HRW Letter On Human Rights Dimension in EU's Renewed Approach to the Sahel
Human Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
Press Release
Dear High-Representative/Vice-President,
We are writing to call on the European Union to adopt a bold political strategy on its engagement in the Sahel that reflects and prioritizes commitments to address and prevent violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in all countries of the region.
Since its April 2021 "Integrated Strategy in the Sahel" became largely outdated following military coups in central Sahel, the EU has been lacking a crucially important unified voice on the situations in the region. In absence of a clear common strategy, and as several EU member states have privileged bilateral initiatives, the EU has lost relevance and missed many opportunities to contribute positively to the well-being and protection of civilians in the region. This is even more concerning as civilians have increasingly borne the brunt of conflict, violence and repression.
While the EU's engagement on the Sahel covers a larger number of countries, a renewed approach for the Sahel should seek to address the most egregious human rights situations documented in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
In Burkina Faso, civilians have faced a surge of deadly attacks by Islamist armed groups and abuses by military forces and pro-government militias known as Volontaires pour la défense de la patrie (VDPs) during counterinsurgency operations. Mass killings of civilians, including on an ethnic basis, by security forces appear to be part of a widespread military campaign against civilians deemed to be assisting Islamist armed groups and may amount to crimes against humanity. According to ACLED, an organization tracking conflict events worldwide, about 5,600 civilians have been killed since the current military authorities took power in September 2022, a figure that Human Rights Watch research shows is a gross undercount. Over 2.3 million people - that is, 10 percent of the population - have been displaced by the conflict. The military junta has cracked down on media, the political opposition, and dissent, most recently by placing exiled journalists and activists on a terrorist list and on a politicized basis conscripting journalists and government critics into the military, contributing to the dramatic shrinking of civic space.
In Mali, attacks against civilians by Islamist armed groups and abusive counterterrorism operations by Malian armed forces and associated foreign fighters continued. Clashes between the armed forces and ethnic Tuareg armed groups took place after a peace deal between the two parties ended in January 2024. Over 700,000 Malians were displaced within and outside of the country. Authorities are cracking down on media and the political opposition, forcibly disappeared political figures and whistleblowers, and arbitrarily arrested journalists and political opponents, forcing scores into exile and narrowing the civic space. In April 2025, the Council of Ministers effectively banned all political parties.
In Niger, military authorities have cracked down on the media, peaceful dissent and political opposition since taking power in a coup in July 2023. Former President Mohamed Bazoum and his wife remain arbitrarily detained despite the release in April of about 50 people, including several former government officials, military officers and a journalist arrested following the July 2023 coup. Others still languish behind bars on politically motivated charges. The prominent human rights activist and critic of the junta Moussa Tiangari, who was arbitrarily arrested in December 2024, also remains in detention on terrorism-related charges. Civilians continue to be affected by fighting between Islamist armed groups and government forces in the Tillabéri region.
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger's withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), effective since January 2025, will limit opportunities for their citizens to seek justice for human rights violations through the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
Human Rights Watch welcomes the request made by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in her mission letter to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, to "work on a renewed approach to the Sahel region" and the recent appointment of João Cravinho as EU Special Representative for the Sahel region. The need for clear and ambitious objectives for the EU's engagement in the region has become more pressing than ever given the gravity and scale of human rights violations perpetrated with complete impunity.
We believe that a strong, full-fledged strategy for the Sahel can strengthen the EU's engagement and positive impact. Such a strategy should explicitly prioritize the EU's support for the protection of civilians at risk, prevention of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and the promotion of justice and accountability.
To that end, we urge that you ensure the EU's future approach or strategy on the Sahel:
Reiterates the obligation of all parties to protect civilians during armed conflict and counterterrorism operations;
Promotes respect for human rights and the rule of law, and supports measures to prevent violations and supports fundamental rights, justice and accountability;
Publicly denounces grave violations and abuses committed by all sides, including those by national security forces, pro-government militias and foreign fighters, and by non-state armed groups;
Supports independent oversight and accountability mechanisms to ensure compliance by security forces with international human rights and humanitarian law in counterterrorism operations;
Calls for and supports thorough and impartial investigations into grave violations by all parties, especially in the most emblematic cases of violations;
Conditions the resumption of any security cooperation to military forces in the region on the adoption and implementation of genuine human rights safeguards, including measures to ensure respect for international human rights and humanitarian law in security operations, appropriate vetting of troops, independent and public human rights monitoring and availability of judicial and non-judicial (administrative) remedies for the victims;
Increases support and protection - financially and via other means - for independent civil society groups, human rights defenders, independent media, research institutions and other actors working on human rights documentation of abuses, protection and accountability, and calls on authorities to cease the repression of human rights defenders, journalists, opposition voices and critics;
Prioritizes, whenever possible, the provision of public services, including in the areas of health, psychological support, education, women rights, and judicial responses to abuses, and supports unhindered humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by conflict and displacement;
Works with other international and regional actors, including the United Nations, the African Union, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), so that they use their influence to address human rights concerns;
Supports international and regional human rights and accountability mechanisms, including the UN Independent Expert, and the International Criminal Court's proceedings on the situation in Mali, and calls on key AU or UN envoys or rapporteurs, including the AU Special Envoy on the Prevention of Genocide and other Mass Atrocities and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, to conduct fact-finding missions; and
Supports initiatives to set up additional mechanisms on other serious human rights situations, including on Burkina Faso.
Human Rights Watch will remain engaged in this process. We thank you for your attention and stand ready to provide any additional information.
Sincerely,
Philippe Dam, Director, EU Advocacy, Human Rights Watch
Mausi Segun, Director, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
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