Dear participant of Common Effort 2019,
Dear Common Effort Community Member,
Dear Colleagues,
Since 2019 Common Effort is looking into the security and development challenges the countries of the G5 Sahel region are facing.
On 15 January 2020 the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) organized a meeting to brief German civil society organizations and think tanks on the German development efforts in the Sahel region. Swen Heinrichs and Maarten van den Bosch were invited to inform the German civil society about the role of Common Effort as platform for conflict prevention and civil-military cooperation.
Over the last months we have seen that inter-communal and jihadist violence has spread beyond Central-Mali into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. This raises many questions as who are these young jihadists that attack isolated military camps? Why do they join these militant groups and who are leading these groups? What is the best way forward to stop the violence? By military force or dialogue, or by both ways? Several initiatives and strategies of (international) security and development actors are in place or under review. But to what extent are these efforts rooted in local society and the local structures? And if so, how can local ownership be strengthened?
Last October during Common Effort 2019 we have made an attempt to have a common understanding of all these issues. We will continue to build upon the outcomes of the discussions that took place in Berlin. We will focus on how the identified challenges can be addressed in an effective and innovative way. Trust building and strengthening of local stabilization and peace building efforts will be the common thread in the workshop discussions focusing on:
-
G5 Sahel Joint Force – Justice Nexus
-
Trust, Human Rights, Gender and Dialogue
-
Development and Security in fragile border areas
-
Engaging Youth for Security
-
Narrative Management
On 11-12 March 2020, 1GNC will organize a preparatory workshop at the CIMIC Centre of Excellence (CCOE) in The Hague. If you have an interest co-organizing at least one of these workshops, please, contact us to get an invitation for the preparatory workshop.
Common Effort 2020 will take place from 15-18 June 2020 at CCOE in The Hague. Registration is expected to start in April 2020.
Kind regards,
Your Common Effort Organization Team