In recent years, the Sahel region has been heavily affected by terrorism and transnational organized crime. Border areas and enclaves characterized by low population density, limited state presence, and very low socio-economic indicators are particularly at risk. In February 2017, the G5 Sahel Joint Force (Joint Force) was created to address common challenges to peace and security among five states – Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad.
The G5 member states committed to developing and implementing a Human Rights Compliance Framework (HRCF) which includes mechanisms for screening, training, rules/regulations and standard operating procedures to ensure human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) are complied with during planning and operations. The compliance framework also mandates after action reviews (AAR), casualty and incident tracking, and accountability measures. CIVIC is working closely with the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to support the Joint Force’s efforts to design and implement a Civilian Incident Tracking and Analysis Cell (CITAC) for the Joint Force. Once operational, the CITAC will be the Joint Force’s internal tool to analyze patterns of civilian harm and provide the command with options to mitigate civilian harm mitigate harm to civilians in its area of responsibility. CIVIC is also working closely to build the Force’s understanding and capacity around civilian harm mitigation.