Renewed diplomacy across West Africa and the Sahel is beginning to yield tangible improvements, even as an increasingly sophisticated terrorist threat continues to wreak havoc across the region, particularly in the central Sahel and northern Nigeria, the senior UN official for the region told the Security Council today.
Presenting the Secretary-General’s latest report (S/2026/537) to the 15-member Council, Leonardo Santos Simão, Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), warned that armed groups are increasingly using drones, sophisticated communications and cryptocurrencies while coordinating operations across borders. [The Council has extended the Office’s mandate until 31 January 2029.]
“Their actions intersect with transnational organized crime, and are aimed at consolidating territorial and economic control, erosion of public confidence in State authority, with serious damage to social cohesion,” he said.
In Mali, coordinated attacks by Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin and the Front de Libération de l’Azawad targeted the cities of Bamako, Kati, Kidal, Gao and Mopti, causing civilian and military casualties, including the death of the Defence Minister. Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria also continued to experience terrorist attacks, abductions and heavy civilian casualties.
6.8 Million Displaced by Devastating Violence
“The human cost of the violence is devastating,” he said, noting that since February it has has displaced approximately 6.8 million, while another 1.28 million have become refugees or asylum-seekers across the region. Coastal States, including Liberia, are facing growing pressure as displaced populations seek protection. Drug trafficking, production and consumption are also compounding insecurity, particularly in coastal countries. “Youth are the principal victims,” he said, noting reports that terrorist combatants are also using drugs.
Meanwhile, humanitarian access remains severely restricted, while funding shortages are limiting life-saving assistance. “Women, children and young people continue to bear the brunt,” he said.
Patient, Principled Diplomatic Engagement Bearing Fruit
Despite this bleak security and humanitarian picture, diplomatic engagement is beginning to yield results, he reported. Niger and Nigeria have reopened the Kamba border crossing, restoring an important trade corridor, while high-level exchanges involving Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have signalled a renewed commitment to improving relations.
The Mano River Union has also intensified its engagement, with Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone recommitting to the peaceful resolution of tensions in their border areas. In Sierra Leone, mediation by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and UNOWAS helped the Government and opposition reach agreement, while Mali and Algeria moved to normalize bilateral relations by reopening their airspaces and reinstating their ambassadors. “These are some examples of regional efforts towards dialogue,” he said.
He also welcomed peaceful elections and progress towards accountable governance, saying that security responses alone will not be sufficient. “Fighting poverty and vulnerability must therefore remain a common objective in the broader fight against terrorism,” he emphasized.
He further highlighted progress by the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission in implementing the International Court of Justice’s 2002 judgment and Ghana’s decision to submit its maritime dispute with Togo to arbitration. Such developments show “how patient and principled engagement can transform potentially divisive issues”, he said.
Turning to UNOWAS, he reported that an independent strategic review of its mandate, led by former Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, has begun. “We look forward to its conclusions and recommendations,” he said, adding that the review should help adapt UNOWAS to evolving regional realities and consolidate the UN’s relevance in the region.
UNOWAS remains fully committed to implementing its mandate in support of peace, constitutional governance and regional cooperation in West Africa and the Sahel.
Stronger Regional Cooperation, Comprehensive Responses Key to Stop Terrorism
In the ensuing discussion, Council members broadly agreed on the need for stronger regional cooperation and comprehensive responses that address terrorism and its underlying causes.
“[The extension of the UNOWAS mandate] is a vote of confidence in preventive diplomacy at the very moment the region needs it most,” said Liberia’s representative, also speaking for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia. “But we cannot, and will not, look away from the peril” posed by the spike in recent terrorist attacks across the region, he said.
“Terror knows no borders, and neither must our cooperation against it,” he stressed, while welcoming regional diplomatic efforts. There can ultimately be no military solution to the challenges facing the region, he said, underscoring that the root drivers of conflict, including poverty and lagging sustainable development, must be addressed. “Bridges are harder to build than walls, but they are the only structures that carry us forward and across,” he concluded.
Other speakers similarly emphasized that force alone cannot resolve the region’s crises. The speaker from the United States urged Sahelian States and coastal neighbours to overcome divisions and coordinate security responses grounded in human rights. “African ownership of the regional security situation, with a coordinated response among all countries in the region, is critical,” he emphasized.
“There is no military solution to eradicate terrorism, either in West Africa or in any other part of the world,” Panama’s delegate said, calling for investments in education, employment, food security and social policies that prevent radicalization.
The representative of Pakistan likewise called for “a comprehensive strategy that combines effective security responses with measures addressing its root causes”, while Colombia’s speaker, drawing on her country’s experience, said it is essential to “prioritize a holistic approach” incorporating sustainable development and human rights. “We are convinced that dialogue is the optimal path to address common challenges,” Bahrain’s delegate said.
Several members, such as China’s representative, called for stronger international and regional security support. “We must continue to enhance regional counter-terrorism synergies,” Beijing urged. “The international community should provide supporting funding, equipment and technology to help regional countries fortify their security defences,” he said, also warning that both the symptoms and root causes of poverty, unemployment and other developmental drivers of conflict need to be addressed.
The representative of the Russian Federation also expressed concern over the worsening security situation. Recalling that the Council has characterized attacks by JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) as terrorist acts, she stressed the role of “external forces” supporting their activities. She also said that France allows members of the FLA to speak publicly on its territory, despite global condemnation of the group’s actions, and called for international support for the Confederation of Sahel States — established by Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in 2023 — while decrying the reluctance of Western Council members to refer to that bloc in the organ’s documents.
Call for More Funding, Access for Humanitarian Aid, Workers
France’s speaker warned that the lack of an adequate collective response is what is having dire consequences on the ground, particularly for women and girls, stressing that the Council “cannot and must not look the other way”.
Speakers continued to highlight the worsening humanitarian situation and echoed France’s calls for action. The representative of Greece noted that “only 14 per cent of the funding required for the 2026 humanitarian response has been received” and urged donors to step up.
The United Kingdom’s speaker added that safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access must also be guaranteed. “Inclusive political processes, accountable institutions and credible elections are essential to long-term stability,” she also stated.
Latvia’s delegate warned that terrorism is evolving “faster than our collective response”. “Against this backdrop, a collective security response is needed in the region,” Denmark’s delegate stressed, noting that it could involve the creation of a joint regional counter-terrorism strategy that builds upon ECOWAS’ existing efforts and the Multinational Joint Task Force.
Regional Players Urge Unity to Rebuild Trust, Spotlight Efforts
Representatives of countries from the region also underscored the need for collective action.
Côte d’Ivoire’s delegate welcomed peaceful elections and efforts by ECOWAS, the African Union and UNOWAS to rebuild regional trust. “Given common challenges, the unity of action in our region is key,” he said. Warning of increasingly sophisticated terrorist attacks and criminal networks, he urged intelligence-sharing, cross-border cooperation and sustainable African security financing. “The military response alone will not be enough,” he stressed, calling for investment in prevention, governance, border resilience, youth and women. He also reaffirmed support for UNOWAS and clarified that major opposition parties participated in Côte d’Ivoire’s December 2025 legislative elections, except the African People’s Party, or PPA-CI.
“Burkina Faso, on a daily basis, makes enormous efforts [to promote] its national security,” said that country’s delegate. Spotlighting success in countering terrorism, he noted efforts to strengthen cooperation with its neighbours in that regard. Meanwhile, he said, the suspension and dissolution of associations at the national level mentioned in the Secretary-General’s report — far from being a human rights setback — only seeks to “clean up the association space” and enforce the law, ensuring that non-governmental groups are working in line with national efforts. He also thanked ECOWAS and UNOWAS for their support to national efforts across the region.