Central Africa is one of the continent’s eight regional blocs, comprising 10 countries, which are represented by the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Six members of ECCAS are also members of the Central African Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC).
Although these regional organisations were established in 1981 and 1994 respectively, they have yet to implement certain key provisions of their founding treaties – notably those that pertain to the free movement of persons and goods. When compared to East and West Africa, where free movement is a reality, Central Africa is one of the continent’s least integrated regions.
Delayed integration may be attributed to the failure, so far, to find common ground for political cooperation in the region. This is particularly true given Central Africa’s vast and porous borders; weak law enforcement; increasingly contested political leadership; corruption and declining economic performance at national levels.
The region’s natural riches include petroleum and mineral resources, fisheries, forests and abundant water reserves. This includes the Congo Basin, which is made up of six Central African countries. It is the world’s second-largest block of rainforest after the Amazon, with a combined surface of 3.7 million km2, including 2 million km2 of forests and over 10 000 animal species.
Despite this natural wealth, the region’s combined population of approximately 120 million inhabitants is one of the world’s poorest. It is also one of the youngest, with people aged 15 and under making up half of the population.
However, as pointed out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), youth (aged 15 – 29) are mainly unemployed or in ‘vulnerable’ employment, with 90% of young workers in both rural and urban areas holding informal jobs.
A concerted response to transnational organised crime (TOC) in the region may provide an opportunity for improved regional integration.
Organised criminal groups, particularly those made up of disgruntled youth are prevalent in many parts of the region.
One example can be seen in groups that initially led a legitimate political and social struggle for the improved management of oil resources in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region, which borders Cameroon. Over time, these have transformed into criminal syndicates for oil theft and other sea-based crimes across the Gulf of Guinea littoral.
Similarly, years of conflict in different parts of the continent have facilitated the illicit circulation of arms in the region. According to a representative from the CEMAC Commission, interviewed in July 2017, a grenade is reported to cost a mere 650 CFA Francs in the Central African Republic – the equivalent of one euro.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) draws links between organised crime and the violence and instability in states like CAR, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda – with conflict fuelled and financed by the illicit exploitation of the region’s mineral and wildlife resources.
Efforts by national governments have generally focused on adopting specific legislation aimed at addressing these issues. Regional attempts, on the other hand, are still recent and appear limited.
ECCAS was originally set up to address economic development in the region. However, in face of the discord between countries that led to conflict and border disputes in the 1990s, it created the Council for Peace and Security in Africa in 1999. As many of these conflicts were fuelled by the illicit exploitation of natural resources, ECCAS also set up the Central Africa Forest Commission to preserve the Congo Basin’s forest ecosystems.
Initiatives to address transnational organised crime in the region mostly focus on combating the poaching of large mammals and illegal trade in wildlife fauna and flora, under the auspices of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) or ECCAS and its partners, such as the UNODC.
CEMAC, on the other hand, is primarily focused on building a competitive regional business environment. Its Regional Economic Programme for the 2009-2015 period includes three priority areas, namely governance and macro-economic stability; the creation of a common market; and the consolidation of physical infrastructure and support services. In this respect, its priority is combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, notably through the Central African Police Chiefs Committee (CAPCCO).
However, ECCAS and CEMAC have both allocated peace and security mandates to themselves. The overlap between the organisations’ missions has long been considered a factor that limits, rather than promote regional integration. This is exacerbated by the fact that many countries of Central Africa are also members of other regional economic communities (RECs), including the East African Community, Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region and the Community of Sahel-Saharan States.
In an attempt to harmonise the organisations’ policies and accelerate integration, the African Union – at the request of the integration Ministers of the region – recommended a restructuring of ECCAS and CEMAC in 2007, which would effectively result in a merger of the two blocs.
To give impetus to these recommendations, the heads of states and government set up a steering committee (COPIL-CER) in 2009, presided over by the Republic of Cameroon. The COPIL-CER has held three meetings so far. The most recent was in 2015, which failed to result in a consensus on the free movement of people and goods, peace and security, or the financing of an eventual merged organisation.
While a merger of the two regional institutions would help to reduce expenses and harmonise policies, experts, notably within CEMAC, argue that such a merger is mostly political and may not be the solution to address the region’s current challenges.
As these organisational disputes continue, they affect the security and stability of the region, particularly due to poorly implemented border controls, and also inhibit initiatives to address transnational organised crime. A more concerted focus on practical issues related to transnational organised crime – for instance, improved border control – could de-politicise some of these integration processes and enable greater cooperation and collaboration towards a common objective.
Such a focus could provide the opportunity the region has been waiting for, to take regional integration seriously.
Agnes Ebo'o, ENACT Regional organised crime observatory coordinator - Central Africa
