The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, affirmed on Tuesday that Algeria is continuing its efforts in the “same spirit” to support its neighbors and African countries in their fight against terrorism and violent extremism, guided by its experience, “which has certainly been “bitter but successful.”
On the occasion of the high-level debate of the Security Council on the fight against terrorism and violent extremism through the strengthening of cooperation between the UN, regional organizations, and mechanisms, Mr. Tebboune, as the Coordinator of the African Union (AU) on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism, delivered a speech that was circulated as an official document of the Security Council to serve as a reference during the discussions.
Therefore, after recalling that “Algeria was able to confront and defeat terrorism in the 1990s in the almost total absence of the expected material or moral support from the international community,” the President of the Republic affirmed that Algeria “continues today in the same spirit its efforts to support its neighboring countries and at the continental level in their fight against terrorism and violent extremism, guided by its experience, which, although bitter, has been crowned with success.”
In this context, President Tebboune shared the initiative presented by Algeria to give a new impetus to counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel-Saharan region. The initiative was approved in October 2022 by the member states of the Joint Operational Staff Committee (CEMOC) which includes Algeria, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.
At the continental level, Mr. Tebboune noted that, under his mandate as Coordinator of the AU on the prevention and fight against terrorism and violent extremism, Algeria continues its efforts to contribute to strengthening the common African action in the field of the fight against this scourge.
In this regard, Mr. Tebboune listed Algeria’s initiatives through the development of a new action plan for the AU in the field of counterterrorism, the activation of the African Fund for the fight against terrorism, the establishment of an African list of individuals, groups, and entities involved in terrorist acts, including foreign terrorist fighters, as well as the implementation of the African arrest warrant.
Additionally, the President of the Republic notes that “Algeria continues to support African agencies and mechanisms specialized in this field, notably the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (CAERT) and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), whose headquarters are located in Algeria, as well as the African Security and Intelligence Services Committee (CISSA), located in Addis Ababa.”
In this regard, noting “a decline in the international community’s interest in the growing threats posed by the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism to African states and peoples in a globally agitated and polarized context,” Mr. Tebboune pointed out that “Africa is facing a global threat that recognizes no borders and is not linked to any religion, race, or nationality.”
In this regard, he emphasized that “this threat should in no way be equated with the legitimate struggle of peoples under occupation to regain their legitimate rights, foremost among which is their inalienable and imprescriptible right to self-determination and independence enshrined by international law.”
Addressing the participants, Mr. Tebboune emphasized the terrorist threat facing Africa in recent years, pointing out that “the African continent has become, over the past decade, more affected by this scourge than any other region in the world, given the extension of its geographic scope to regions that we considered immune to the scourge of terrorism.”
He pointed out that “the growing severity of this scourge in many African regions, particularly in the Sahel-Saharan space, has become the main threat to the security and stability of African countries, hindering their efforts towards economic development and achieving the goals of the AU’s Agenda 2063.”
In this regard, while acknowledging “the great efforts made by African countries in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism,” the President of the Republic called for “effective support” from the international community.
He urged “international partners to work both bilaterally and multilaterally within the framework of the United Nations to support African efforts” against terrorism, focusing on strengthening the capacities of African states, preventing the use of international partners’ territories as bases for inciting and/or supporting terrorist activities in other countries, and redoubling efforts to avoid directly or indirectly contributing to the financing of terrorism.
Mr. Tebboune also highlighted support for joint operations mandated by the AU to combat terrorism, the need for new and improved peacekeeping operations that are better equipped to deal with evolving threats such as terrorism and organized crime, and increased investment in the economic development of the African continent.
In this context, the Head of State reiterated his commitment to inject a sum of one (01) billion US dollars into the budget of the Algerian Agency for International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development, to effectively contribute to advancing the priority of African continent development.
Reaffirming Algeria’s constant commitment to pursue its efforts to implement the continental mission entrusted to it in the field of preventing and combating terrorism and violent extremism, Mr. Tebboune expressed his ambition “to strengthen our contribution in this field and in many others” through Algeria’s candidacy for the position of non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2024-2025.
