Committee: United Nations Security Council

Topic: The Rise of Boko Haram and Other Insurgent Groups in West Africa
Country:Tunisia
Background:
In west Nigeria, over the past decade, a development of an extremist Islamic driven group called Boko Haram has
arisen, and as a direct result, many terrorist attacks have incurred. Boko Haram has moved from small communities
to a force capable of executing large scale operations, even leading to the 2011 Abuja bombing of a United Nations
headquarters.[1] At this point, the group of Boko Haram was recognised and classified as a threat by the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC). Led by Muhammad Usuf and heavily influenced by the ideals of Usman Dan
Fodio, Boko Haram’s movements have extended to many of the surrounding countries in western Africa.[2]
Muhammad Usuf’s assassination along with the murder of many members increased tensions to an all new high. As
tensions increase, the fact of Boko Haram becoming a level of threat rivaling that of Isis becomes a reality. The
UNSC needs to take actions now to ensure that the situation does not worsen itself.
UN Involvement:
In March 2015, the 7492nd meeting of the UNSC took notice of the situation formally and introduced the groups
MJTF (Multinational Joint Task Force) and AU (African Union) who already are taking steps to conclude the issue.
The statement also included UNSC’s classification of Boko Haram as an associate of Al-Qaida.[3] This is fully
representative of the situation emerging, and to resolve this issue military force will most likely be required. More
recently, in July, the UNSC expressed encouragement for the groups of Economic Community of Central African
States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to continue forming dynamic
approaches to the situation.[4] The groups above have taken steps to combat the problem and have found some
success in combating operations from Boko Haram, an encouraging step towards the resolution towards the
problem. However, these movements of the ECCAS and ECOWAS must be applied on a more broad spread scale
geographically for the overcoming of Boko Haram to be a reality, due to its widespread reach.
Tunisia’s Involvement:
Due to Tunisia’s geographic location, it has experienced heavy influence from the group Boko Haram and it’s
affiliates. Not only has Tunisia undergone many attacks from the terrorist group, but also have ironically provided
much of the manpower for these armies. Tunisia is experiencing tensions due to the fact that the government is not
only corrupt, but implementing exerting vigorous police brutality upon it’s citizens. In this way, Tunisia paved the
path for the Arab Spring[5], however, extreme political instability ensued, leaving Tunisia susceptible to groups like
Boko Haram and Isis. With no strong government in place, if the situation in Tunisia is to be resolved, the issue
must be addressed on an international level.
Proposed Solutions:
As stated above, the issue of insurgent groups of west Africa has grown to the scale of international attentions. As
the UNSC collaborates with groups such as the MJTF and the AU[6], solutions would seem to be quickly executed.
However, due to the extremely tense and fragile situation of the crisis at this time, one must approach the problem
from a holistic standpoint. Groups in west Africa are sprouted from the Jihad, and can be traced to the religious
tensions of different extremist groups of the Islamic faith. The route of the problem seems not that of poverty, but
one spawned of lack of understanding and education. A solution should be proposed such that the end of these
conflicts are not only temporary, but are prevented from reoccurring in the near or distant future. Tunisia proposes a
dynamic approach that involves implementation of armed forces, demilitarization of insurgent groups, education of
insurgent individuals in controlled environments, and finally, if cleared, reintegration into societies with close
monitoring. If signs of these military groups reforming are given, the government should take aggressive steps to
prevent the issue. This process of demilitarization, education, and reintegration is referred to as DER. For DER to be
successful, a strong government must be in place. In many cases of western Africa, ironically these tensions arise
due to a lack of strong government. Tunisia attempted to form a multiparty democracy after the Arab Spring,
however, these efforts were futile and soon extreme ideals from different group tore the state into turmoil once more.
Looking into the future, solutions must be adapted to past attempts and failures. In the case of western Africa, a
large population heavily divided on extreme religious beliefs does not suggest that a democracy would work well.
Rather, Tunisia proposes a state separated from the religions with leaders not of the countries religion or geographic
location. In this manner, a neutral state can be formed where the extremist ideals will be suppressed in a harsh
government enforced informational filter. The observation can be made that both of these proposed solutions of
DER and political change are heavily dependant on each other, and for them to be carried out with success, each
solution must be in action simultaneously so that the issue may be resolved.
Bibliography:
1."Abuja Attack: Car Bomb Hits Nigeria UN Building - BBC News." ​BBC News.​ N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
2.Cook, David. "The Rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria | Combating Terrorism Center at West Point." ​Combating
Terrorism Center at West Point.​ Combat Terrorism, n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-rise-of-boko-haram-in-nigeria>.
3."Security Council." ​Encyclopedia of Public Health​ (n.d.): 1286. Web.
4."Security Council Condemns Boko Haram Violence, Backs Regional Efforts to Counter Ongoing Attacks." ​UN
News Center​. UN, 28 July 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51513#.Vr75nfkrLIU>.
5."Tunisia's Ben Ali Flees amid Unrest." ​- Al Jazeera English.​ N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/01/20111153616298850.html>.
6.N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51356#.Vr7WJvkrLIU>.