Algeria unveils new proposal to end Niger political impasse.

Ahmed Attaf. Algeria’s Foreign Minister.
Ahmed Attaf. Algeria’s Foreign Minister.

Algeria’s Foreign Minister, Ahmed Attaf, has unveiled a new initiative to resolve the current political impasse in Niger Republic proposed by the Algerian government. The initiative, which has several components, includes a six-month transitional period to be led by a civilian. This is an alternative to the three-year transitional period that the military junta had proposed, and which was rejected by the ECOWAS.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, August 30, Attaf also reiterated his country’s support for a political solution rather than a military one. According to Attaf, Algeria plans to seek a UN conference to restore constitutional order in Niger, propose guarantees for all sides in the crisis and host a summit on the development in the Sahel region. Observers had long predicted that a resolution could only be achieved with concessions granted to all sides.

The components of the Algerian mediation proposal unveiled by the Foreign Affairs Minister involve reinforcing the principle of the illegality of unconstitutional changes. A second component is to set a six months deadline to reach a political solution guaranteeing the return to constitutional and democratic governance in Niger through the resumption of political action within the framework of the rule of law.

Another component proposed by Attaf would involve the formulation of “political arrangements with the acceptance of all parties in Niger without excluding any party” within the six-month period, and under the supervision of a civil authority exercised by a political figure accepted by all strata of the political class in Niger.

The fourth component of the mediation concerns guarantees that would ensure that the political solution reached would be sustained and accepted by all stakeholders in the crisis and its settlement process, Attaf said.

According to him, another component would be the “participatory approach”. This approach will be taken under three directions: “internally, with all stakeholders in Niger, at the regional level, with neighbouring countries and Member States of the Economic Community of West African States, in particular Nigeria as the current Chairman of the group, and at the international level, with countries ready to support efforts to find a peaceful exit from the crisis.”

The final component, as mentioned earlier, is “the organisation of an international conference on development in the Sahel”.

Attaf said “Algeria will strive to organise an international development conference in the Sahel to encourage the development approach and to mobilise the funds needed for the implementation of development programs in this region, which desperately needs social and economic infrastructure to ensure stability and development.”

Algeria’s new proposal shows the country’s commitment to a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Niger and its rejection of military intervention. It also reveals its intention to expand the scope of any resolution to include a comprehensive proposal that would address social and economic challenges, considered to be the root causes of major political crises in the Sahel. Beyond reversing the menace of coup d’états, Algeria seems committed to finding lasting solutions to ensure peace in the region.

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