The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Hope of finding work is the leading factor driving people to join fast-growing violent extremist groups in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the key finding of the latest report entitled “Journey to Extremism in Africa: Pathways to Recruitment and Disengagement” launched today (6 February) by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
“In many countries where the lack of income, the lack of job opportunities, livelihoods, desperation is essentially pushing people to take up opportunities with whoever offers that”, said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator at the report launch. He added that “the research underscores the relevance of these economic factors as drivers of recruitment. 25 % of all recruits cited job opportunities as the primary reason and 40 % said they were in urgent need of livelihoods at the time of the recruitment”.
Sub-Saharan Africa has become the new global epicenter of violent extremis with almost half of global terrorism deaths in 2021. The report draw from interviews with nearly 2,200 interviewees in eight countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Nigher, Nigeria, Somalia, and Sudan. More than 1,000 interviewees are former members of violent extremist groups, both voluntary and forced recruits.
One quarter of voluntary recruits cited job opportunities as their main reason for joining violent extremist groups. This is a 92 percent increase from the last UNDP study on violent extremism in 2017.
“We find that in the new report that 48% of voluntary recruits do cite a triggering event that caused them to join and of them 71% cited these human rights abuses such as government action”, said Nirina Kiplagat, main author of the report and UNDP’s Regional Peacebuilding Advisor. Fundamental human rights abuses such as seeing a father arrested, or a brother taken away by the state army are constituting such triggering events.
According to the report, the second reason for joining violent groups are families and friends, for example women who are following their spouses. To enter a violent group for a religion motivation presents the third reason, cited by only 17 percent of the interviewees. This presents a 57 percent decrease from the 2017 findings.
The new report is part of a series of three reports on the prevention of violent extremism. It highlights the urgent need to move away from security-driven responses to development-based approaches focused on prevention. It also recommends greater investment in basic services including child welfare, education and calls for an investment in rehabilitation and community-based reintegration services. “What is important, it is this toxic mix that is created, on the one hand poverty, destitution, it’s not just jobs. 40% actually cite also the urgent need of livelihoods”. Mr. Steiner added that “this phenomena of a society in the sense no longer having a rule of law turning to some of these violent extremists’ groups to provide security, the kidnapping, the forced recruitment that takes place and all these factors play a role”.
Security-driven counter-terrorism responses are often costly and minimally effective, so the UNDP Administrator, and investments in preventive approaches to violent extremism are inadequate. Militant organizations such as ISIS, Boko Harem or Al-Qaeda who have their origins in a local reality but then become part of the enablers for weapons to be secured and financing across the Sahel allowing other groups to resource themselves.
“The geopolitical dimension should not surprise anyone, it is a part of precisely this phenomenon when states are essentially no longer able to provide the rule of law and provide national security, then the opportunity for other actors to become part of this drama grows exponentially, we have seen it in Mali, we have seen it in Libya, we have seen it at the Horn of Africa”, said Mr. Steiner.
Based on the interviews, the report also identified factors that pull recruits to disengage such as unmet financial expectations, and a lack of trust in the group’s leadership as main reasons for leaving.
-ends-
STORY: Report on violent extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States - UNDP
TRT: 2 mins 01
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 7 February 2023 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, press room with moderator and screens with speakers.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Nirina Kiplagat, main author and Regional Peacebuilding Advisor: “We find that in the new report that 48% of voluntary recruits do cite a triggering event that caused them to join and of them 71% cited these human rights abuses such as government action”.
- Medium shot, journalist and camera in press room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator: “In many countries where the lack of income, the lack of job opportunities, livelihoods, desperation is essentially pushing people to take up opportunities with whoever offers that. And the research underscores the relevance of these economic factors as drivers of recruitment. 25 % of all recruits cited job opportunities as the primary reason and 40 % said they were in urgent need of livelihoods at the time of the recruitment”.
- Medium shot, journalists listening
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator: “The geopolitical dimension should not surprise anyone, it is a part of precisely this phenomenon when states are essentially no longer able to provide the rule of law and provide national security, then the opportunity for other actors to become part of this drama grows exponentially, we have seen it in Mali, we have seen it in Libya, we have seen it at the Horn of Africa”.
- Medium shot, journalists in press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator: “What is important, it is this toxic mix that is created, on the one hand poverty, destitution, it’s not just jobs. 40% actually cite also the urgent need of livelihoods. Then this phenomena of a society in the sense no longer having a rule of law turning to some of these violent extremists’ groups to provide security, the kidnapping, the forced recruitment that takes place and all these factors play a role”.
- Wide shot, journalist taking a photo with cell phone of podium with moderator
- Medium shot, moderator at podium with speaker on screens
- Medium shot, journalist typing
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , UNFPA , UNHCR , UNOPS , WHO
UN Geneva briefing: Yemen crisis worsens, urgent aid needed across multiple sectors.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Press conference on the latest report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the UN Human Rights Council
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Victims Still Waiting: A Global Briefing on Transitional Justice Around the World
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , OCHA , WHO , UNICEF , UN WOMEN , OHCHR , IOM , UNHCR
Update on Ebola from WHO and OCHA, update on the situation of children with the beginning of school in Ukraine from UNICEF, UN Women on the impact of the settlers and restrictions on women and girls in West Bank, OHCHR on the recovery of extensive human remains in Gaza, IOM and UNHCR on the new wave of displacement in Yemen
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Update on the human rights situation in Belarus by the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Update on the human rights situation in Syria by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In war-torn Gaza, a growing number of women-headed households face “impossible decisions” every day, amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and still-scarce resources, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.