United Press International - March 25, 2004
William M. Reilly, UPI United Nations Correspondent

"Until they are addressed with real resolve, until there is a fundamental break with authoritarianism and the culture of violence, exclusion and impunity, I fear that whatever inroads we manage to make in handling cross-border problems will remain just that -- temporary inroads -- and fragile, at best," he told a special Security Council meeting on the region.

Annan urged governments from Guinea and Liberia to Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast to establish solidly democratic institutions and effective regional institutions.

"Ways to Combat Sub-Regional and Cross-Border Problems in West Africa," was the title of the debate on the secretary-general's report on the region. Council members endorsed it through a statement read out by the Deputy Minister of Cooperation and Francophone Affairs Pierre-Andre Wiltzer of France, this month's president of the council.

Also attending were the executive secretary of the Economic Commission of West African States, Mohammad ibn Chambas, Foreign Minister Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, whose President John Kufuor is chairing ECOWAS; the Secretary-General's Special Representative for West Africa, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, and U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Jan Egeland who painted a bleak picture of the region.

"Guinea currently hosts over 100,000 refugees, while over 100,000 Guineans have returned from Ivory Coast," Egeland said. "Other countries in the sub-region, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, suffer from the spillover effects of these conflicts. For example, over 340,000 people have returned to Burkina Faso from Ivory Coast over this past year alone."

He said such critical areas for refugees as protection, health and education have been seriously underfunded despite appeals, with Ivory Coast and Guinea receiving little or no funding for efforts launched last year.

But the situation was not hopeless.

"West Africa is blessed with a vibrant civil society that has wide-ranging experience in conflict-prevention, peace-building and development," Annan told the council. "States must draw on their experience in addressing their problems."

Special attention should be paid to the proliferation of small arms, the illegal exploitation of natural resources, and the use of child soldiers and mercenaries as well as to roadblocks that impede the movement of people and goods in the sub-region, he said.

The secretary-general's 12-page report was unusual in that it focused on a sub-region, albeit one where there already are two U.N. Peacekeeping operations in neighboring countries and a third about to be launched.

It said the increasing use and proliferation of mercenaries, child soldiers and small arms account for much of the instability in the West African sub-region. Among the other serious cross-border problems were the culture of impunity, the spread of HIV/AIDS, mass refugee movements and other forced displacement, inequitable and illicit exploitation of natural resources, and violations of human rights.

These cross-border problems are related to one another and are exacerbated, especially, by the poor governance record in many parts of West Africa, the secretary-general said. None of them can be solved at the national level alone, but rather require a regional approach.

Annan's report recommended improving cooperation among U.N. agencies in the region; ratification and observance of existing conventions; collaboration in the Mano River Union area of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and strengthening ECOWAS.

It also called for supporting national commissions, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs, security sector reform, reducing extortion at roadblocks within and between countries, strengthening civil society participation and awareness-raising, "naming and shaming" perpetrators, and seeking out cooperation with small arms exporters and private security companies to control arms.

Wiltzer said the council believes action on the report should be taken as part of a wider strategy of conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict stabilization in the sub-region.

The minister said the council will consider "the secretary-general's recommendations to facilitate cross-border operations and to strengthen cooperation among the United Nations missions in the region, including the possibility of 'hot pursuit' operations, joint air patrolling, shared border responsibility, the possible reinforcement of airspace monitoring and joint planning for the repatriation of foreign combatants."

The Council urged states in the region to ensure that arms embargoes are fully implemented. On roadblocks, often a means of extortion, the council encouraged their dismantling since they prove "a major stumbling block to the economic development of all West Africa."
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