United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that expanding terrorist networks, mass displacement, and the collapse of essential services in West Africa and the Sahel region are an increasing global concern.
Speaking to the UN Security Council at headquarters in New York, Guterres said the rise of terrorist groups in the region “is not only a regional dramatic reality” but also a growing global threat due to their expanding links across Africa and beyond.
The Sahel, a vast belt stretching across the continent, accounts for 19% of global terrorist attacks and over half of terrorism-related deaths worldwide. Conflicts in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and neighboring countries have displaced around four million people, Guterres noted.
The UN chief called for a “unified, coherent and consensus-based” regional response, continued funding for humanitarian operations, and long-term development strategies to tackle the root causes of terrorism.
He also urged intelligence sharing and financial monitoring through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact and the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) counter-terrorism initiatives.
Humanitarian appeals for the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin remain severely underfunded, Guterres said, with less than a quarter of the $4.9 billion requested raised. “Terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken,” he added, emphasizing the need for poverty alleviation and investment in sustainable development.
Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, told the council that terrorism had spread beyond the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, threatening all of West Africa. ECOWAS is deploying a standby force starting with 1,650 personnel, to scale up to 5,000 with regional and partner support.
Touray cautioned that fragmented counter-terrorism initiatives by partners hinder cooperation. “No amount of money, no amount of equipment will help us overcome terror if we don’t collaborate and build synergy,” he said.
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Bio, who currently holds the Security Council presidency, called for reimagining ECOWAS as “a community of courage, the moral compass and stabilizing force of Africa.” He proposed an ECOWAS-UN-African Union compact to ensure coordinated financing and operations across the region.