Workshop on peace promotion in the Sahel
Dakar, 2–3 May 2017
Author: Abdoulaye Bâ
Review: Sarah Franck
Translation:Khadidja Neggazi
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Summary
The Cordoba Foundation of Geneva (CFG), in collaboration with the Human Security Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), organised the fourth Sahel Platform in Dakar (Senegal) on 2–3 May 2017.
Twenty-eight participants from Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Chad took part. Two figures renowned for monitoring the religious and socio-cultural landscape of Senegal, the host country, also attended as observers. This fourth Sahel Platform was further marked by the active participation of a senior leader of a major Azawadi tribe, who came from Kidal especially for the meeting.
The opening ceremony was enriched by an important address by the Swiss Ambassador to Senegal, who is also responsible for bilateral relations with Cape Verde, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Mauritania. All participants welcomed the speech, which highlighted Switzerland’s activities in peace promotion in the Sahel and its willingness to take an active part in setting up inclusive dialogue for conflict transformation and violence prevention.
The aim of this fourth Sahel Platform was to examine the current situation in the region in the areas of security, politics and religion, to measure the impact of inter- and intra-faith relations on the dynamics of violence and peace, and to assess the current state of social cohesion in the countries of the region. Finally, it sought to monitor and evaluate the projects and concrete initiatives launched at the previous Sahel Platforms held in Nouakchott (2014 and 2015) and Caux (2016), and the other activities of the CFG and the FDFA in conflict transformation. Besides following up on projects and reviewing the context, these meetings also aim to identify new lines of tension and religious and ethnic fault lines, among others, and to find ways of reducing them. They are also a privileged opportunity to reflect further on other, less well-known and sometimes older tensions that are today a lived reality in some countries of the region.
In this framework, the situation in Nigeria, Chad, Mauritania and especially Mali was the subject of intense and rich discussions, which demonstrated the professionalism of those present and the great respect and mutual trust among the participants.
It should be noted that this dynamic, which brings hope for the region, is the result of the considerable work carried out by the CFG and the FDFA with local actors since 2014. This maturing of the CFG’s and the FDFA’s action could be turned into an active synergy bringing together traditional chiefs, religious actors and representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) to promote dialogue and peace through mediation.
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