21 November 2024
Border areas persist as hotspots of terrorism-related violence in West Africa. The region sees more than 40% of violent events and fatalities occurring within 100 km of a land border and 10% of deaths occurring less than 10 km from a border. Troubled by high levels of poverty, limited state presence, corruption, and intercommunal tensions, these border areas are the ideal breeding ground for criminal activity including the trafficking of drugs, arms, and human beings.
Despite collaborative measures to curb criminal and terrorist activity in the region by West African governments, such as the development of institutional and operational frameworks for border security, terrorist groups have maintained and expanded their operations across the region. To further bolster efforts against such activity, the West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group (WAWG) – co-chaired by Algeria and Germany with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as implementing partner – convened an in-person regional meeting to discuss challenges and best practices as they pertain to strengthening border security in the region.
The event in Dakar, Senegal gathered senior officials from law enforcement, defense and security forces, intelligence agencies, community representatives, and other subject matter experts from West Africa to share their experiences and identify lessons learned through moderated discussions and case studies. The interactive meeting built upon the recommendations laid out in the GCTF Good Practices in the Area of Border Security and Management in the Context of Counterterrorism and Stemming the Flow of "Foreign Terrorist Fighters” and its associated Addendum.
The strengthening of border security and management is one of the priorities that align with key terrorism and violent extremism threats in West Africa identified by the WAWG in their work plan revealed earlier this year. Under the Algeria-Germany mandate, the working group will continue to identify priority areas where capacity building is imperative to prevent and counter terrorism in West Africa.