At the 8743rd meeting of the Security Council, held on 11 March 2020, in connection with the Council’s consideration of the item entitled “Peace and security in Africa”, the President of the Security Council made the following statement on behalf of the Council:
“The Security Council expresses its concern at and strongly condemns terrorism in all forms and manifestations and notes the increasing threat posed to peace and security in Africa by terrorism, especially in the most affected regions of the Sahel, in particular the area of three borders (Mali-Niger-Burkina Faso), the Lake Chad Basin and the Horn of Africa and expresses serious concern regarding the undermining impact of such attacks on peace and security in Africa.
“The Security Council expresses condolences to the families of victims of terrorism, expresses solidarity with African countries that have suffered terrorist attacks, and its support for the survivors of terrorist violence.
“The Security Council recognizes the significant terrorist threat in Africa, and underlines the importance of prompt and effective the implementation of its resolutions related to the fight against terrorism, all sanctions measures against designated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with ISIL (Dae’sh), Al-Qaida and their affiliates, and in this regard welcomes the recent decisions of the Committee established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) to include Islamic State West Africa Province, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant – Libya in its sanctions list.
“The Security Council emphasizes that the presence of terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism may exacerbate conflicts in affected regions, and contribute to undermining affected States, specifically their security, stability, governance, social and economic development.
“The Security Council commends the efforts and progress made by African countries, the African Union, and other regional and sub-regional organizations, in countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, within the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations.
“The Security Council reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and stresses that Member States have the primary responsibility in countering terrorist acts and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
“The Security Council further reaffirms that Member States must ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism must comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, underscores that respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law are complementary and mutually reinforcing with effective counter-terrorism measures and are an essential part of a successful counter-terrorism effort, and notes the importance of respect for the rule of law so as to effectively prevent and combat terrorism, and further notes that failure to comply with these and other international obligations, including under the Charter of the United Nations, is one of the factors contributing to increased radicalization to violence and fosters a sense of impunity.
“The Security Council urges Member States and the United Nations system to take measures, pursuant to international law, to address all drivers of violent extremism conducive to terrorism, both internal and external, in a balanced manner as set out in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
“The Security Council recognizes the impact and challenges posed by illicit trade in and diversion of small arms and light weapons in Africa which enables terrorist groups to considerably increase their armed capabilities.
“The Security Council emphasizes that terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, or ethnic group.
“The Security Council underscores the importance of a holistic approach to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, conducted in accordance with applicable international law, as well as efforts to addresses the governance, security, human rights, humanitarian, development, and socioeconomic dimensions of the challenge, including employment for the youth and the eradication of poverty.
“The Security Council underscores the importance of a whole of government and whole of society approach and stresses the importance of cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, particularly civil society, in countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in Africa, and in this regard encourages the participation and leadership of women in this process, and encourages Member States to provide youth employment opportunities and vocational training, foster their quality education, and consider developing and implementing policies and programs to facilitate women and youth’s constructive political engagement, including their meaningful, equal and full participation at all decision-making levels. The Security Council recognizes that such efforts contribute to countering recruitment to terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism, and promoting social inclusion and cohesion, making communities more resilient against radicalization to violence.
“The Security Council expresses deep concern that acts of sexual and gender-based violence and the recruitment and use of children are known to be part of the strategic objectives and ideology of certain terrorist groups, used as a tactic of terrorism, and an instrument to increase their power through supporting financing, recruitment, and the destruction of communities.
“The Security Council expresses grave concern about the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters returning or relocating, particularly from conflict zones, to their countries of origin or nationality or to third countries, including in Africa, and underlines the importance of international support and assistance for African countries to address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, including on information sharing, border security, investigations, judicial processes, preventing recruitment of and financial support to foreign terrorist fighters, and appropriate prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration efforts.
“The Security Council notes with grave concern that terrorists and terrorist groups, including in Africa, raise, move and transfer funds through a variety of means, which include cash couriers, abuse of legitimate commercial enterprise, exploitation of natural resources, and proceeds of criminal activities including kidnapping for ransom, extortion, the illicit trade and trafficking in cultural property, persons, drugs, and small arms and light weapons, and recalls its obligations on all Member States relevant to the prevention and suppression of the financing of terrorism, including those in resolutions 1373 (2001) and 2462 (2019).
“The Security Council expresses its concern that terrorists in Africa can benefit from transnational organized crime as a source of financing or logistical support, recognizing that the nature and scope of the linkages between terrorism and transnational organized crime vary by context, and emphasizes the need to coordinate efforts at the local, national, sub regional, regional, and international levels to respond to this challenge, in accordance with international law.
“The Security Council acknowledges the commitment of African Member States to counter-terrorism in line with relevant international treaties and conventions, AU instruments and initiatives, UN Security Council resolutions, and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, and further encourages the international community to support the Africa’s efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
“The Security Council welcomes the efforts undertaken by its subsidiary bodies with responsibilities in counter-terrorism to foster cooperation with regional and subregional arrangements.
“The Security Council stresses the need to continue to provide and strengthen support to African Member States to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism on the national, sub-regional and regional levels, including through the delivery of effective and targeted capacity building, training, sharing of best practices and experiences and other necessary resources needed to support efforts, particularly on:
– strengthening interagency cooperation within and between Member States in Africa through establishing national-level interagency coordination mechanisms;
– detecting terrorist and other serious crimes through the use of travel information and international databases, sharing good practices on border security and management; promoting parliamentarians’ role in the implementation of relevant counter-terrorism obligations, and promoting south-south cooperation;
– developing and further implementing national and regional strategies and plans of action to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism conducive terrorism, upon request;
– developing and further strengthening fair and effective criminal justice systems in efforts to counter terrorism;
– preventing the acquisition of arms and ammunition by terrorists and terrorist groups;
– developing and further implementing contingency and response plans in order to protect, mitigate, investigate, respond to and recover from damage from terrorist attacks against soft targets and critical infrastructure;
– supporting African states in their efforts to continue ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law in all their counter terrorism policies as fundamental basis for the fight against terrorism.
“The Security Council notes ongoing efforts of relevant United Nations entities, including of CTED, UNOCT, UNODC, UNDP in Africa and stresses the need to ensure greater coordination and coherence with donors and recipients in this regard, taking into account national perspectives, and with a view to strengthening national ownership.
“The Security Council calls the international community to strengthen its political commitment and to consider mobilizing more sustainable and predicable resources and expertise to strengthen the capacity of African countries in countering terrorism and violent extremism conducive terrorism, including facilitating the sharing of information and good practices, raising public awareness through education and media, and strengthening international cooperation mechanisms and mobilize necessary resources to where there is need.
“The Security Council reaffirms the importance of addressing the underlying conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in Africa, including by ensuring national recovery and reconstruction, enhancing good governance, and facilitating socioeconomic development in Africa including through job creation and promotion of entrepreneurship, and providing education and health care service for the promotion of the well-being of their people.
“The Security Council stresses that UN institutions should work closely with the African Union, and African sub-regional organisations and arrangements, as well as Member States of the region, and commends the important contribution of security initiatives in Africa, including the G5 Sahel Joint Force and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin, to the peace and security in the region, and further notes the Pau Summit of 13 January 2020.
“The Security Council encourages holding sub-regional, regional and continental dialogues in Africa to share best practices for responses to terrorism, and in this regard, the Security Council notes the High-Level African Regional Counter-Terrorism Conference convened by UNOCT in Nairobi in July 2019.
“The Security Council reiterates its support to Silencing the Guns by 2020 in Africa, and believes the achievement of this goal is conducive to realizing the African Union’s Agenda 2063 to ensure an integrated, peaceful, secure and prosperous Africa in line with the Agenda 2030.”