Politics

Sierra Leone launches bid for UN Security Council seat

Published

3 years ago

May 10, 2022

West African country Sierra Leone has launched a bid for a seat in the non-permanent category of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), President Julius Maada Bio announced on following weeks of speculations.

Before the public announcement, there had been rumours that the government had been mobilising support from friendly countries through diplomatic engagements, particularly on the continent, to get the bid off the ground.

According to President Bio who officially launched the campaign at a ceremony at State House in Freetown,
said the Sierra Leonean government is hoping to use its past war experience as the selling point to canvass for its membership with Bio announcing that the world has a lot to learn from his country’s resilience.

The Council is one of six organs of the UN with the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security and Sierra Leone had once served in the influential Council from 1970 to 1971, since it joined the UN in 1961.

While launching the bid before an audience that included foreign western diplomats, President Bio said:

“Fifty plus years after our 1970-1971 tenure on the Security Council, we are once again presenting Sierra Leone’s candidature for a seat in the non-permanent category of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2024-2025.”

He added that the two “unforgettable” years served as “bold footprints” that continued to define the West African country’s commitment to its “international obligations and its unflinching support for a multilateral rules-based world order to advance and sustain global peace and security.”

The UNSC presently comprises 15 member countries, five of whom are permanent members – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States, collectively known as P5, and any of the five countries can veto a resolution.

The remaining 10 members are elected to serve on rotating two-year, non-consecutive terms, without veto power.

Current African countries in the 10 non-permanent member Kenya, Ghana and Gabon with voting for the next cohort of members of the non-permanent slot slated for June during the UN General Assembly in New York.

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.