Strengthening capacity to address the nexus between terrorism and organized crime in Africa
Three legislative reviews (Benin, Mali, Togo) and a research activity (Mali) were completed. A regional workshop in Benin promoted cross-border cooperation and contributed to a toolkit. Two cross-regional meetings in Algeria trained 35 officials from eight North and West African countries.
Synopsis
Objectives
This project seeks to increase awareness and understanding of the nexus between organized crime and terrorism among beneficiary countries, and to strengthen their capacity to address it in accordance with international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law.
Components
Key components include building knowledge and skills of national policymakers and criminal justice officials to support institutional transformation, enhance inter-agency and cross-border cooperation, and promote good practice exchange in African regions affected by the terrorism–organized crime nexus; implementing UNICRI-developed good practices; and providing ongoing technical advice, legislative drafting support, and mentoring.
Main achievements
Building on existing assessments by the Committee’s Executive Directorate and UNODC analyses, as well as feedback from Member States and regional and national stakeholders, the project supported a series of capacity-building events by UNODC and UNICRI on the links between organized crime, terrorism, and their financing and facilitation. A total of 381 key stakeholders (including 38 women) from 34 relevant national agencies involved in countering terrorism and organized crime in Algeria, Benin, Mali, and Togo benefited from these activities.
Four scoping missions were conducted to the four beneficiary countries in 2023, facilitating the evaluation of existing capacities and identifying capacity-building needs. In total, 82 counterparts from agencies responsible for preventing and countering terrorism and organized crime were consulted. Subsequently, 12 national capacity-building workshops were held in 2023 and 2024, enhancing the capacities of 247 criminal justice and law enforcement officials to effectively investigate and prosecute cases of terrorism and organized crime.
Additionally, legislative reviews were completed in Benin, Mali, and Togo in 2024 to further harmonize national legislation with international legal conventions and protocols. A research activity was also completed in Mali in 2024.
To promote regional and cross-border cooperation, a regional workshop was organized in Benin in September 2024, focusing on the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of cases involving the nexus between terrorism and organized crime. The workshop supported the development of a toolkit for capacity-building programs.
Finally, to enhance cross-regional cooperation, two cross-regional meetings were held in Algeria in October 2023 and in October 2024 with participants from Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Togo, and Tunisia, training 35 criminal justice and law enforcement officials.
Impact
This project builds the capacity of criminal justice officials in the region who have limited ability to detect and address these issues. It also supports the development of frameworks and international cooperation to guide an effective and human rights-compliant response.