West Africa faces challenges on multiple fronts, including in the security, economic and political sectors. Organised crime is a significant factor in all three spheres. And while the threat of illicit economies and criminal actors is widely recognised, there is a major gap in researchers’ and policymakers’ understanding of how best to respond.
The West Africa Organised Crime Resilience Framework examines security and criminality threats, and sources of resilience to such threats, providing a nuanced assessment of risks and responses in the region. This workshop unpacks the indicators for resilience to organised crime in West Africa, and discusses various policy responses in the ECOWAS region.
Simultaneous English-French-Portuguese interpretation will be provided.
Opening remarks: ECOWAS, European Union, Germany representatives
Session 1: OCRF launch (11:30 – 13:00 GMT+2)
Moderator: Kingsley Madueke, Nigeria Coordinator, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GITOC)
Panelists:
- Lucia Bird, Director, West Africa Observatory, GITOC
- Lyes Tagziria, Senior Analyst, GITOC
- Nanténé Seck COULIBALY, Senior Analyst, Crime and Criminality, Early Warning Directorate, ECOWAS (TBC)
Session 2: Self-defence groups in West Africa: learning from international experience (13:30-15:00 GMT+2)
Moderator: TBC
Panelists:
- Kingsley Madueke, Nigeria Coordinator, GITOC
- Dr Maurice Ogbonnaya, Senior Fellow, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Nigeria
- Koalaga Oumarou Paul, Director, Institute of Strategy and International Relations, Burkina Faso
Session 3: New approaches to regulating drugs: impact of Ghana's drug policy reform (16:15-17:45 GMT+2)
Moderator: Lucia Bird, Director, West Africa Observatory, GITOC
Panelists:
- Lyes Tagziria, Analyst, West Africa Observatory, GITOC
- Kenneth Adu-Amanfoh, Director-General, Narcotics Control Commission (TBC)
- Maria Goretti Anne, International Drug Policy Consortium
- Respondent: Daniel Amankwah, ECOWAS
Session 4: Climate change, illicit economies and community resilience in Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal (18:00-19:00 GMT+2)
Moderator: Feyi Ogunade, Regional Organised Crime Observatory Coordinator – West Africa ENACT, ISS
Panelists:
- Mouhamadou Kane, Analyst, GITOC
- Lucia Bird, Director, West Africa Observatory, GITOC
- Lietenant Colonel Paul Moïse Diedhiou, Directeur Adjoint de la Direction des parcs nationaux, Ministère de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable (TBC)
Image: © Amelia Broodryk/ISS
