FUNDING: EUROPEAN UNION EMERGENCY TRUST FUND FOR AFRICA (EUTF FOR AFRICA)
Promediation is implementing a 36-month regional project, supported by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, aimed at strengthening the dialogue and consultation capabilities of security forces in contexts of conflict and insecurity in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. By strengthening the dialogue capabilities of ISF units in these three countries, the overall objective of this program is to facilitate relations between local populations and ISF personnel. The mistrust accumulated over decades between local populations living in peripheral areas, often from nomadic communities, and state representatives indeed represents a major challenge in the fight against the expansion of armed violence.
To achieve this goal, the program focuses on the following two objectives: training 1,500 security force personnel on methodological tools in the field of conflict management and resolution, adapted to unstable security contexts; and developing dialogue frameworks with local actors in areas of instability to help build trust between the ISF and the population. Sharing the lessons learned during these training sessions with national and international partners has also opened important spaces for dialogue and collective reflection on the role of security forces in local and intra-community conflicts. At the request of local actors, support has also been provided for the implementation of commitments made during these consultation sessions.
Despite rising tensions, Promediation has succeeded in organizing activities in numerous regions of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, including in very volatile environments, thereby reaching the populations most impacted by insecurity as well as the security forces deployed on the ground. Through regular meetings with national and international actors, Promediation has contributed to sharing analyses, to a better understanding of conflict dynamics in the region, and has opened formal and informal dialogue spaces between influential actors in the region.