Five countries constitute the G5 Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. This intergovernmental cooperation framework was created on the 16th of February 2014, based on a convention established in December 2014, with its headquarters in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Its objective is to strengthen economic development and security in the region.

In July 2017, the leaders of the G% Sahel countries launched the cross-border joint force, with one of its three main objectives being to fight human trafficking in the region.