Dr. Sanders on Al Jazeera Television: On Burkina Faso Unrest & Uganda-DRC Joint Military Actions - As Terrorist Activities in Africa Increase

Amb. Sanders on AL Jazeera (AJA) News - Interviews on Increasing Terrorist Activities in Burkina Faso & Uganda-DRC Joint Border Security Operations

AJA News - Burkina Faso Unrest & Insecurity:

Ambassador Sanders appeared on Al Jazeera (AJA) News on December 3, 2021, to talk, in general, about the continuing rise and expansion of jihadist activity in the Sahel as insecurity concerns reached a peak with massive street protests in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, over the last few months. Protesters are demanding the government improve security and the protection of civilians against the uptick of violence, murder, and human rights abuses, leading to the resignation of the country's Prime Minister, Christophe Dabire, and a care-taker government in response. Meanwhile, the insecurity driven by terrorist attacks continues unabated. 

The rash and harsh violence has been led by local militants, disaffected or jihadists-leaning groups with both support (monetary and materiel) linkages to various affiliates of Al Qaeda and its splitter groups; remnants of the Islamic State Group from Iraq and Syria (ISIS); such as the Islamic State-West Africa Providence (aka ISWAP); and possibly now fighters from Afghanistan and the Libyan conflict. As a former National Security Director for Africa, and U.S. Representative to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), Sanders stresses in the AJA new broadcast that one cannot talk about the insecurity driven by these elements in Burkina Faso in a vacuum from the rest of the deteriorating security situation happening in the five countries of the Sahel-Group of Five (G-5) and Northern Nigeria. She notes that Al Qaeda affiliates started moving into the Sahel region as far back as 2009-2010, with the fragmentation of ISIS and later the buildup of the Islamic State-West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Nigeria.  As a result, both the level, and number of countries where jihadist groups are operating has grown three-fold not just in the Sahel Region, but elsewhere in Africa. 

Burkina Faso has become part of a continuing jihadist effort to target select countries because they understand the advantages they have when there is not a strong security or government structure or the resources (manpower as well as materiel) to combat them. In addition, these terrorist groups are strategic in building ties with local disaffected groups (over anti-Western sentiments and issues of extreme poverty, in-country regional/ethnic differences, food insecurity, & lack of development) in every country in the Sahel. These myriad of issues gives outside jihadists groups several things: power, influence, reach, and key partners to develop local strategic knowledge. They have used this framework not only to further expand in Burkina Faso, but in Mali (where there have been now for a decade, and which has had 2 coups on 12 months), Niger, northern Nigeria (at least since 2010), Chad, and other areas of Africa such as the Central African Republic, the Cabo Delgado Region of Mozambique. While in East Africa, it is Al Shabab applying the same tactics in parts of Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. Thus far, 2020-2021 has been the most violent years in the advancement of jihadist violence in the Sahel. Click here for link https://youtu.be/cSnTIyLUrzo or see video below:

AJA News - DRC allows Uganda Forces Hot Pursuit & Joint Operations Against Terrorists:

Similarly on the issue of jihadists-linked expansion into other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Ambassador Sanders was later interviewed on AJA December 6, 2021, to address the recent approval by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) regarding its decision to allow Uganda forces to initiate hot pursuit to enter DRC as well as participate in joint operations in DRC to help quell the large uptick in jihadist-related violence on the border between the two countries. Furthermore, Uganda has also blamed the recent bombings and protest in its capital Kampala, by local disaffected groups (on political, economic, and a range of quality-of-life issues), as well as terrorist organizations like the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) working with the support and sometimes direction of outside jihadists groups such as the Islamic State and any of its affiliates. 

Sanders highlighted the sensitivity of those living in Eastern DRC regarding these joint border operations with Uganda troops (despite the approval of the DRC Government) given the former's  previous behavior during the 1998-2003 conflict between Uganda and Rwanda  (mostly over Eastern DRC's rich mineral/natural resources), which played out in these same areas of Eastern Congo, resulting in high causalities for villagers and innocent civilians, along with reports of serious human rights abuses (including rape and sexual exploitation), and the conscription of child soldiers to which Uganda was fined on all in 2005 by the International Court of Justice in the Haque $USD 13 billion, which it still has not paid. 

There is substantial fear by the local population that it will be years again before Ugandan troops fully leave Eastern Congo given this new foothold proffered by the DRC government. In addition, Sanders pointed out that the Uganda-DRC border is yet the latest in the ever-increasing forays in the last couple of years, by outside jihadist groups into new areas in Sub Saharan Africa. They are applying the same strategic and tactical framework they have used in West Africa since 2009-2010 but are now applying to multiple countries throughout the Africa Region where they had not prior operated -- at least not to the extent and frequency they have in this 2020-2021 period. Hence, setting up 2022 to be similar in number of attacks, and in more and more African countries. Click link for interview https://youtu.be/gagWnWK46fk or see clip below:

A FEEEDS Series Blogspot

Panels on Today's Transnational Threats & Podcast on Linking Data-Policy-Dialogue in Addressing Africa's Development Needs

Below are links to several podcast & panels which either feature or include Ambassador Sanders as a panelist:

-- Sanders participates in Georgetown University's International School of Diplomacy's (ISD) panel on today's Transnational Threats. Sanders was asked to discuss these issues in Africa. Panel discussion can be found here.

-- Sanders on Gallup's Podcast highlighting the importance of the data-policy-dialogue linkages needed in order to concretely understand & improve life quality & development for Africa, particularly for Africa's women and region's young people https://news.gallup.com/podcast/353909/women-backbone-africa.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication

 

A FEEEDS Series Blogspot

FEEEDS Global Issues Update: Concordia's 2021 Summit Report, Women's Health Index, Democracy Regression & Climate Change/COP26

As a follow-up to its recent, and well-respect annual summit, always held on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, Concordia's 2021 event highlighted the state of the world's social and business issues. This year's Concordia Summit, its 11th, had nearly 300 speakers addressing international issues. You can learn more by reading the report on the summit now live, as well as review some of the key factoids around global issues, which were  highlighted at the 4-day event(2021 summit: by the numbers). The Summit was held both virtually, and with limited in-person interaction. 

Ambassador Sanders, as a global advocate on key development issues, is a senior advisor to Concordia. One of the key session for Dr. Sanders, as CEO-FEEEDS, was the data presentation on the Women's Health Index done by Hologic with polling done in partnership by Gallup World Poll on key health concerns for women. The Index focuses on health issues as well as servicing gaps for women world-wide in some 116 countries based on interviews with 120,000 women. Other issues during the Summit which resonated with FEEEDS' advocacy were turn-backs on democracy, COVID'pushing more people into extreme poverty, and  COP26. Below are some highlights on these key FEEEDS's advocacy issues, which were highlighted by various speakers in various ways during the Summit:

-- Turn-backs on Democracy:  Pressures on democracy (what FEEEDS calls "Democracy Regression") continues to increase across every region of the world, through both government and unilateral actions (from Myanmar to Brazil and coups in West Africa) as well as extreme societal and political divides in countries like the United States, France, Germany and India;

-- COVID-19 & Poverty: COVID-19, is not only turning back the clock on previous global efforts to reduce poverty (2000-2015 MDGs & 2015-2030 SDGS underway now), but possibly pushing another 97 million more people into extreme poverty (define as less than $1.90/day). We must step up and make three-times the effort to get back to pre-pandemic levels, which in and of themselves were stark. Pre-pandemic 2019 levels had 635 million people (see chart on 2015-2020) living in extreme poverty, even though great global reductions had been achieved year-on-year over the last decade. COVID-19 not only stopped progress, but turned back the clock on poverty reduction. The most recent extreme global poverty figures by the World Bank has the combined the 2019 pre-pandemic poverty figure (635 miilion), with the COVID-driven additional 97 million -- resulting in a projected 2021 total figure of  711 million people who face extreme poverty today. (NB: U.S., Brazil & India, in that order, had highest COVID deaths);

-- Climate Change & COP26: Bottom line is faster action and larger financial commitments are needed to reduce the affects of climate change by both governments, business, and institutions. Underscoring these two points, numerous Concordia's Summit sessions further stressed that we need to move three times faster in order to reach the net zero goal of reducing carbon emissions by 1.5˚C. In addition, there needs to be more action on helping with climate refugees and climate famine as both are growing at alarming rates.  It was recognized that a lot depended, of course, on what the 26th United Nations' climate change meeting of the Conference of Parties in Glasgow, United Kingdom produced, (better known as COP26). So far here is where we are on a few areas coming out of COP26 (section will be updated as other commitments come in and are clarified):

-- 100 world leaders attended;

-- 450 global businesses promised to climate reduction by 2023, valued at  USD$130 trillion;1

-- Net 0 - United Kingdom announced it would become a "net zero financial center," where firms would publish their climate actions;2 

-- $11 billion pledged by the United States to help developing countries with climate change;3

-- $19 billion committed by 100 countries to address deforestation and forest degradation, including assistance with rebuilding and rejuvenating the world's forest over the  next 8 years. Included in this pledge was $1.7billion to assist and support indigenous peoples in the world's key rain forest area. (NB: Of note, rain forest areas as large as the United Kingdom were lost last year due to climate change; 85 percent of the world's forest are in Brazil, Congo Basin & Indonesia. Dr. Sanders has been to all three);4

-- 100 countries signed on to the U.S. & UK led push for reductions in methane gas, another contributor to climate change CO2 emissions;  (NB: Top U.S. CO2  emissions in this order are fossil fuels (transportation, industry, electricity, homes & businesses); agriculture (methane gas); unmanaged land and forestry use.5

 -- 40 countries also pledged to shift away from coal/fossil fuel. However, there is a lot of leeway in what this might mean from new investments to financing and production.  Varying dates for ending total use were conveyed. Biggest polluters -- China, U.S., Australia, India and Japan -- did not sign onto this pledge.6

-- $105 billion committed to help spur green energy projects in developing nations was also pledged.7

resource notes:

1. World News Live, CGTN 11/4/21

2. World News Live & BBC news 11/3/21

3. World News Live, CGTN, BBC news & NPR 11/2/21

4. World News Live, CGTN & BBC news 11/3/21

5.  COP26 11/2/21

6. BBC & Reuters 11/4/21

7. NYTimes online 11/4/21

A FEEEDS Series Blogspot
 

Ambassador Sanders: Remembering Secretary Colin Powell -- the Person

Having served in the U.S. diplomatic corps during the tenure of Secretary Colin Powell, Ambassador Sanders' shares one of her remembrances of him in a television interview about the late General -- highlighting that he was not only one of the nation's top policy and strategic leaders, but leaves a legacy of kindness, thoughtfulness, and inclusiveness with his passing. Sanders also had the honor to be sworn into her first Ambassadorship,  to the Republic of Congo by the late Secretary, with the ceremony which also included Ambassador Andrew Young (see photos. 

Ambassador Sanders was the first

woman and first African-American

to serve as U.S. Ambassador to 

Republic of Congo, and later was

the first woman of any ethnic 

background to serve as Ambassador

to Nigeria. Click the link to hear 

Ambassador Sanders televised remembrance: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K91sKUu5aDM

A FEEEDS Series Blogspot

Ambassador Robin Sanders & General Kip Ward: Africa Podcast: Security, US-Africa Relations & US-Africa-China

 As part of the podcast series " The General and the Ambassador," produced by the prestigious American Academy of Diplomacy, with the support of the University of North Carolina Global Affairs, Chapel Hill, Ambassador Robin Renee Sanders and General Kip Ward, outline for the audience a range of US-Africa issues including but not limited to encouraging Americans to both understand and appreciate the importance of the US-Africa relationship. This includes ensuring the continent's key partnership in U.S. national security and fighting terrorism and extremism in the region; its role in the U.S. economic prosperity as Africa is home to the world's largest next generation of economic, political and innovators leaders. Ambassador Sanders and General Ward bring their respective views to the podcast as to how the US can better manage what is being referred to today as the "Great Powers Competition," (GPC) between the US and China, and how Africa see this issue and the region's desire to have a relationship and partnership with the US above and beyond the GPC.  Scroll below to see flyer and topic highlights from the podcast and click on this link Ambassador Sanders' and General Ward's Podcast to hear the Ambassador and the General discuss current key US-Africa issues: 

The General and the Ambassador The US and West Africa: Opportunities and Dangers with Ambassador Robin Sanders and General Kip Ward  Key topics: The Opportunities - markets, youth bulge and UN votes The Dangers - political instability, sharply rising violence from criminal networks and extremist groups The US Africa Command and US Assistance programs  Implications of the withdrawal of the French military Great power competition on the continent.  Click and Listen Here! Subscribe!

Ambassador Robin Sanders was the US Ambassador to Nigeria (2007-2010) and to Congo (2003-2005).  She also served as the Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Director for Africa at the NSC and Deputy Commandant of the NDU Eisenhower College. She is the CEO of FEEEDS and FE3DS, focusing on Africa. ----------------------------------------------------- A FEEEDS Series blogspot General Ward was the Commander of US Africa Command (2007-2011). Just prior, he was Deputy Commander, US European Command. His other assignments include Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt and the Joint Staff.  Currently, he is the President of the Sentel Corporation.