Officials urge rethinking Sahel strategy at Munich conference

BAMAKO, Mali

Western counterterrorism policy in the Sahel has failed and must shift toward governance and economic development, officials said Friday at a panel on reengagement with the region during the Munich Security Conference.

US Rep. Sara Jacobs said a security-first approach during the past 25 years had not worked. “What we are seeing is a real failure of the United States and the West counter terrorism policy,” she said, arguing that focusing narrowly on security had worsened governance and economic challenges.

EU Special Representative for the Sahel João Gomes Cravinho said the bloc’s foreign ministers had adopted a renewed strategy centered on political and diplomatic engagement, human security and socio-economic resilience. “We need to be a lot better at listening,” he said, stressing the need to rebuild trust and address community-based justice, basic services and employment.

Mauritania’s defense minister Ould Sidi Hanana described the Sahel crisis as primarily economic, with security, political and climate dimensions. Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Wonie Bio, chair of the West African ECOWAS bloc, called for regional dialogue and practical engagement with Sahel neighbors, warning against “the older way of doing things.”

Participants said rebuilding trust would require closer consultation with Sahel governments, amid tensions over security strategies, trafficking and political disagreements.