Senegal reacted quickly after seeing a publication on social networks by the Ukrainian embassy in Dakar calling for people to come and engage militarily against Russia.
In international relations, Senegal holds to its principle of non-alignment. There is no question for the authorities of this country to take sides with any of the belligerents in the Russian-Ukrainian war, even if they condemn in principle the Russian invasion, which has been underway for nine day.
However, the Ukrainian ambassador to Senegal, Yurii Pyvovarov, saw fit to launch a mercenary recruitment campaign from the Senegalese capital, seeking reinforcements to help his compatriots at the front line. Thirty-six people were enlisted after a post on the Facebook page of the embassy, which covers seven West African countries. This is an inconceivable situation for Dakar, which has not hidden its disapproval and surprise.
After learning with “astonishment” on Thursday, March 3, the publication “on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian embassy in Dakar of an appeal to foreign citizens to fight alongside” this country,” “using a registration form,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Living Abroad has “immediately” summoned Mr. Pyvovarov “for verification and authentication.” The Ukrainian diplomat “has indeed confirmed the existence of the call and the registration of 36 voluntary candidates,” according to the statement of the Ministry.
“In view of the seriousness of such facts, the Ministry has officially issued, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Senegal, a verbal note of protest strongly condemning this practice, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, particularly with regard to the obligation to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State,” it said, before urging the embassy “to withdraw, immediately, the above-mentioned call.”
Senegal’s abstention from UN vote
Dakar concluded by specifying “that the recruitment of volunteers, mercenaries or foreign fighters on Senegalese territory is illegal and punishable by the law.”
This week, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Russia to stop the fighting and withdraw its troops from Ukraine. If some countries, precisely five, were hostile to this resolution, several others, mainly African countries, simply chose to abstain. This is the case of Senegal. In the Council of Ministers, President Macky Sall explained this position by Senegal’s adherence to the principle of non-alignment and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
In an interview with the Senegalese news site Dakaractu, the Ukrainian diplomat posted in Dakar would have liked to see Senegal openly take sides with his country, because for him, there is a choice to be made between good and evil. And in the conflict between Russia and his country, Yurii Pyvovarov believes that it is the Kremlin that is the axis of evil.
“There is a country that is attacked on the one hand and another that kills civilians,” he explains while hoping to see the position of Senegal evolve in the direction of taking up the cause of Ukraine.
According to the latest UN figures, more than 1.2 million people have fled Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, which has already claimed hundreds of lives. According to the UN, four million people may want to leave the country to escape the war.
While thousands of Africans have managed to cross the Ukrainian border, many others are trapped and trying to flee the war by any means possible. But they are often victims of “mistreatment,” as the African Union (AU) recently deplored.
ODL/cgd/fss/abj/APA