The Coalition for the Sahel

The aim of this pillar is to fight against armed terrorist groups by coordinating all of the efforts led by the African armies and the G5 Sahel Joint Force with the partners – Barkhane, MINUSMA, Takuba Task Force – with priority given to the Three-Borders region (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso).

Faced with a challenging security situation and the possibility of the threat expanding beyond the borders of the G5 Sahel countries, the aim is to create the conditions required for stabilization and development work.

Learn more about the work carried out by some actors to fight against terrorism in the Sahel:

• G5 Sahel Executive Secretariat
• Operation Barkhane
• United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA)
• Takuba Task Force

The Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel (P3S), initiated by France and Germany during the G7 Summit in Biarritz in August 2019, aims to identify security needs and increase efforts in the fields of defence and internal security.

Within the framework of the P3S, the Coalition’s second pillar aims to coordinate all the defence capacity building actions for G5 countries, and in particular all of the offers of training and equipment for national armed forces and the G5 Sahel Joint Force, including armed forces responsible for police missions.

The European Union is supporting the G5 Sahel, particularly through the “African Peace Facility” and the EUTM Mali military training and strategic advice mission (the mandate of which has been renewed for four years beyond 18 May 2020). The strategic review of EUTM Mali helped strengthen the mission’s work in central Mali particularly by supporting trained troops on tactics and extending the geographic scope of the mission to the entirety of the G5 Sahel with particular emphasis on Burkina Faso and Niger.

Find out more information about :

• the P3S initiative provided for by the Sahel Partnership Action Plan adopted at the Biarritz G7 Summit (24 to 26 August 2019
• the International High-Level Conference on the Sahel and the European Union’s commitment
• the European Union’s EUTM Mali military mission

In the framework of the effort to identify the priority needs of the Partnership for Security and Stability in the Sahel (P3S), this pillar aims to coordinate all available training and equipment for national internal security forces (police, gendarmerie, national guard) and the G5 Sahel Joint Force’s provost marshals. The aim is to help bolster the sovereign function of the State. Enhancing the State’s presence also entails rebuilding the legal capacities and local administration of the G5 countries, with priority for the most fragile areas.

The European Union is supporting Pillar 3 through the Emergency Trust Fund, the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) and EU civilian missions (EUCAP Sahel Niger and Mali) and the MINUSMA through the police component.

Find out more information about :

• the European Union’s civilian mission:
  • EUCAP Sahel Niger
  • EUCAP Sahel Mali
•  the support provided by the European Union through the Rapid Action Group – Monitoring and Intervention (GARSI)
• the police component of MINUSMA

The fourth pillar aims to respond to challenges regarding employment, poverty, education, healthcare and infrastructure in Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.

Development assistance is currently coordinated through two main bodies: the G5 Sahel, a cooperation framework created in 2014, and the Sahel Alliance, launched on 13 July 2017 by France, Germany and the European Union aimed at coordinating the work of international donors.

International contributions are mainly delivered by the Sahel Alliance (13 members, over 800 projects for €11.6 billion with a disbursement rate estimated at 29% in 2019), in connection with the G5 Sahel Executive Secretariat. The Executive Secretariat helps to identify activities, ensure good coordination between actions and distribute roles and/or geographical areas. It therefore guarantees the overall effectiveness of development work, in coherence with the political, security and military aspects.

Find out more about the Sahel Alliance.

Under a strategic partnership with the G5 Sahel, the members of the Sahel Alliance are implementing several Priority Investment Programmes (PIP), including an Emergency Development Programme in fragile cross-border areas. The members of the Sahel Alliance represented €1.8 billion, including €266 million to fund the Emergency Development Programme with a focus on three priority sectors: access to water, strengthening resilience and supporting social cohesion. These actions also contribute to the third pillar by supporting the return of government services and decentralization, so as to build confidence between public authorities and local people.