Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, in the Central Sahel, are facing a severe humanitarian disaster. Experts forecast that approximately 4.8 million people will be at risk of food insecurity come the period of June to August 2020. 

2019 DEATH TOLL REACHED ALL-TIME HIGH

Last year, there were approximately 4,000 deaths reported last year in the Central Sahel and it is highly likely that the actual figure is far greater than reported.

Islamist extremists have been recruiting activists from the Peuhl community in Mali, which has resulted in self-defence groups being formed from the Bambara, Dogon, and Tellem communities to protect themselves and their communities due to the lack of security from the state.

These self-defence groups have been directly linked to the killings of civilians. 39 Peuhl civilians were killed by the Dogon group in January 2019, plus a further 150 in March 2019. The group also carried out a number of attacks on villages and attacks on Peuhl men by removing them from public transportation and killing them.

Concerns have been raised over the increase in violence, with the worry being a further descent into chaos thereby allowing the extremists to gain more power. This outcome would likely result in civilians fleeing their homes and seeking refuge abroad.

HOW DID THE CRISIS IN THE CENTRAL SAHEL BEGIN?

For nearly a decade, this region has experienced severe food shortages due to erratic rainfall and has been subject to armed conflict resulting in 1.2 million being displaced as of November 2019.

Conflict began in 2012 when Tuareg rebels - a separatist group requesting an independent state - and Islamist militants attacked the northern part of Mali and took over control as the government’s military were unable to resist the rebellion. In 2013, the French military intervened and ousted the rebels before they could attack Bamako, the Capital of Mali. 

In 2015, a peace deal was signed between the rebels and the government thus signalling an end to the conflict. Following this, however, new rebel groups surfaced in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger which has led to the present crisis. 

WITHOUT IMMEDIATE ACTION THOUSANDS MORE WILL BE DISPLACED OR UNLAWFULLY HARMED

At the end of 2019, the number of displaced people grew by 1,200 per cent with approximately 560,000 people being internally displaced in Burkina Faso and over 200,00 in Mali in 2019 alone. In total, and as of 31st December 2019, 1,007,258 civilians are displaced or refugees as a direct result of the conflict in the Central Sahel.

It has been predicted by UNICEF that approximately 5 million children will be in need of humanitarian assistance over this year as they anticipate that the violence within the region will only intensify.

During the conflict, attacks on children have increased at an alarming rate. 571 attacks on children were reported in the first three quarters of 2019, 544 in 2018, and 386 in 2017. As a result of these violations, roughly 3,300 schools have closed in the Central Sahel, which means that around 650,000 children will be without formal education. This is likely to increase if the violence and conflict continues, which will further endanger childrens’ health and education in the region.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees visited Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania and commented on the crisis as becoming unmanageable if the situation is not dealt with properly.

All three countries, which are Member States of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are in clear breach of Article 3 (Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person) and Article 5 (No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) as the government of each state has failed to protect its citizens from such violence which has stripped them of their fundamental human rights.

A joint motion for a resolution, pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, was adopted by the European Parliament which considered the human rights violations and religious freedoms in Burkina Faso and proposed several recommendations in ending the deadly conflict, which included (but are not limited to):

1.     Calls on national authorities to invest more in nationwide dialogue between communities;

2.     Calls on the Government to increase its support for and protection of religious communities and provide additional support for victims of violence;

3.     Calls on the Government to safeguard the delivery of humanitarian assistance and food aid, in particular in areas with limited humanitarian access.

The UN Committee Against Torture reported that Burkina Faso needed to speed up the establishment of a national preventive mechanism of torture to minimise the impact of human rights violations, especially those committed by self-defence militias. The Report also encouraged Niger to finalise amendments of its Penal Code to criminalise torture.

The resolution of the humanitarian crisis will not be possible through the domestic actions alone, the international community needs to unite together to bring this tragedy to an end; to help restore peace in the region; and to commit to the protection of human rights of all citizens around the world

After having completed the Bar Professional Training Course (2018), Safia currently working as a Costs Advisor in a law firm. Her life goal is to make a positive change in the society we live in, no matter how small that change might be.

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