actively contribute to the implementation of the Strategy and coordinate and further develop the Union’s integrated approach to the crises in the region, with a view to enhancing the overall coherence and effectiveness of Union activities in the Sahel;

engage, including through shuttle diplomacy, with all relevant stakeholders in the region, governments, regional organisations, in particular the G5 Sahel and its Joint Force, the signatories of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali resulting from the Algiers Process (the ‘Mali Peace Agreement’), international organisations, civil society and diasporas, and the countries of the Maghreb, the Gulf of Guinea and the Lake Chad Basin, with a view to furthering the Union’s objectives and contributing to a better understanding of the role of the Union in the Sahel. With the G5 Sahel attention shall be paid, inter alia, to promoting respect for human rights and to non-military elements of its Joint Force such as the police component;

represent and promote the interests and visibility of the Union in relevant regional and international fora and by participating in the Comité de Suivi of the Mali Peace Agreement, and other national processes relevant for the stability of the region;

facilitate fully coordinated and comprehensive Union action in the region drawing on all relevant instruments, including the European Peace Facility, on development cooperation, Member States’ activities and Union support to crisis management and conflict prevention through the European Union military mission to contribute to the training of the Malian armed Forces (EUTM Mali), the European Union CSDP mission in Mali (EUCAP Sahel Mali), the European Union CSDP mission in Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger), and on stabilisation efforts within the Coalition for the Sahel, in particular the P3S and the Sahel Alliance and their respective secretariats;

maintain close cooperation with the United Nations (UN), in particular the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, the Special Coordinator for development in the Sahel, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the African Union, in particular the African Union High Representative for Mali and the Sahel, the G5 Sahel, in particular the G5 Presidency and its Executive Secretary, the High Representative of the Coalition for the Sahel, the Economic Community of West African States, the Lake Chad Basin Commission; the Liptako-Gourma Authority; and other leading national, regional and international stakeholders, including other special envoys for the Sahel, as well as with the relevant authorities especially in the Maghreb, in the Horn of Africa, in the Gulf of Guinea and in the Middle East area;

closely follow, analyse and report on the impact of root causes of instability and long-term trends in the region, including climate change, biodiversity loss, pastoralism, access to natural resources, notably land and water, as well as promote sustainable management of and cooperation over natural resources that reinforce stability, and support efforts to limit the spread of instability, by paying particular attention to the most vulnerable regions in terms of security, notably the Liptako-Gourma and Lake Chad regions;

closely follow other regional and trans-boundary dimensions of the challenges the region is facing, including pandemics, terrorism, radicalisation, organised crime, cyber-threats, arms smuggling, trafficking in human beings and smuggling, drug trafficking, maritime insecurity, refugee and migration flows and related illicit financial flows;

closely follow the humanitarian, political, security and development consequences of large scale refugee and migration flows, including internally displaced persons. Upon request, engage in dialogues on migration with relevant stakeholders and contribute more generally to the Union’s policy on migration and refugees with respect to the region, in line with the Union’s political priorities, in order to continue to promote fruitful cooperation in the areas of migration, based on the constructive partnerships established in recent years;

in close cooperation with the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, contribute to the further implementation of the EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy as well as of the relevant Council Conclusions on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism. Maintain regular high level political contacts with the countries in the region affected by terrorism and international organised crime and ensure the Union’s key role in the efforts to fight terrorism and international organised crime and their root causes. This includes the Union’s efforts to enhance its support to regional capacity of the security sector through the regionalisation of the common security and defence policy (CSDP) missions and active support to regional capacity building in particular of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, its coordination with international players such as MINUSMA, and its relation with the local population, in line with UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2359 (2017) and 2391 (2017);

closely follow the political, security and development consequences of humanitarian crises in the region;

contribute, in cooperation with the EUSR for Human Rights, to the implementation of the Union’s human rights policy in the region, in line with the Union Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, the Union Guidelines on human rights, in particular the Union Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, as well as on violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them, and the Union’s policy on Women, Peace and Security in line with the Union Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2019-2024, promote inclusiveness and gender equality in the state building process, in line with UNSCR 1325 (2000) and subsequent resolutions on Women, Peace and Security, including UNSCR 2242 (2015), and support the implementation of UNSCR 2250 (2015) on youth, peace and security;

continue to pay particular attention to the justice sector as a whole, and to accountability mechanisms that can be used to fight impunity and to restore the population’s trust in its justice system. The EUSR’s contribution shall include regular monitoring and reporting on developments, as well as formulating recommendations in this regard and maintaining regular contacts with the relevant authorities in the region, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and engage with the human rights defenders and observers in the region;

through frequent contacts in the region, including with local actors, increase the Union’s knowledge on local expectations and local contexts. Based on a thorough and continuous analysis of the situation, facilitate reflection and contribute to the early response and the strategic and long-term vision of the Union in the Sahel;

follow up and report on compliance with relevant UNSCRs, in particular UNSCRs 2056 (2012), 2071 (2012), 2085 (2012), 2100 (2013), 2227 (2015), 2295 (2016), 2364 (2017), 2374 (2017), 2359 (2017), 2391 (2017), 2423 (2018), 2432 (2018), 2480 (2019), 2484 (2019), 2531 (2020) and 2541 (2020).

advise and report on the formulation of Union positions in regional and international fora, as appropriate, in order to proactively promote action based on partnership and mutual accountability and strengthen the Union’s integrated approach towards the Sahel;

contribute to maintaining an overview of all Union activities and cooperate closely with relevant Union delegations and Member States.