International news is an inexhaustible source of interesting topics to cover in blog articles. Today, we will look at the visit of the special representative of the UN Secretary-General for the Sahel and West Africa, Leonardo Santos Simao, to Niger. This visit comes in a context marked by the political and security crisis shaking the country.
According to information from RFI, Léonardo Santos Simao is preparing a new mission in Niger in the coming days. Its main objective will be to advocate for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Nigerien populations affected by the crisis. In fact, the military in power is currently refusing the entry of this aid from Benin and Nigeria.
The UN special representative will also be required to discuss with the ruling junta to find solutions to the crisis. He is concerned by Niger’s non-participation in the United Nations General Assembly, the military in power having denounced an “obstacle to the country’s full participation”.
This visit comes after Leonardo Santos Simao’s meeting with the ECOWAS mediator, former head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar. The two men spoke for almost three hours, both recognizing that the situation is stuck. A meeting with the president of the ECOWAS Commission also took place. All are now waiting for new directions from the incumbent President Bola Tinubu.
This visit by Leonardo Santos Simao to Niger is therefore of great importance in the search for solutions to the political and humanitarian crisis plaguing the country. The mobilization of the international community and regional actors like ECOWAS is essential to achieve a peaceful and lasting resolution to the crisis. Let us therefore remain attentive to developments in this situation.