Publications

ECOWAS has set up mechanisms to promote democracy and strengthen collective security within its borders. These mechanisms have produced mixed results since their creation at the end of the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The military coups that have taken place in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger over the last three years have shown the limits of these mechanisms and the need to review them in order to adapt them to the ever changing political, security and geopolitical context in West Africa.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been facing an unprecedented security crisis. The two successive coups of 2022 have aggravated political and security instability. Under the regime of President Traoré, Burkina Faso opted for strategic autonomy in the fight against terrorism. This desire for strategic autonomy is manifested by a massive recruitment of volunteers from the country and the massive acquisition of military equipment.

The G5-Sahel’s four remaining member states are faced with the challenge of proving the effectiveness of the operation within the context of the region’s unprecedented security and humanitarian challenges. Terrorism and illicit activities continue to spread, as basic needs of the populations remain unmet. Local, international and private military actors within the region present the organization with a further unique security situation. This policy paper analyses the root of the G5-Sahel’s ineffectiveness and explores the wide range of recommendations for the challenges that the region faces.

Since 2015, the countries bordering the Lake Chad Basin have been attempting to provide a military response to Boko Haram, which has taken a high human and economic toll in this territory inhabited by citizens of four different countries. The emergence of terrorism in this part of the continent is solely the consequence of the failure of the governments, which have not provided infrastructure, even less basic social services.

The security crisis that began in 2015 in Burkina Faso confronts the country with multidimensional challenges, including communal conflicts, terrorist attacks and transnational organized crime. It has a considerable impact on women and children who represent more than 80% of internally displaced persons. In addition, the impact of the crisis on social cohesion is perceptible and makes it difficult to build peace.

Climate change is altering security landscapes around the world. West Africa is experiencing climate change at ratesfaster than the global average. Climate change is also interacting with regional political tensions, violent conflicts and complex humanitarian emergencies. As changing climateconditions impact natural resource availability, biodiversityand agricultural productivity, low levels of resilience are magnifying the human security implications of climate change in West Africa. In the next 10-20 years, unprecedented changes in temperatures and precipitation are projected in the region. Simultaneously, violent conflicts are escalating and spreading, as more and more countries witness spill-over effects.

This training handbook for media professionals was developed within the framework of the regional 3-year “Security for All” project, co-financed by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and the European Union. The project, whose target countries are Cameroon, Mali and Nigeria, aims to contribute to actions and to establishing institutions, to ensure that the security mission (at the local, national and regional levels) is more responsive to the needs of the population as well as being more accountable and more equitable. Civil society participation in the security sector reform and governance processes needs to be increased by empowering civil society actors and involving them in the dialogue taking place among all security sector actors. Civil society organizations must inform decision-making processes and contribute to setting agendas, monitoring public action, and public debate on the reform of the security…

Pour promouvoir la participation des chercheurs universitaires dans la dynamique de réflexion pour une paix et une stabilité durables dans la sous-région sénégambienne, le bureau Paix et Sécurité Centre de Compétence Afrique Subsaharienne de la Fondation Friedrich Ebert de Dakar (FES PSCC) a organisé du 14 au 15 Juillet 2022 à Ziguinchor la Conférence sous-régionale pour une meilleure implication des acteurs universitaires à la sécurité collective : cas des universités de Gambie, de Guinée-Bissau et du Sénégal dont les résultats des travaux et les recommandations se trouvent consignés dans le présent rapport.

From 18^th to 19^th May 2022, the third edition of the West Africa Dialogue regional conference of the FES Peace and Security Competence Centre Sub-Saharan Africa was held in Dakar. The theme was "Civil-military collaboration in West Africa: a necessity in the face of security challenges and changes". The objective of this third edition was to analyse the responses to security challenges from the perspective of civil-military collaboration. This policy paper reviews the outcome of the discussions and the recommendations made.

The Peace and Security Competence Centre of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Dakar (FES PSCC) organised from Thursday 31 March 2022 to Friday 1 April 2022 in Dakar the third edition of the regional conference Sahel-Sahara Dialogue on the topic : Prospects for sustainable peace in the Sahel : what inclusive responses to security instability in the Sahel-Sahara and in West Africa? This report reviews the results of the conference and the recommendations that were made.