May 2023: Follow-up in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

The committee will be composed of representatives from Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

“We are looking forward for fruitful discussions and a result-oriented meeting”, states Simonetta Silvestri, Head of the Regional Advisory Coordination Cell (RACC) in Mauritania. “Together we expect to strengthen the regional cross-border cooperation between Libya and the Sahel, to share best practices on selected cross border management-related aspects and to identify areas of future improvement on cross-border management at national and regional levels.”

Emanuela Del Re, European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the Sahel, promoted the Regional Cross-Border Conference Libya-Sahel, conscious of the need  to further develop the regional dimension and strengthen the dialogue and cross-border cooperation between the Sahel countries and Libya. In addition, the new EU strategic priorities for the Sahel include the need for a more comprehensive and contextual approach to addressing regional instability. While the main geographical focus remains on the G5 Sahel countries, the strategy focuses on a wider regional context, including Libya. This also in consideration that persisting regional insecurity has much to do with dynamics outside of the Sahel itself. In addition to its wider geographical scope, the new strategy also aims to promote tailored responses at regional, national and local levels to take specific needs and situations into account.

Outcome and overall objective

The overall objective is the establishment and functioning of the committee “One Desert Initiative” foreseen in the Joint Declaration of the Regional Conference, held in November 2022 in Tunis, Tunisia.

“The exchange of good practices on border management and border security at international level is of utmost importance to improve the performances of the relevant authorities. It is expected that the meeting will create conditions for more efficient enforcement actions and controls and a better use of the available resources”, says Simonetta Silvestri.

EUBAM Libya has further strengthened its role on integrated border management in Libya, via facilitating a better dialogue and cooperation on border management and border security between Libya and some neighboring countries. EUBAM Libya organizes the cross-border cooperation Libya-Sahel and plays an active role in the joint committee to support the representatives from each country and other partners to implement the decisions resulting from the Regional Conference. The overall objective is the establishment and functioning of the Committee “One Desert Initiative” (#onedesert).