MALI: THE QUEST FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE

The role of the EU and its Sahel strategy

Keynote: Ángel Losada Fernández, Ambassador, European Union Special Representative for the Sahel

„Regarding peace and security, the situation in the Sahel region has significantly deteriorated in the last years. Especially in the aftermath of the Arab spring, the crisis in Mali and the collapse of M. Gadhafi’s regime, the EU has enhanced its interest in this region. In addition, the Austrian engagement in the international crisis- and conflict management, especially with military means, increased as a reaction to the destabilizing tendencies in the Sahel.
The challenges that the region is facing are also affecting Europe. Among others weak states, the overlapping of organized crime and terrorist activities for example when it comes to human or drug trafficking and migration are symptomatically for the Sahel. The multidimensional nature of the international missions and operations is just one indicator of the complexity of the challenges in the region. Far from being just a modern slogan, there will be ’no development without security, and no security without development’. What is needed is a comprehensive approach by all actors and stakeholders in the security and development nexus. “
The Spanish Diplomat Ángel Losada was appointed as the European Union Special Representative for the Sahel in December 2015. Losada was born in 1953 in Bern (Switzerland), he graduated in Law and was assigned to the Spanish diplomatic representations in Ethiopia, Chile and Geneva. He served as Deputy Director General of International Organizations, counsellor to the Permanent Representation of Spain to the NATO, and Deputy Head of Mission of the Spanish Embassy in Cuba. In August 2004, he was appointed Ambassador in the Command Structure of the ISAF in Afghanistan and, subsequently, he served in the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation. Before his current function as EUSR for the Sahel, he was Ambassador in Nigeria, to ECOWAS, in Kuwait and Ambassador at Large for the Sahel and Special Envoy for Libya.

Opening Remarks: Georg Lennkh, Member of the Board of the Bruno Kreisky Forum
Keynote: Ángel Losada Fernández, Ambassador, European Union Special Representative for the Sahel
Co-discussant: Günther Barnet, Bureau for Security Policy
Moderation: Margit Maximilian, journalist, ORF