The Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding (CCCPA) was represented by its Director General, Ahmed Nehad Abdel-Latif, at the Sahel Climate, Peace and Security Forum held in Bamako, Mali. The Forum, which was hosted by the Government of Mali in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aimed to raise awareness of the challenges and impacts of climate change on peace, security, and stability in the Sahel Region. The Forum also discussed sustainable solutions for the region, focusing on innovative climate policies and financing mechanisms.
The Forum was opened by the Prime Minister of Mali and attended by the Ministers of the Environment of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania, the Executive Secretary of the Climate Commission for the Sahel Region, and around 150 policymakers, experts, and stakeholders. Ambassador Abdel-Latif spoke at the opening panel on “Analysis of the context and challenges related to climate, peace, and security in the Sahel”.
He gave an overview of the outcomes of COP27, especially the historic agreement on the loss and damage fund, and the COP27 Presidency initiative “Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace” (CRSP). This initiative, which is the first of its kind by a COP presidency, aims to advance long-term solutions to the challenges posed by climate change by adopting holistic and integrated approaches that are based on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDPN) and that respect national ownership and context specificity. He also highlighted CCCPA’s role in operationalizing the initiative, particularly through its capacity-building activities that involved participants from the Sahel countries.
Moreover, the General of CCCPA underlined that the CRSP initiative builds on the deliberations and conclusions of the third edition of the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development (June 2022), which examined the impacts of climate change on sustainable peace and development efforts in Africa. The Sahel Forum concluded with the adoption of the Bamako Declaration on Climate Security, ahead of COP28 which will have a dedicated day on Relief, Peace, and Recovery.
This declaration called for developing and operationalizing inclusive national and regional strategies to strengthen climate resilience, peace, and security in the Sahel region, as well as the importance of adapting the conditions for accessing climate financing for countries that need urgent support due to fragilities and crises.
