In the first installment of a series exploring the fight against human trafficking in the Sahel, UN News takes a closer look at what’s behind the development of the phenomenon.
An intricate network of human trafficking has spread across the Sahel, stretching nearly 6,000 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and home to more than 300 million people, in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mali , Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.
The Sahel is described by the United Nations as a crisis area: the people who live there are prey to chronic insecurity, climate shocks, conflict, coups and the rise of criminal and terrorist networks. UN agencies expect that more 37 million people will need humanitarian assistance by 2023, about 3 million more people than in 2022.
Food insecurity is affecting millions of people in Burkina Faso.
Unravel security
Security has long been an issue in the region, but the situation deteriorated markedly in 2011, after NATO-led military intervention in Libya, which led to ongoing unrest in the country. .
The ensuing chaos and loose borders hampered efforts to stem the illegal flow, and traffickers transporting Libya’s looted weapons entered the Sahel amid the insurgency and spread of violence. terrorism.
Armed groups now control parts of Libya, which has become a human trafficking clues. The terrorist threat has worsened, with the infamous Islamic State (ISIL) group joined the region in 2015according to the UN Security Council Executive Board of the Committee Against Terrorism (CTED).
The headquarters of the G5 Sahel Force was destroyed by a terrorist attack in 2018 in Mopti, Mali.
Markets across the Sahel can be found openly selling a variety of contraband, from counterfeit drugs to AK-style assault rifles. drug trade often lethal, estimated to kill 500,000 sub-Saharan Africans each year; In just one case, 70 Gambian children died in 2022 after ingesting smuggled cough syrup. Fuel is another commodity traded by the main players – terrorist groups, criminal networks and local militias.
Close the crime corridor
To combat human trafficking and other growing threats, a group of countries in the region – Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad – has been formed, with UN supportJoint force of the Group of 5 for the Sahel (G5 Sahel).
Meanwhile, cross-border cooperation and cracking down on corruption are on the rise. National authorities have seized tons of contraband, and judicial measures have dismantled networks. Partnership, such as newly signed Cote d’Ivoire-Nigeria Agreementis dealing with the illegal drug trade.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a leading player in efforts to increase security by preventing trafficking attempts.
For example, in 2020, KAFO II, a UNODC-INTERPOL . activities, successfully blocked the terrorists’ supply route in the Sahel, with officers seizing a large amount of trafficked booty: 50 guns, 40,593 sticks of dynamite, 6,162 rounds of ammunition, 1,473 kilograms of marijuana and khat, 2,263 boxes of smuggled drugs and 60,000 liters of fuel.
Immunization activities such as KAFO II provide valuable insights into the increasingly complex and intertwined nature of human trafficking, highlighting the importance of connecting points between related criminal cases. to guns and terrorism in different countries, while adopting a regional approach.
An international police operation coordinated by INTERPOL in 2022 to target the illegal transport of weapons in Central and West Africa resulted in approximately 120 arrests and seizures of firearms, gold, narcotics, and counterfeit drugs. , wildlife products and cash.
crackdown on corruption
These insights are backed up in a new series of UNODC reports that map out agents, facilitators, routes and scopes of trafficking, revealing common themes between instability and chaos. , and make recommendations for action.
One of those themes was corruption, and the reports called for judicial action to be reinforced. The prison system also needs to be involved, as detention facilities can become “colleges for criminals” to expand their networks.
François Patuel, head of UNODC’s Research and Awareness Unit, said: “Organized crime is exploiting vulnerabilities and also undermining stability and development in the Sahel. “Combining efforts and taking a regional approach will lead to success in tackling organized crime in the region.”
Crisis poses ‘global threat’
Fighting organized crime is a central pillar in the broader fight to deal with the security crisis in the region, which the UN Secretary General António Guterres poses a global threat.
“If nothing is done, the effects of terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime will spread beyond the region and the African continent,” warned Mr. Guterres by 2022. We must rethink our collective approach and express creativity, beyond existing efforts.”
How the UN supports the people of the Sahel
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provided direct support to the G5 Sahel . Force operate and implement measures to minimize civil damage and respond to violations.
- UNODC regularly joins national and global partners, including INTERPOL, to choke off supply routes.
- International Organization for Migration (IOM) crisis response plan aims to reach the nearly 2 million people affected while also addressing the structural causes of instability, with a specific focus on transboundary fragility.
- WHO issued a urgent appeal to fund health projects in the region by 2022 and work with 350 health partners in six countries.
- The United Nations Integrated Strategy on the Sahel (university) provides direction for practical efforts in 10 countries.
- The UN support plan for the Sahel continue to promote coherence and coordination for greater efficiency and results in relation to the UNISS framework, in line with the Security Council 2391 . resolution.
The United Nations works to build food security, thereby building climate security in Mali.
