Niger - US Relations
Washington declared 20 October 2023 that Niger's military had staged a coup on July 26, overthrowing a democratic government seen as a key bulwark against Russia. "Any resumption of US assistance will require action ... to usher in democratic governance in a quick and credible timeframe," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. The United States, along with West African nations and former colonial power France, had been pressing the military to restore President Mohamed Bazoum. "We're taking this action because over the last two months, we've exhausted all available avenues to preserve the constitutional order in Niger," a senior US official added. The United States is keeping about 1,000 military personnel in Niger, but they are no longer actively training or assisting Niger forces, another US official said. They will continue to work to monitor threats from jihadists.
"The United States is deeply concerned about today’s developments in Niger. We strongly condemn any effort to detain or subvert the functioning of Niger’s democratically elected government, led by President Bazoum. We specifically urge elements of the presidential guard to release President Bazoum from detention and refrain from violence. We welcome the strong statements and steps taken by the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union to defend Niger’s democracy. We are closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of our citizens" National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said 26 July 2023. "Niger is a critical partner for the United States. We have shared values on democracy and human rights, and collaborate to advance regional security and prosperity, and our substantial cooperation with the Government of Niger is predicated on Niger’s continued commitment to democratic standards.
National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated 26 July 2023 : "...we have watched this with deep concern, Peter. We certainly condemn any effort to detain or to subvert the functioning of Niger’s democratically elected government. And we’re still gathering facts here. And that government, as you know, is led by President Bazoum. We specifically urge the elements of the presidential guard to release him from detention and to refrain from any violence. We certainly welcome the strong statements and steps taken by the Economic Community of West African States and the African Union to defend Niger’s democracy. And obviously, we’re closely monitoring this situation.
U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement 27 July 2023 related to events in Niger: “We join the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States in condemning the military coup in Niger, and call upon those who seized power to stand down. Disputes in democratic countries cannot be settled by force. President Bazoum was duly elected by the people of Niger. Their will should not be subverted by those charged with protecting them. The deeply disturbing trend of military coups in the region cannot be tolerated. The United States must take swift action to hold anti-democratic forces accountable and send a clear signal that attacks on constitutional democracy will not be met with impunity.”
Vedant Patel, State Department Principla Deputy Spokesperson, stated 2 July 2023: "Niger has been an incredible security partner on the continent, and so we’ll continue to pay close attention to this ... we are gravely concerned about the developments in Niger. The situation remains fluid. We are monitoring the situation closely and continue to be in close touch with the embassy in Niamey. As you all know, Secretary Blinken spoke to President Bazoum yesterday. He conveyed the unwavering support of the United States for President Bazoum and Niger’s democracy. He emphasized that the U.S. stands with the Nigerien people and regional and international partners in condemning this effort to seize power by force. He also underscored that the strong U.S. economic and security partnership with Niger depends on the continuation of democratic governance and respect of the rule of law and human rights."
The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in remote and rural areas as U.S. government employees must obtain special authorization to travel outside of the capital, Niamey, due to security concerns. Outside of Niamey, all U.S. Embassy personnel are required to travel only during daylight hours and in a minimum of a two-vehicle convoy accompanied by armed Nigerien government security escorts.
The U.S. Department of State has included a Kidnapping “K” Indicator on the Travel Advisory for Niger, indicating that criminal or terrorist individuals or groups have threatened to and/or have seized or detained and threatened to kill, injure, or continue to detain individuals in order to compel a third party (including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from doing something as a condition of release.
Niger is one of three countries, along with Mali and Chad, that participate in the Trans-Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership (TSTCP) to combat violent extremism (VE) in the Sahel region. USAID’s role in TSCTP is managed by the West Africa Regional Mission in Ghana and the Africa Bureau in Washington (the Mali program is currently suspended). USAID’s current TSCTP activities include a regional Peace for Development (PDEV II) program in Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad; and a research agenda examining the drivers of VE in the Sahel and providing a dynamic framework for development programming to counter violent extremism.
The United States established diplomatic relations with Niger in 1960, following its independence from France. US relations with Niger since its independence have generally been close and friendly. In 2010, a military junta took power after overthrowing the former president, who had tried to extend his rule unconstitutionally. A new president was inaugurated in 2011, returning Niger to constitutional, civilian rule. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 21, 2016, with run-offs, if needed, on March 20. The violence in Libya and the security threat from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Nigeria-based group Boko Haram have complicated the government's efforts to improve Niger's economy, strengthen governance, and address human rights. The United States has commended Niger for its actions to consolidate and advance democratic institutions in its own country and to promote stability in the region, including its support for refugees who have fled the 2012 turbulence in neighboring Mali. The two countries work closely together on regional peace and security issues. Niger has worked closely with Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria to counter the violent threat posed by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region.
US foreign assistance to Niger plays a critical role in preserving stability in a country vulnerable to political volatility, and food insecurity and regional instability. US assistance seeks to continue to improve food security, strengthen reproductive health and maternal and child health services, support productive agricultural enterprises, promote democracy and good governance, support prison and judicial reform, and strengthen military education and training. Niger is one of six countries participating in President Obama’s Security Governance Initiative (SGI).
Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its largely agrarian and subsistence-based economy is frequently disrupted by extended droughts common to the Sahel region of Africa. US exports to Niger include rice, vehicles, food-preparation goods, machinery, and fats and oils. Primary imports from Niger to the United States include uranium. Niger is eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The United States has a trade and investment framework agreement with the West African Economic and Monetary Union, of which Niger is a member. Niger has signed a bilateral investment agreement with the United States.
Niger has experienced terrorism, mainly in the form of kidnapping-for-ransom (KFR) and clashes between security forces and extremist militants. The country faces threats from Mali-based terrorist groups, which include regional affiliates of al-Qa’ida and ISIS (e.g., ISIS in the Greater Sahara, or ISGS), as well as Nigeria-based terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram and ISIS West Africa (ISIS-WA). These groups include Nigerien members. Mali-based terrorist groups in particular have increasingly targeted local, regional, and international security forces in Mali and neighboring countries.
Mali-based terrorist groups have shown a propensity for retaliating against countries that participate in regional counterterrorism efforts and/or support U.S. and French military presence in the region. Niger hosts military units from several Western nations engaged training and capacity-building operations. In addition, Niger participates in the G5 Sahel Force, a newly formed France-supported counterterrorism force composed of troops from five regional governments.
For years, the US operated from an air base in Niamey, Niger’s capital. The Predator drones in Niger, a landlocked and dirt-poor country, give the Pentagon a strategic foothold in West Africa. In early 2014, Capt. Rick Cook, then chief of U.S. Africa Command’s Engineer Division, mentioned the potential for a new “semi-permanent … base-like facility” in Niger. That September, the Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock exposed plans to base drones at Agadez. Within days, the U.S. Embassy in Niamey announced that AFRICOM was, indeed, “assessing the possibility of establishing a temporary, expeditionary contingency support location” there.
The identification of anti-terrorism programs with Islam and the emphasis on Islamic groups and countries as the main enemy and source of violence has led many Nigeriens and Nigerien Islamic religious leaders to feel that the United States is waging a war against Islam.
This sentiment is reinforced by USAID programs that promote family planning and gender equality -- behaviors that some Nigerien religious leaders, particularly in rural areas, consider to be in conflict with their interpretation of Islamic values. For example, they saw USAID’s 2013 family planning project designed to increase access to and use of quality family-planning services in Niger as trying to impose Western values. The emphasis on these programs in a conservative Muslim society like Niger can create in the minds of some of Niger’s Islamic leaders a lack of trust and reinforces their negative stereotypes about Western culture and intentions. In its extreme form, they can even elicit fears that the Western powers are trying to assert the dominance of their culture by reducing the Muslim population.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
