the Centre des Hautes Etudes de Défense et de Sécurité (CHEDS) in Dakar, (Senegal) ; Dr. Omorou TOURE, Lecturer at the University of Legal and Political Sciences of Bamako, (Mali); Prof. Babacar "Buuba" DIOP, Full Professor at the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (Senegal); Dr. Mory TRAORE, Lecturer at the University of Dakar, (Senegal); Dr. Mory TRAORE, Teacher-Researcher at the Public Law Department of the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences, Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, (Senegal); Dr. Antonin TISSERON, Associate Researcher at the Thomas More Institute, (France); Dr. Sanwé Médard KIENOU, University Professor (Burkina Faso).

The exchanges were rich and fruitful thanks also to the participation of experts on security issues, academics, researchers, members of civil society organisations, diplomatic representatives, defence and security forces and a member of the Senegalese Assembly.