“The Support Program to the Legal and Provost Components of the G5 Sahel (ACLEP-G5) for a better functioning of military justice in the G5 Sahel countries is officially launched”.

These words pronounced by the Executive Secretary of the G5 Sahel, Eric Yemdeago Tiare, on October 13 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, in the presence of representatives from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger, and international partners committed to security and peace in the Sahel, kicked the ball started for the work of a Steering Committee.

The ACLEP project (Support for the Legal and Provost Components of the FC G5S) is funded by the EU and implemented by Expertise France. The objective of the project is to reinforce the fight against impunity, as well as the ability of the judicialisation of the G5 Sahel Joint Force.

The judicialisation developed by the FC G5S means transmitting to the judicial authorities the findings of operations conducted by the military force (captured individuals, collected evidence, seizures, imagery, etc.) through duly developed procedures, in accordance with national legislation, and strictly respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law.

The project will make it possible to provide legal follow-up to military operations and to strengthen the operational capacities of the prevotal units, supporting the work of police advisors (CONSPOL) and legal advisors (CONSJUR) of the FC G5S, enhancing the coordination and the cooperation between the different national judiciary actors.

As recalled by Jean-Marc Dewerpe, representative of the Delegation of the European Union in Mauritania on the occasion of the launch of the program, this first Steering Committee meeting in Nouakchott made it possible to validate the roadmap of the project and to complete the diagnostic phase. Mr. Dwerpe praised the strong support of the G5 Sahel Executive Secretariat and the Joint Force Command for the good functioning of the various projects in support of the Force funded by the EU.

“In these times of reflection on the future of the Joint Force, I wanted to emphasize that it is important to the EU and these Member States to keep the protection of civilians at the forefront in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel” underlined Jean-Marc Dewerpe, who also thanked the commitment of the representatives of Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania, “who will have the important task of ensuring the national anchoring of “a project that deals with the complex subject of judicialization”.

The EU supports to the G5 joint force since 2018 for an allocated amount of 265 million MEUR. Such engagement is put in place around three strictly interlinked exes: on one hand the support in terms of logistics and supply of equipment and infrastructures for a total amount of 220 MEUR; the support for the promotion and respect of human rights and International Humanitarian Law (40 MEUR), and the institutional support to the institutions of the G5 Sahel Executive Secretariat.

In this context, the EU Regional Advisory and Coordination Cell for the Sahel (RACC), has contributed to the conveyance of the Sahelian concept of judicialization of military operations to the senior management of the armed forces of the five G5 Sahel countries (G5S) through training courses for the benefit of the G5S Defense College high-level trainees, mostly lieutenant-colonels and colonels.

The RACC is engaged to the further regional enhancement of the concept of judicialization and to facilitate the support of the EU to the FC G5S. The Regional and Advisory Coordination Cell of the EU in the Sahel remains effectively involved in the support of the ACLEP-G5 project at regional and national level.