The Head of the RACC, Daniel Grammatico, speaks about his visit to the G5 Sahel countries

Leading the EU Regional Advisory and Coordination Cell for the Sahel (RACC) involves getting a 360 degrees vision of the EU regional engagement in the Sahel and its declination at national level. Therefore, meetings with a wide range of interlocutors took place.

On 28 October I returned to Nouakchott (where the RACC is based) from Chad. This was the last stretch of a journey started in Mali on 27 September. During this period, I met across the region all relevant EU actors engaging in the Sahel, our G5 Sahel counterparts, as well as other key payers committed to contributing to achieving peace, security, and good governance in this part of the world.

This mission provided me with the opportunity to exchange views on the effectiveness of the integrated approach with colleagues from EUTM Mali, EUCAP Sahel Mali and EUCAP Sahel Niger. I discussed about security, current challenges and regionalisation of the EU efforts also with the Special Representative of the European Union for the Sahel (EUSR), the colleagues from the Delegations of the European Union (DUE), representatives of EU Member States, the Force Commander of Operation Barkhane, Expertise France and UN colleagues from the MINUSMA.

The cross-cutting Human Rights and Gender aspect of the EU’s engagement - part of the RACC’s approach in each of its activities - was touched upon in all discussions with Sahelian counterparts.

The exchanges enabled me to put together the piece of a complex puzzle. In line with the RACC’s mandate, based on what I learned getting a comparative vision of what unfolds in each of the Sahel countries and the respective challenges we will continue our work aiming at further enhancing regional cooperation and operational capabilities in the field of defense and security of the G5 Sahel countries, in compliance with international law, human rights and the EU Strategic Approach to women peace and security.

The challenges faced in the Sahel continue to impact on the synergic effort of the G5 Sahel leaderships, the EU and the international community. The recent attacks in Niger and Burkina Faso are a constant reminder of the situation on the ground.

The G5 Sahel partners I met included the Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel, the High Representative of the Coalition for the Sahel, the National Coordination Committees of Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania (CNC); In Niger I met with representatives of the National Guard, the Director General of the National Police, of the Gendarmerie, the Army Chief of Staff of Niger and the Italian Support Mission in the Republic of Niger (MISIN), representatives of the Security Cooperation Platforms (PCMS) in Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad. I also met with the High Commission for Human Rights in Mali.

Over the last leg on my trip in Chad I could listen to the messages from several Ministers, including the Minister delegates to the Presidency of the Council in charge of National Defense, the Minister of Public Security and Immigration, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and the Minister of Planning and President of the G5 Sahel Cabinet. I also met representatives of Veteran’s organisations and the Nomad National Guard.

Each one of my visits was concluded with a debriefing with Ambassadors of the Member States.

When possible, the meetings were scheduled in conjunction with activities or events related to the RACC’s engagement and mandate unfolding in the region, for example the Support Program for the Police Component of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, the coordination of a judicialization action in the theater of operations in Niamey, the visit of the Special Representative of the European Union for the Sahel (EUSR) in Bamako, the visit of the EU Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC) and of the European Union Training Mission in Ouagadougou, the workshops of the National Coordination Committees of the G5 Sahel (CNC), the workshops of the Joint Justice Platforms in the Sahel and the workshops of the Security Cooperation Platforms in N'djamena.

The people of the Sahel demand and deserve to live in peace and security. And this is why our effort as an EU structure operating in the Sahel remains pivotal. The RACC strives to make its part to contribute to a safer and more prosperous Sahel. This visit has helped us to better understand the status quo, thus, to indicate the right direction to continue our engagement.