THE United States Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Richard Mills, has given conditions for progress in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
Mills spoke yesterday at the UN Security Council Briefing on West Africa and the Sahel.
The envoy said as the number of coups and transition governments have grown in West Africa, efforts must be geared towards restoring democracy in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso. He added that only democracy could guarantee progress in these nations.
In Mali, Mills said, the authorities must urgently restore constitutional rule by holding timely elections. He said: “Fortunately, ECOWAS and Mali came to a welcomed agreement on a 24-month transition timeline starting from March 2022. We trust the transition government of Mali will turn its full attention to implementing the benchmarks for the remainder of this transition. That is what we expect. That is what the Malian people expect. And that is what the entire international community expects. We will all pay close attention to those benchmarks in the days to come.
“I must stress that the United States government is very concerned about the alarming increase of credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses carried out by the Malian Armed Forces in conjunction with the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group. These potential abuses and violations are exactly why we warn countries against partnering with the Russia-backed Wagner Group.”
On Guinea, he urged the transition government to support the right of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest.
He said the country must return to constitutional democracy.
For Burkina Faso, he said America was encouraged by the transition government’s proposal to ECOWAS for a two-year transition timeline to return Burkina Faso to democratically elected civilian-led governance.
“We encourage partners to prioritize productive engagement with the transition government and to take into account Burkina Faso’s security and humanitarian challenges. Finally, at the regional level, terrorist violence against civilian and military targets in the Sahel is tragically rampant. The ongoing conflict in neighboring Libya increases instability by contributing to an increased flow of arms and mercenary groups in the region,” Mills said.
The United States, he said, will continue to work with the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
He called for joint efforts to stamp out terrorism.
“This is a moment of crisis for West Africa and the Sahel, Mr. President. But it can also be an opportunity – an opportunity to defeat terrorism, promote democracy, and put the people of the region first. Let us all continue to work closely with UNOWAS to do just that,” Mills added.
