Debate: The situation in Chad
Date: THURSDAY, 20 MAY 2021
Speaker: Josep Borrell Fontelles
Language: EN

The region is the Sahel region and the Sahel remains very high on the European agenda. It’s one of the regions of the world where the Union and its Member States are most committed to peace, stability and development. Between 2014 and 2020 we have provided EUR 8.5 billion in development and humanitarian aid, security and defence. This is why the European Union decided to adopt a renewed Sahel strategy mid-April, and why I chose this moment to make my first visit to the region from 22 to 24 April. I took this opportunity to convey a clear message to all the leaders of the region, that the European Union is engaged to support them in the essential fight against terrorism that is paramount for all of us, but our collective commitment needs to bear fruit, needs to deliver, and that’s why we are engaging, with more than 1 000 people in our military and civilian CSDP missions in Mali, in Niger, and also the EU training mission in Mali that now is going to expand its activities to other countries in the region. And that’s why also some Member States with others are participating in this effort, for example with the anti-terrorist Task Force Takuba. However, and many of you have also said that even if with not the same words, that we will not collectively succeed in the fight if we don’t win the peace, while we intend to win the war we will not win the war without winning the peace. This is the sense of the ‘civilian surge’ decided at the N’Djamena Summit last February and I want to stress the importance of this commitment. It’s not only a matter of war, it’s a matter of good governance and deploying the capacities of the governments of the territory in order to provide basic public goods to the population. As I said, after the approval of our strategy for the region, and when I was visiting Sahel, the death of President Déby of Chad occurred on 20 April. So, being in the region, I decided to visit Chad not only to attend the funeral, but also, as I said in my speech at the very same funeral, that we had to take this opportunity to convey a message to the Chadian authorities and to the African leaders who were present at the ceremony. First, to recognise the contribution of Chad in the fight against terrorism, and this contribution is essential, as I said at the beginning, so much it is the Chad stability. Indeed President Déby’s death was quickly followed by a military takeover, by the military junta, and the situation remains evolving rapidly and future developments are difficult to predict. Just before coming here I been having a meeting with the President of Niger. He visited here in Brussels. I had the opportunity to exchange with him views about this situation and learn from him, what can be the prospects. For us Europeans and for all countries in the region, this is a major source of concern because the effective and necessary involvement of Chadian troops in the G5 joint forces in the fight against terrorism in Lake Chad. But, as I clearly stated during my eulogy, my intervention in the funeral, while the stability of Chad remains paramount we need a genuine inclusive dialogue as a necessary step towards a renewed social contract in Chad too. I also declared there, and reiterated in my latest statement, the importance of a swift return to constitutional order and that the political transition must be civilian led. It was good news that the military junta decided some days after to nominate a civilian as prime minister. This transition has to be limited in time and peaceful. Unhappily, there have been events with regrettable casualties among civilians that do not follow this peaceful requirement. They should respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and lead to credible elections. The military authorities nominated a government which includes some opposition representatives. They indicated their will to engage in an inclusive dialogue and, as I said, they nominated a civilian prime minister. Still, demonstrations against the military junta were put down by force and there are reports of civil society organisations and political opponents being harassed by the state security services. We, the European Union, have strongly condemned this repression of demonstrations in Chad and we are talking to all the stakeholders, including representatives of the opposition and of civil society to convey our key messages and to listen to their concerns. Let me finally stress that a close cooperation with the United Nations and the African Union remains important. The latter had a mission in Chad to evaluate the situation and the African Union Peace and Security Council is expected to come with recommendations for the transition. Certainly, dear Members, this is a difficult moment in Chad’s history, but it is also a potential threat for our strategy to fight terrorism in the region, but it is also an opportunity, as we say here in Europe these days, to build back better, to build a new social contract in Chad, that should serve to meet the numerous aspirations of the population, and to address the root causes of instability of the country, including certainly lack of democratisation, lack of good governance and fully respect of human rights. We will be ready to accompany Chad in that direction, but we need to see a clear commitment by the authorities to go along that path and I am going to use this opportunity here on the tribune of the European Parliament to reiterate this message.