By Enyichukwu Enemanna
United Nations has described as worrisome, the escalating terror-related attacks in the African continent with a pledge to assist Africa overcome the scourge.
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres while speaking at a debate on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York, organised by the Security Council, headed by Mozambique, expressed deep concern over the gains that terrorist groups were making in the Sahel and other parts of Africa.
Mozambique holds the rotating Security Council presidency in March.
Leaders across the continent joined ambassadors in examining how to counter terrorism and better prevent violent extremism through stronger cooperation between the UN and regional organisations.
President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique chaired the debate. Mozambique, is also one of the countries battling a deadly insurgency in the north for more than five years.
“Despair, poverty, hunger, lack of basic services, unemployment, and unconstitutional changes in government continue to lay fertile ground for the creeping expansion of terrorist groups to infect new parts of the continent,” Guterres said.
According to the UN Chief, fighters, funds, and weapons are increasingly flowing between regions and across the continent while terrorist groups are forging new alliances with organised crime networks and piracy groups.
He added that their “violent ideologies” are also being spread online.
Guterres said that just as terrorism drives people apart, countering can bring countries together, pointing to several initiatives across Africa, including in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and Mozambique.
“The United Nations stands with Africa to end this scourge,” he added. “Above all, it includes our ongoing close collaboration with the African Union (AU) and regional and sub-regional African organisations.”
The UN chief said the UN had been delivering tailored assistance to African countries in areas that include prevention; legal assistance, investigations, prosecutions, reintegration and rehabilitation.
He said the UN would also co-organise the upcoming African Counter Terrorism Summit and strengthen work together on important peace initiatives.
“Evidence shows that counter-terrorism efforts that are solely security-focused rather than human rights-based can inadvertently increase marginalisation and exclusion and make the situation even worse,” Mr. Guterres stressed.
