Mediation and Security Council (MSC) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at its 42nd session on June 24, 2019, in Abuja, Nigeria, deliberated on ways to improve the security situation of the region, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the communications division.
Addressing the Council at the opening of the session, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, stated that the greatest challenge facing the region today and thus holding back economic, social and human advancement, was the issue of regional security.
“Almost every month, our region is hit by terrorist attacks which plunge our populations into mourning. The problem has become more complex with ruthless inter-communal clashes that pose a threat to the social cohesion of our countries,” Brou said.
Brou called on Member States to implement the Lomé Declaration on Peace, Security, Stability and the Fight against Terrorism and Violent Extremism, which was adopted during the joint ECOWAS-Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) summit in July 2018.
He stressed the need for ECOWAS to consider other patterns of relationships and strengthen cooperation with geo-political blocs with which it shared same vulnerabilities, given the transnational nature of security threats and the porosity borders in the region.
On the political front, he highlighted the ECOWAS Commission’s continuous efforts to support Member States in the conduct of inclusive, transparent and credible elections.
The president presented to the Council Memoranda on the Political and Security situation in the region, which included the status of the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau (ECOMIB) and the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia (ECOMIG) as well as one on the issuance of ECOWAS Exemption Certificate by the President of the Commission in case of “extreme” emergency.
In addition, the Council was briefed on the report of June 3, 2019 MSC Ambassadorial level meeting by Ambassador Babatunde Nurudeen.
Chairman of the MSC and Nigeria’s acting minister for foreign affairs, Mustapha Suleiman, noted significant milestones towards the strengthening of democracy, peace and stability in the region.
In the area of security, the chairman proclaimed, “ECOWAS has taken concrete steps through increased engagement with its Member State in tackling security threats in the region, in particular terrorist insurgency in the Sahel, and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which have been major concerns”.
The MSC is made up of ECOWAS Member States’ Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence, the statement said.
