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Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel - Report of the Secretary-General (S/2021/940)

Attachments

I. Introduction

  1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2391 (2017) of 8 December 2017, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General, in close coordination with the members of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G5 Sahel) – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and the Niger – and the African Union, to report on the activities of the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel and the support provided by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in this regard. The Council adopted resolution 2584 (2021) on 29 June 2021, renewing the mandate of MINUSMA, including enhanced support from MINUSMA to the Joint Force as authorized by resolution 2531 (2020).

  2. In his letter to the Security Council dated 4 October (S/2021/850), in addition to the findings and recommendations of an assessment of international support provided to the Joint Force, the Secretary-General provided a comprehensive update on (a) progress in the operationalization of the Joint Force; (b) international support granted to the Joint Force and possible measures to enhance its efficiency; (c) implementation of the technical agreement signed on 23 February 2018 between the G5 Sahel, the European Union and the United Nations, including through a detailed outline of the enhanced support provided by MINUSMA to the Joint Force; (d) challenges encountered by the Joint Force and possible measures for further consideration; and (e) the implementation by the States members of the G5 Sahel of the human rights and international humanitarian law compliance framework of the Joint Force, the human rights due diligence policy on United Nations support to non-United Nations security forces, as well as on ways to mitigate any adverse impact of the military operations of the Joint Force on the civilian population, including on women and children. Consequently, the present report provides brief updates on the most relevant developments that have taken place since 4 October.