Mandate
Article 3
1. In order to achieve the policy objectives set out in Article 2, the mandate shall be to: (a) actively contribute to the implementation of the Union’s Renewed Approach to the Sahel region, as appropriate and taking into account views expressed by Member States, and coordinate and further develop the Union’s integrated approach in the region, with a view to enhancing the overall coherence and effectiveness of Union activities in the Sahel as well as supporting effective strategic communication; (b) engage, including through shuttle diplomacy and high-level political outreach with governments and regional organisations, as well as through peace agreements and international mediation and conflict resolution initiatives, with all relevant stakeholders in the region, including international organisations, women, youth, civil society and diasporas and the countries of the Maghreb, West Africa and the Lake Chad Basin, with a view to furthering the Union’s objectives and interests and contributing to a better understanding and positive image of the role of the Union in the Sahel and its immediate vicinity; (c) represent and promote the interests and visibility of the Union in relevant regional and international fora and any other processes relevant for the stability of the region; (d) facilitate fully coordinated and integrated Union action in the region drawing on all relevant instruments, including development cooperation, the European Peace Facility, and Member States’ activities and Union support for crisis management and conflict prevention through Union common security and defence policy (CSDP) actions and regional and national stabilisation efforts, including those on security sector reform and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants, and cultural heritage in conflict and crisis; (e) maintain close cooperation with the UN, in particular the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, the AU and its Special Representative to Mali and the Sahel, ECOWAS, the Lake Chad Basin Commission and other leading national, regional and international stakeholders, including other special envoys for the Sahel; (f) closely follow, analyse and report on the impact of root causes of instability and long-term trends in the region, including climate change, biodiversity loss, pastoralism, food insecurity and access to natural resources, in particular land and water, as well as promote sustainable management of, and cooperation over, natural resources to reinforce stability and support efforts to limit the spread of instability, paying particular attention to the most vulnerable regions and to regional initiatives to foster cross-border cooperation in this regard, including between West African coastal states and Sahel states; (g) closely follow other regional and trans-boundary dimensions of the challenges the region is facing, including terrorism, radicalisation, organised crime, hybrid and cyber-threats, arms smuggling, trafficking in human beings and smuggling, drug trafficking, maritime insecurity, refugee and migration flows and related illicit financial flows; (h) closely follow the humanitarian, political, security and development consequences of large scale refugee and migration flows, including internally displaced persons, and, as appropriate, engage in dialogues on migration with relevant authorities and stakeholders and contribute more generally to the Union’s policy on migration and refugees with respect to the region, in line with the Union’s objectives and interests, in order to promote fruitful cooperation in the area of migration with a comprehensive whole-of-route approach; (i) contribute to the implementation of the relevant Council conclusions on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism, maintain regular high-level political contacts with the countries affected by terrorism and international organised crime and ensure the Union’s key role in the efforts to fight terrorism and international organised crime; (j) closely follow the political, security and development consequences of humanitarian crises in the region, taking into account the peace-humanitarian-development nexus and promoting long-term regional solutions to crises and conflicts; (k) contribute, in cooperation with the EUSR for Human Rights, to the implementation of the Union’s human rights policy in the region, in line with the Union Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, the Union Guidelines on human rights, in particular the Union Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, as well as on violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them, and the Union’s policy on Women, Peace and Security, promote inclusiveness and gender equality in the state building process, in line with UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security, including UNSCR 2242 (2015), and support the implementation of UNSCR 2250 (2015) on youth, peace and security; (l) continue to observe the justice sector as a whole, and accountability mechanisms that can be used to fight impunity, including formulating recommendations, maintaining regular contacts with the relevant authorities in the region, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and engaging with the human rights defenders and observers in the region; (m) deepen the Union’s knowledge on local expectations and local contexts through frequent contacts in the region, including with local actors and, on the basis of a thorough and continuous analysis of the situation, facilitate reflection and contribute to the early response, the adaptation, and the strategic and long-term vision of the Union in the Sahel. 2. For the purpose of the fulfilment of the mandate, the EUSR shall, inter alia: (a) advise and report on the formulation of Union positions in regional and international fora, as appropriate, to proactively promote diplomatic contacts and actions that strengthen the Union’s integrated approach towards the Sahel; (b) contribute to maintaining an overview of all Union activities and cooperate closely with relevant Union delegations and Member States.