New York: Expanding terrorist networks, mass displacement, and the collapse of essential services in West Africa and the Sahel are a growing concern worldwide.

According to United Nations, UN Secretary-General António Guterres informed the Security Council that the growth of terrorist groups poses not only a regional threat but a global one. The vast Sahel region, which stretches nearly coast to coast across Africa, accounts for 19 percent of terrorist attacks worldwide and over half of global terrorism-related casualties. Currently, around four million people are displaced across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and neighboring countries.

To address the crisis, Mr. Guterres called for a unified, coherent, and consensus-based regional response. He emphasized the importance of maintaining financial support for humanitarian response plans and developing strategies to address the root causes of terrorism. Additionally, he advocated for intelligence sharing and financial tracking through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) counter-terrorism strategy. He noted that humanitarian appeals for the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin are severely underfunded, with less than one-quarter of the $4.9 billion required raised. Mr. Guterres pointed out that terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken, stressing the need to fight poverty and invest in sustainable development.

Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, warned that terrorism has spread beyond the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin to threaten all of West Africa. He informed the Security Council that ECOWAS is accelerating the deployment of its standby force, starting with 1,650 personnel and scaling up to 5,000 with regional and partner support. While partners have taken action to combat terrorism, the proliferation of initiatives has led to fragmentation, hindering cooperation. He stressed that coordination and cohesion must be a priority, stating that no amount of money or equipment will help overcome terror without collaboration and synergy.

Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone and chair of ECOWAS, emphasized the need to re-imagine ECOWAS not just as a regional bloc but as a community of courage and a stabilizing force in Africa. He pushed for democratic trust, decisive action against extremism, and enhanced regional security and coordination. On these grounds, he proposed an ECOWAS-UN-African Union compact—a coordinated mechanism to ensure predictable financing and operations across the region.