11 - 13 December 2023
With most of the world’s trade by waterborne transport, the maritime domain's vastness and jurisdictional gaps also expose vulnerabilities, especially to exploitation by terrorist and criminal organizations. These complexities and challenges have encouraged countries to take on a whole-of-government approach.
The GCTF FTF Working Group co-chairs, Jordan and the United States, in partnership with the G7++ Friends of the Gulf of Guinea current co-chairs, Côte D'Ivoire and Germany, with TMC Asser Institute as the implementing partner, held a two-day workshop from 11 to 13 December, and included a visit to the Port of Dakar, Senegal. The event helped to explore, with a wide range of stakeholders, the recommendations and good practices shared in the Addendum to the GCTF New York Memorandum on Good Practices for Interdicting Terrorist Travel with focus on the maritime domain.
The workshop was the first in-person event since the adoption of the Addendum and included a broad range of stakeholders from regional government, international and regional organizations, civil society organizations and academic institutions especially those with strong maritime security interests. The event concluded with a visit to the Port of Dakar, where government officials and the Port Authority shared knowledge and experience on their robust maritime security practices as well as the challenges faced.
Building on previous engagements and workshops, insights highlighted the need for country-specific approaches to ensure each region’s geographical conditions, national legal and policy frameworks, as well as cultural and historical context were taken into consideration. With terrorism steadfastly increasing in Africa, the workshop focused on West Africa. The region is a strategically significant area that includes 16 countries with a combined coastline of approximately 6,000km. The region is a crucial hub for international trade but is also vulnerable to exploitation by terrorist and criminal organizations.
The GCTF Maritime Security and Terrorist Travel Initiative will continue to hold interactive workshops around the globe to help uncover the unchartered waters and complexities of maritime terrorism and explore putting into action the recommendations of the Addendum to prevent and interdict terrorist movement or associated smuggling or trafficking.
