UN chief Antonio Guterres called Sunday for the military juntas in Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali to hand power back to civilians as soon as possible and reminded the world to deliver on “climate emergency” promises.
All three countries, struggling with a jihadist insurgency in the Sahel region, have recently experienced military coups: Mali in August 2020 and May 2021; Guinea in September 2021; and Burkina Faso in January 2022.Sall is the current chair of the West African bloc ECOWAS, which has suspended all three countries from its membership.
ECOWAS imposed heavy sanctions against Mali in January after the regime there rejected a rapid return to civilian rule.
The decision was roundly condemned Sunday by opposition leaders in Guinea, including both the party of the ousted president Alpha Conde and opposition groups that had opposed him.
The regime in Mali is also continuing to defy ECOWAS pressure.
Triple crisis –Turning to the issue of global warming, Guterres said “the climate emergency… increases the security risk”.
African countries, he said, were “often the first victims” of global warming for which they are “not responsible”.
Guterres also addressed the consequences of the war in Ukraine on Africa, where he said the conflict “aggravates a triple crisis: food, energy and financial”.
