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UN political chief to attend summit in Sahel region

Xinhua, November 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, is traveling to N'djamena, Chad, to take part in the summit of the Group of five (G5) countries in West Africa, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here Thursday.

G5 includes Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad and Niger in the Sahel region, which covers a large area in West and North Africa.

"Following that, he is expected to join the special envoy of the (UN) secretary-general for the Sahel, Hiroute Guebre Sellassie, and deliver a message on the secretary-general's behalf," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

In advance of the summit this week, the second report of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the implementation of the Sahel Strategy was published. In it, Ban expresses his "concern about the dim prospects facing millions of young people in the Sahel."

"The secretary-general also notes that the security situation in the region remains volatile due to the continuing crises in Mali and Libya, the presence of extremist groups like Boko Haram and Al Qaida and drug trafficking," the spokesman said.

Nearly four and a half million people have been uprooted from their homes across the region, highlighting the extent of humanitarian needs caused by natural and man-made crises across the region, he said.

"Under the leadership of the special envoy, the UN is seeking to address the root causes of instability in the areas of security, governance and resilience," Dujarric added.

In February 2014, five presidents from Africa's Sahel region agreed in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott to create a regional institutional coordination platform dubbed "Sahel G5".

The five presidents reaffirmed the priority of security and development in the region while reiterating their commitment to democracy, protection of human rights and promotion of good governance.

The five leaders also appealed to their technical and financial partners to support their actions to promote peace and prosperity in the region. Endit