By 
The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) convened a regional consultation in Dakar, Senegal, on 25-26 February 2026 under the theme “Regional Consultation in the Sahel: Advancing Global South Civil Society Leadership in Multilateralism and Peacebuilding.” The meeting brought together representatives from 27 civil society organisations across the Sahel, with support from the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA). Representatives from the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel and UN Peacebuilding Support Office also participated in the consultation.
The consultation provided a platform to reflect on the outcomes of the 2025 CSO-UN Dialogue on Peacebuilding in Geneva and to identify priority actions for strengthening civil society engagement in multilateral peace processes at national and sub-regional levels.
A key outcome of the consultation was the agreement to establish a monitoring group composed of participating organisations. The group will follow up on priority recommendations from the Geneva Dialogue and support coordinated action at regional and national levels to help translate commitments into concrete results.
The importance of this monitoring mechanism was emphasised in light of past recommendations that were not consistently implemented or tracked. This discussion took place against a backdrop of persistent governance, security, and humanitarian challenges across the Sahel, further exacerbated by climate change, pressures on natural resources, displacement, and ongoing violence.
Participants highlighted the disproportionate impact of these challenges on women and young people, including increased vulnerability and limited opportunities to engage in peace processes.
They also emphasised the role of civil society, particularly women’s and youth-led organisations, in promoting dialogue, strengthening community resilience, and advancing locally driven peacebuilding efforts. Ensuring their meaningful participation in multilateral processes was identified as essential to aligning interventions with local realities.
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