Director's Editorial - January 2014

 

You made the Week - Thank you all!

by Laurent Bossard, SWAC Secretariat Director

 

The 2013 edition of the Sahel and West Africa Week ended on 29 November in Abidjan after five days of hard work. 

The Week was made an outstanding success by the presence of a large diversity of actors - ministers, entrepreneurs, farmers and livestock breeders, high-level representatives of regional organisations and development co-operation agencies, researchers, local officials, and civil society leaders. The Week was, in fact, their success. This was highlighted by Members and friends of the Club during our Strategy and Policy Group (SPG) meeting on 29 November. We are delighted and grateful for this positive judgement.

We must re-emphasise the warm welcome and effective support received from the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, under the leadership of Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles Koffi Diby and the Minister of Agriculture Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly; their respective teams worked alongside us tirelessly, day after day.

What have we learned from this experience? It is equally important to learn as much from success as from failure.

The Food Crisis Prevention Network (RPCA) has established itself as a reference for dialogue on food security and resilience. The United Nations will now draw on the Network’s analyses and recommendations to formulate their annual humanitarian appeals for the region. Here again, this success is that of the members of the Network. Represented at decision-making level with a growing number of participants, they work together in a harmonised manner, using the same concepts and tools such as the laboriously negotiated Charter for Food Crisis Prevention and Management or the Harmonised Framework. This illustrates that processes that are rooted in dialogue, though lengthier, are stronger and more sustainable.

The Network also hosts the decision-making body of the Global Alliance for Resilience - Sahel and West Africa (AGIR). Since September 2012, the concept initiated by the EU and West African regional organisations has evolved into a joint policy framework with strategic orientations shared by all stakeholders (a regional roadmap and a working method for the formulation of “National Resilience Priorities” (NRP-AGIR). The ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions as well as CILSS fully assume the political and technical leadership. Almost a dozen Sahelian and West African ministers attended the meetings in Abidjan, demonstrating the commitment of their respective governments. The key challenge for the year ahead, for regional governments and their international partners, is the formulation of the NRP and their translation into action on the ground.
In short, the RPCA is performing well. So much so that by welcoming an increasing number of stakeholders and participants, it may become a “victim of its own success”. Against this background, how to find the right balance between technical analysis and consensus-building around policy guidelines in the short- and long term? Many believe that it is time for the Network’s stakeholders to address these issues. Drawing on consultations with Network members, the meeting of the 30th RPCA anniversary next December will provide an opportunity to present some ideas for action.

Dedicated to the future of the Saharo-Sahelian areas, the annual Forum of the Club benefitted from a balanced combination of analysis and policy debate. Participants agreed that the work carried out by the Club on a very complex and sensitive subject shed light on the Saharo-Sahelian realities, using innovative approaches. For example, this work highlighted the gap between the national territorialisation approach of the Sahel strategies and the threats that operate in mobile social networks across borders. Addressing the Saharo-Sahelian challenges in all its dimensions will require cross-regional dialogue without which no lasting solution can be found. The construction of this dialogue is per se a goal and a challenge; the Forum has modestly contributed to advancing this agenda. In the field of security, the process will be long and complex and the progress slow; this is exacerbated by the internal fragility of some States and geopolitical disagreements. However, in the short term, it seems that it will be easier to foster dialogue on trans-Saharan economic co-operation, trade, investment and infrastructure, as illustrated by the presence and active participation of representatives from North Africa and the Sahel. Jointly building trans-Saharan roads, developing joint economic and social areas, multiplying the twinning of cities/towns and promoting cross-border co-operation, - these are some promising areas of work linking security and development. Beyond aspirational statements, it is urgent to act while, in parallel, pursuing reflection on innovative financing instruments, on instruments of intervention that combine development and security, and on the critical co-ordination mechanisms that the international community calls for within the framework of the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel.

In addition to the other two meetings which were formally placed on the agenda - the Committee of CILSS Partners and the SPG meeting of the Club - many side-events were held in Abidjan (for example, the Group of Technical and Financial Partners of ECOWAS, the UEMOA Regional Fund for Agricultural Development, a meeting on the Regional Food Reserve...), in addition to a myriad of bilateral meetings. All stakeholders recognise the usefulness of the Sahel and West Africa Week as an excellent opportunity to advance projects, build relationships and develop networks. We hope to maintain this positive momentum in the next edition, which shall be held in the week of 8-14 December, most likely in Monrovia or Freetown.

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