Attachments
For a prosperous and peaceful West Africa
Leonardo Santos
SIMAO Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel and Head of UNOWAS/CNMC
Last June, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, entrusted me with the task of being his Representative for West Africa and the Sahel. It is an immense honour for me.
It is also a great responsibility that I intend to carry out with enthusiasm, following the commitment of my predecessors, and in close collaboration with all the regional and international players and partners.
The first stage of my regional contact tour, which I have just completed with visits to Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Niger, has enabled me to grasp the need to strengthen the coordination of efforts between the countries of the sub-region in order to deal coherently and effectively with the increasingly complex challenges that are slowing down West Africa’s progress towards sustainable peace and development.
Indeed, the many weighty and pernicious challenges facing the countries of the sub-region have been further exacerbated in an increasingly unstable and unpredictable global political and economic context, marked by the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the commitment and determination shown by the leaders of these countries, as well as the players of the civil society, combined with the natural and human assets available in the sub-region, are an opportunity. They constitute solid capital for investing in a better future.
My recent visits have also enabled me to appreciate the extraordinary work carried out by the agencies, funds and programs of the United Nations system which, in close collaboration with the national authorities, contribute on a daily basis to improving the living conditions of the people of the sub-region.
It is more vital than ever to strengthen all efforts aimed at consolidating peace and development in order to curb the various challenges that stand in the way of people’s aspirations for a better life.
In coordination with regional and international partners, and national actors, UNOWAS will continue its commitment to a prosperous and peaceful West Africa.