The leaders of the Group of Seven who began meeting in Cornwall, United Kingdom, on Friday, June 11, ended their summit on Sunday, June 13, with a pledge to renew efforts to address drivers of instability in the Sahel region.
“While acknowledging the increased international mobilization and the progress in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, we express our concern about the continuing attacks targeting civilian populations, and the deepening humanitarian crisis,” they said in their final communique.
They urged all actors to respect human rights and international humanitarian law and promised to deliver “on our commitments to renew efforts to address drivers of instability, with a focus on political and civilian dimensions of the “civil surge” agreed upon by the governments of the G5 Sahel and their partners, gathered in the Sahel coalition, at the N’Djamena summit in February 2021.”
The G7 leaders added that they support the efforts of the African Union and Economic Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in response to recent events in Chad and Mali.
“We reiterate the necessity to create the conditions for timely civilian-led transitions to democratic, constitutional rule in both countries,” they added.
The communique also addressed the situation in Libya, saying “we confirm our full support for the interim executive authority as it pursues Libyan-led and Libyan-owned stabilization, facilitated by the UN in the framework of the Berlin Process.”
“We reaffirm the importance of free, fair and inclusive elections to be held on December 24. We reiterate the urgent need to implement in full the October 23 ceasefire agreement, including through the withdrawal of all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya,” they said, adding that “all states must comply with UN Security Council Resolutions 2570 and 2571.”
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.