[At-Large] Message for ALS in Mali!

[Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro]

Dear All,

The current violent extremism happening in Mali will no doubt impact on the
ALS in Mali which is in this instance ISOC Mali. There is a lot of
displacement and food crises and our thoughts continue to be with you.

It is also great to see countries like the US provide funds to assist Mali
in this hard times. We hope the ALS ISOC Mali and its members are well.

Remarks at a UN Secretary General Meeting on the Sahel

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
United Nations
New York City
September 26, 2012

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Secretary General, thank you for calling this meeting and co-chairing it
along with so many distinguished heads of state and government and
ministers and excellencies. And let me recognize the leadership of
President Hollande. I think we all respond to President Hollande’s sense of
urgency and passion, and therefore, it is imperative that we leave this
special high-level meeting resolved to immediately get to work. And it is
the work that should begin in the Security Council to consider the various
proposals by ECOWAS, France, and others because the chaos and violence in
Mali does threaten to undermine the stability of the entire region. We all
know too well what is happening in Mali, and the incredible danger posed by
violent extremists imposing their brutal ideology, committing human rights
abuses, destroying irreplaceable cultural heritage.

But it’s not only the violent extremists. We now have drug traffickers and
arms smugglers finding safe havens and porous borders, providing them a
launching pad to extend their reach throughout not only the region, but
beyond. And nearly 500,000 people have been displaced from their homes, and
4.5 million more are suffering from dwindling food supplies. This is not
only a humanitarian crisis; it is a powder keg that the international
community cannot afford to ignore.

The United States supports the appointment of a senior UN envoy empowered
to lead a comprehensive international effort on Mali and the creation of a
diplomatic core group. This effort must include coordinating the delivery
of emergency aid, helping address longstanding political grievances of
ethnic groups in the north, and preparing for credible elections. We need
to bring together all of the nations affected, and I appreciated President
Yayi’s very strong statement about what is at stake for the countries of
the region, and also his speaking on behalf of the African Union. The
African Union must be at the table, ECOWAS must be at the table, because
these are complex and interconnected security, political, and humanitarian
challenges.

The United States has already provided more than $378 million to meet the
escalating humanitarian needs in the Sahel, and we call on all parties to
ensure unhindered access so that emergency aid meets those who need it
most. We encourage fellow donors to increase their pledges and follow
through quickly and fully. The need is urgent and growing.

It is also critical for all the actors in the region to redouble their
efforts to develop a sound approach to tackling what is happening coming
over their borders. We have to train the security forces in Mali, help them
dislodge the extremists, protect human rights, and defend borders. We have
seen the success of African-led efforts to do just that in Somalia and in
Cote d’Ivoire and elsewhere. We need to now get about the business of
examining seriously proposals to do the same. Because in the end, only a
democratically elected government will have the legitimacy to achieve a
negotiated political settlement in Northern Mali, end the rebellion, and
restore the rule of law. So it is imperative that the interim government
meet the April deadline for holding elections that are fair, transparent,
and free of influence by the military junta. And all parties must do more
to protect human rights and punish abuses.

But let us be clear. What is happening inside Mali is augmented by the
rising threat from violent extremism across the region. For some time,
al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and other groups have launched attacks and
kidnappings from northern Mali into neighboring countries. Now, with a
larger safe haven and increased freedom to maneuver, terrorists are seeking
to extend their reach and their networks in multiple directions. And they
are working with other violent extremists to undermine the democratic
transitions underway in North Africa, as we tragically saw in Benghazi.

This is a threat to the entire region and to the world, and most
particularly, to the people in the region themselves who deserve better.
They deserve better from their leaders and they deserve better from the
international community. The United States is stepping up our
counterterrorism efforts across the Maghreb and Sahel, and we’re working
with the Libyan Government and other partners to find those responsible for
the attack on our diplomatic post in Benghazi and bring them to justice.
But we are also expanding our counterterrorism partnerships to help
countries meet their own growing threats. We’re taking aim at the support
structure of al-Qaida and its affiliates – closing safe havens, cutting off
finances, countering their ideology and denying them recruits. Let me
mention briefly three initiatives.

First, our Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership is now helping build
the capacity of 10 countries across the region, providing training and
support so they can tighten border security, disrupt terrorist networks,
and prevent attacks. This program brings together civilian, law
enforcement, and military experts to pursue a comprehensive approach to
counterterrorism.

Second, we are expanding our work with civil society organizations in
specific terrorist hotspots – particular villages, prisons, and schools –
trying to disrupt the process of radicalization by creating jobs, promoting
religious tolerance, amplifying the voices of the victims of terrorism.

And third, we are working with our partners to reform security services and
strengthen the rule of law. For example, Tunisia has agreed to host a new
international training center that will help police, prosecutors, and other
criminal justice officials across the region move away from the repressive
approaches that helped fuel radicalization in the past, and instead develop
strategies grounded in the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Ultimately, our perspective is that strengthening democratic institutions
must be at the heart of our counterterrorism strategy. It is democracies
that offer their citizens constructive outlets for political grievances,
create opportunities for upward mobility and prosperity, and are clear
alternatives to violent extremism. And their success offers a powerful
rejection of the extremist ideology of hate and violence as we also saw in
Benghazi last week.

So all this work, from meeting the humanitarian crisis in the Sahel to
bringing stability back to Mali to combating violent extremism across the
region is a shared responsibility. And there is no place where that shared
responsibility can be actualized other than the United Nations. So in the
days and weeks ahead, I look forward to deepening our cooperation and
accelerating our common action. I personally don’t believe we have any time
to waste.

Thank you. (Applause.)

*Ends*