January 21, 2025
Mr. President,
I would like to thank Algeria for organizing this meeting, as well as the Deputy Secretary-General, the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union, and Mr. Djinnit for their briefings.
The terrorist threat on the African continent is growing. Terrorist groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Daech continue to reconfigure and strengthen their foothold across the continent. In the Sahel, which remains the epicenter of this threat, Daech and JNIM are able to project their attacks towards the Gulf of Guinea, as they did recently in Benin. The terrorist threat is growing around Lake Chad, in the Horn of Africa, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the north of Mozambique. There are also growing links between terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and environmental crime.
To be effective, our actions must be integrated in a global strategy that also addresses the causes of this scourge. In many cases, military action is necessary to protect civilians and defend vulnerable targets. However, exclusively military solutions are not enough.
It is essential to strengthen the resilience of communities, in conjunction with the states in the region. This means addressing the socio-economic factors that contribute to terrorist recruitment, including poverty, inequality and climate change. Human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law must be preserved, and governance structures strengthened. We must also combat misinformation and the dissemination of extremist content on the Internet.
Action by the African Union and by regional organizations, including ECOWAS, is essential. France supports the implementation of African peace operations within the new framework offered by Resolution 2719. These operations will enable African states to step up their fight against terrorism, with the support of the United Nations. France welcomes the hybrid implementation of this new framework in the Somali context of AUSSOM, to support the Somali government in its fight against Al-Shabaab. We encourage the members of this Council to confirm this approach before the May 15th.
Developing African counter-terrorism capabilities is essential. In this respect, I welcome the Jacqueville International Academy for Counter-Terrorism, launched in 2017 by the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and France, which develops training courses that it provides to executives from across the continent. The Accra initiative, which enables countries in the region to exchange intelligence, is another illustration of this partnership model.
In contrast to this approach, the so-called security offers made by certain private military companies are counter-productive and only serve to fuel terrorism. The appropriation of natural resources by these groups and their atrocities against populations are well documented.
The United Nations provides a coherent framework for the fight against terrorism, including the sanctions put in place by this Council, the analyses and recommendations of CTED and the capacity-building programs led by the UNOCT. France will continue to support these programs for the benefit of African countries, in line with the global approach to counterterrorism, while respecting human rights, fundamental freedoms and multilateralism.
Thank you.