Conflicts in the Middle East and Africa: Senegal reaffirms its call for a collective start
In a situation of permanent conflict which favors the arms race, weakens disarmament mechanisms and increases the risks linked to new technologies and the conquest of outer space, Senegal calls for a collective start. This was indicated on Thursday by the President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.
A sudden, united and supportive reaction from the United Nations to the wars and socio-political crises plaguing the world, particularly in the Middle East, Ukraine and Africa, is the plea reiterated Thursday by the Head of State, Bassirou Diomaye Faye at the podium of the United Nations General Assembly.
“Armed conflicts are increasing. The wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, the crises in Haiti, Yemen and Africa, including the expansion of terrorism in the Sahel, demonstrate a continued deterioration and a profound weakening of international peace and security,” regretted the Senegalese president.
In Gaza as in all the occupied Palestinian territories, continues President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, human suffering is “unacceptable”; the systematic violation of “intolerable” international law.
Thus, he believes that it is time to act to stop the horror of massacres and destruction. Because, for President Faye, no peace, no security will be “neither viable nor lasting” without the two-state solution: Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and Israel; both living side by side within secure, internationally recognized borders.
“In a situation of permanent conflicts, which favors the arms race, weakens disarmament mechanisms and increases the risks linked to new technologies and the conquest of outer space, Senegal calls for a collective start,” he reiterated.
“The Sahel must not be abandoned to its sad fate”
In reality, recognizes the Head of State, peace is not a simple aspiration. It is a collective responsibility. Moreover, he notes, this is why, in his capacity as current president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), he will “spare no effort” to work in the service of peace and security in the sub-region, in collaboration with the African Union and the United Nations.
“I am thinking in particular of the fight against terrorism. It must be a common fight, because the scourge of terrorism is by nature cross-border. The Sahel must not be abandoned to its sad fate. Its destabilization will spare neither Africa nor other interests present in the Sahel,” he indicated.
Beyond armed conflicts, Bassirou Diomaye Faye noted during his speech the health crises which are worsening with the Ebola epidemic, and the global inequalities which are increasing.
“The climate emergency has become an even more brutal reality, whose human, economic and social costs continue to increase. We must act on the climate and many other environmental perils of our time. This is our ambition for the third United Nations Water Conference that Senegal will co-organize with the United Arab Emirates at the end of this year,” he said.
Mariama DIEME
