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Sierra Leone’s President and ECOWAS Chairman, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, has called on the United Nations to provide sustained support to West Africa’s regional security architecture, emphasizing the role of international partnerships in strengthening ECOWAS-led peace and security initiatives.
Speaking at the ECOWAS High-Level Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation and Security in Accra, President Bio stressed that escalating terrorism and violent extremism, particularly in the Central Sahel, now transcend national borders, rendering isolated responses insufficient. He highlighted the need for collective regional action, underpinned by robust international backing, to address the growing security challenges.
“Fragmented and reactive approaches have weakened our capacity to respond effectively,” President Bio said. “It is critical that the United Nations, in collaboration with ECOWAS, supports African-led mechanisms in a manner that strengthens local capacities rather than duplicates efforts.”
The President outlined a unified regional strategy anchored by ECOWAS, emphasizing intelligence sharing, border management, coordinated logistics, and surveillance. He also called for better resourcing of existing structures, including the Multinational Joint Task Force, the Accra Initiative, and ECOWAS early warning and conflict prevention systems.
Beyond military measures, President Bio underscored the importance of governance, inclusive development, and social cohesion in preventing radicalization. Drawing on Sierra Leone’s post-conflict experience, he highlighted the value of building trust between citizens and the state through education, youth and women’s economic opportunities, and accountable institutions.
President Bio further identified climate change as a “threat multiplier,” linking environmental challenges such as desertification, food insecurity, and displacement to rising instability. He urged integrating climate risks into regional security planning and early warning mechanisms, calling for international technical and financial support to enhance resilience.
Concluding his remarks, President Bio reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment, as Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, to lead with inclusivity and resolve.
He urged regional leaders and international partners to transform commitments into concrete action, emphasizing that peace and stability in West Africa require both local leadership and sustained global partnership.
