A Network for the Prevention of Violent Extremism in the Sahel

An inaugural meeting of the Sahel Network on Preventing Violent Extremism (SNPVE) is scheduled to take place in Abuja, Nigeria from 27th to 28th November 2017. The event is organised with support of the CSPPS via its partner organization in Nigeria, Centre for Sustainable Development and Education in Africa (CSDEA). The SNPVE has been established with support from the US State Department and the Global Centre on Cooperative Security. Its mission is to promote an environment of collaborative efforts between civil society and other actors, aimed at preventing violent extremism and promoting peacebuilding and development in the Sahel.

CSPPS's focus on the implementation of the UNSCR 2250, as endorsed by the ‘Stockholm Declaration – Addressing Fragility and Building Peace in a Changing World' of the International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding (IDPS), led the platform to collaborate with CSDEA to conduct a study on young people and violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin. The SNPVE inaugural meeting comes a month after the release of the Study Report on the Role of Youth in Preventing Violent Extremism. The study report has shown that the solution to violent extremism and other threats to safety and stability of the countries in the Lake Chad region can be found in working with young people, and tapping into their talents and potentials to reform and rebuild society. The report also presented a set of recommendations for policy makers, governments, and the international community in pursuance of the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250.

The SNPVE inaugural meeting represents an opportunity to implement the recommendations of the research on a long-term basis. Although the inaugural meeting of the SNPVE focuses on a sub-regional approach to problem solving, it is important to harmonize peacebuilding initiatives at national and sub-regional levels to increase their impact. The aim is to invest, promote and strengthen national and sub-regional structures and approaches, thereby allowing civil society and young people to pursue their role of preventing violent extremism and building sustainable peace in their communities and sub-regionally.

The inaugural meeting will be attended by civil society actors from the Sahel-Maghreb region, which includes the Lake Chad Basin, to discuss and strengthen collaborative efforts aimed at preventing violent extremism and building peaceful societies in the region. Mouldjide Ngarygam, Director of Centre d 'Etude sur la Paix, la sécurité et le Développement en Afrique/Representative of the CSPPS Chad Country Team and CSPPS Nigeria Country Team members will be participating in this meeting to help strategize on how to prevent violent extremism in the Sahel countries. It is hoped that the Inaugural Meeting will conclude with development of an action plan for civil society in the Sahel region to address issues related to violent extremism. Outcomes of the meeting will be published on CSPPS website in due course. 

For more information on the event or related activities, please contact Mr. Theophilus Ekpon at theophilusekpon@csdea-africa.org