As part of the implementation of the 2002 plan of acton, the african centre for the study and research on terrorism, was established in 2004 in algiers to serve as a structure for centralizing information, studies and analyses on terrorism and terrorist groups and to develop counterterrorism capacity building programmes. Pdf on apr 1, 2015, daniel egiegba agbiboa and others published can the new ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan effectively address the dynamics of islamist terrorism in. Okey uzoechina, security sector reform and governance processes in west africa. Ecowas counterterrorism coordination unit hls pilac. Despite the apparent comprehensive nature of the new strategy, reactive responses continue to be. Usaidmali country development cooperation strategy 2015.
Report on the implementation of the eu counterterrorism strategy. Barakamfitiye d 20 ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan, draft. Ecowas urges implementation of counter terrorism strategy. In promoting sustained economic development of the west african region through the implementation of the community work programme, ecowas has laboured to bring about greater entrenchment of democratic culture, enhanced efficiency in dealing with conflicts, crisis prevention and resolution as witnessed in the restoration of stability to member states caught in conflict over the years. In response to the challenges of terrorism west africa is facing, ecowas developed the counter terrorism strategy and implementation plan as a means of countering terrorist activities in the region as well as putting in place large scale measures against terrorism. Agreement between ecowas member states bearing in mind the supplementary act adopting the ecowas counter terrorism strategy and ecowas political statement and common position on the fight against terrorism, signed in yamoussoukro, republic of cote divoire on 28th february 20. However, though previous forms of violence have declined, the current form of conflict nonstate terrorism is on the rise. In countries of the ecowas, namely burkina faso, senegal, ghana and ivory. Economic community of west african states ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan monitoring report for february 2016 introduction military onslaughts against jihadist across mali, nigeria, niger, cameroon and chad intensified in february 2016. Ecowas political declaration and common position against terrorism. On april 2, 2020, the governments of niger, nigeria, and chad announced a joint bombing and clearance operation to rid the lake chad region of boko haram and islamic state west african province iswap.
Mrs mabinty funna, parliamentarian representing sierra leone in the ecowas parliament, says her country is currently preoccupied with the implementation of the counterterrorism strategy of. Ecowas and the war on terrorism in west africa sage journals. This country development cooperation strategy cdcs for mali builds on usaids earlierworkwhile. Centre for democracy and development economic community of. The ecowas cts portal provides raw facts and figures about terrorism in the ecowas region.
This brief, examines challenges and prospects of the economic community of west african states ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan. The organisation said the cts, aimed at helping ecowas. Terrorist activities, particularly those that are transnational or international in nature involve several other countries. Decidesto adopt the ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation. Ecowas counterterrorism strategy tracker africa portal. With the contribution of each stakeholder, implementation of this strategy will result in sustainable, broadbased development outcomes and positive impact for. Unowas united nations office for west africa and the sahel. Geneva centre for the democratic control of armed forces. The opening presentation at the meeting provided a useful contextual framework for the participants to build upon over the course of the day. The new ecowas counter terrorism strategy and arms. International counterterrorism and counterextremism.
The previous plan of june 2005 contained 196 points. Achievements economic community of west african states. Ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan for. Despite its modest gains in this area, the capacity of the organization has been. Terrorism poses a serious threat to international peace, security and stability. The commission of the economic community of west african states ecowas and the international committee of the red cross icrc have validated the ecowas plan of action on the implementation of the international humanitarian law ihl 20192023 in a fourday consultative meeting which ended on 2 nd. Countering violent extremism in west africa and the sahel. The new eu strategy, new action plan and the future. Ecowas counter terrorism strategy implementation factsheet may 2016 report showing that 481. The ecowas commission should urgently operationalise the counterterrorism coordination unit and set up a monitoring mechanism, including log frames to keep track of states implementation of the. Ecowas counterterrorism strategy implementation plan.
Programme officer counter terrorism economic community. Ecowas counter terrorism strategy implementation plan. The united nations office for west africa and the sahel unowas, together with the economic community of west africa states ecowas commission organized a workshop to mobilize togolese stakeholders to help ensure the holding of peaceful and violencefree presidential election. This article, however, investigates the experience of the economic community of west african states ecowas in counterterrorism in west africa. Secondly, the ecowas counter terrorism strategy and implementation plan which highlights the need for member states to have a common approach in the fight against terrorism is employed. Ecowas archives united nations security council counter. The study found that a combination of factors has affected the ects implementation.
Sierra leone implementing ecowas counterterrorism strategy. Assessing the responses of the economic community of west. Decides to adopt the ecowas counter terrorism strategy and implementation plan, based on an integrated approach and which elaborates a comprehensive set of measures to be undertaken by various agencies in member states and provides a strategic policy direction towards the containment and elimination of the threat posed by terrorism to the. Ecowas, west africa, security regionalization, terrorism, drug trafficking. Oct 02, 2018 the nactest institutionalized the position of the counterterrorism center ctc within the onsas structure in order to coordinate the implementation of the national ct strategy and oversee security and intelligence operations in the country. The economic community of west african states ecowas parliament has urged memberstates to implement the counter terrorism strategy cts. It is a criminal act that undermines the pursuit of democracy, good governance and development, as well as the full enjoyment of human and peoples rights. Report on the implementation of the eu counter terrorism strategy. Ewi, the new ecowas counterterrorism strategy and its implications for west africa, institute of security studies, pretoria, march 20. The paper argues that due to the risk of west africa being infiltrated by jihadist groups, it is necessary to strengthen the counterterrorism capacity of the major regional players. Draft ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation.
Ecowas, icrc validate plan of action for implementation of. Ecowas counterterrorism strategy economic community of. Ecowas counter terrorism strategys ects implementation. May 15, 2017 the economic community of west african states ecowas parliament has urged memberstates to implement the counter terrorism strategy cts. Since its formation in 1975, the economic community of west african states ecowas has attained a mixedbag of accomplishments in the area of peace and security. Au plan of action on the prevention and combating of terrorism in africa adopted at algiers.
Secondly, it establishes the counter terrorism committee to monitor state compliance with its provisions and finally it regulates immigration law. Collectively, on 27 and 28 february 20, the new ecowas counterterrorism strategy was adopted by the authority of heads of state and government of the economic community of west african states. The operation is a response to a boko haram attack on a chadian military base that. Reaffirming our commitment to the revised ecowas treaty signed at cotonou, benin, on 24 july 1993, in particular. West african leaders have vowed to leave no stone unturned in their fight against terrorism. The united nations undersecretarygeneral for political affairs.
The operation is a response to a boko haram attack on a chadian military base that killed over 98. Reaffirming our commitment to the revised ecowas treaty signed at. The study adopted the qualitative case study research design which enabled the researcher to elicit indepth information from 12 respondents in facetoface interviews. The new ecowas counterterrorism strategy and its implications.
This measure which is constructed on three pillars namely prevent, pursue and reconstruct, contains various mechanisms such as an ecowas black list of. The new ecowas counter terrorism strategy and arms trade. On 27 and 28 february 20 this vow was embodied in the political declaration on a common position against terrorism, which included a counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan, adopted by the authority of heads of state and government of the economic community of west african states. Counter terrorism strategy and interagency coordination mechanisms needed for its effective implementation in the southern african region plenary session ii. Benin republic, for example, had no fewer than 12 heads of. In february 2014, mali and four other west african countriesmauritania, niger, chad, and burkina fasoagreed to. Ecowas adopted a counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan in reaction to the esca. Operation bomas wrath was spearheaded by chad in coordination with niger and nigeria. On 27 and 28 february 20 this vow was embodied in the political declaration on a common position against terrorism, which included a counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan, adopted by the authority of heads of state and government of the economic community of west african states ecowas at its 42nd ordinary session in. Vahyala kwaga research associate 112016 abstract africa is a continent that has experienced wideranging violence and all the continent. Transsaharan counter terrorism partnership transition objective united nations. Jan 27, 2015 ecowas developed the counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan as a means of reducing terrorism in west africa as well as implement largerscale counterterrorism measures in the region and b eyond. This paper assesses the jihadist threat in nigeria, mali, and to a smaller extent in cameroon, niger, and algeria.
May 15, 2017 mrs mabinty funna, parliamentarian representing sierra leone in the ecowas parliament, says her country is currently preoccupied with the implementation of the counter terrorism strategy of the. The european council requested regular reporting on ongoing activities in the field of combating terrorism in the eu by member states and supporting eu institutions and the implementation of the eu action plan on combating terrorism. Center for democracy and development, an assessment of the ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan abuja. Pdf can the new ecowas counterterrorism strategy and. Oct, 2014 collectively, on 27 and 28 february 20, the new ecowas counterterrorism strategy was adopted by the authority of heads of state and government of the economic community of west african states. The opening presentation at the meeting provided a useful contextual framework for the participants to.
It also intends to provide an operational policy framework for ecowas counterterrorism actions and for promoting a common regional approach to the prevention and combating of terrorism within the community. Pdf on apr 1, 2015, daniel egiegba agbiboa and others published can the new ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan effectively. Ecowas counter terrorism strategy implementation plan report. Ecowas developed the counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan as a means of reducing terrorism in west africa as well as implement largerscale counterterrorism measures in the region and b eyond. The nactest institutionalized the position of the counterterrorism center ctc within the onsas structure in order to coordinate the implementation of the national ct strategy and oversee security and intelligence operations in the country. Furthermore, the ecowas counter terrorism strategy and implementation plan contains principles that are closely related to cve principles, in that it emphasizes the primacy of prevention such as addressing conditions conducive to terrorism, promotes respect for. Achievements economic community of west african statesecowas. Counterterrorism strategy and interagency coordination mechanisms needed for its effective implementation in the southern african region plenary session ii. Furthermore, the ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan contains principles that are closely related to cve principles, in that it emphasizes the primacy of prevention such as addressing conditions conducive to terrorism, promotes respect for. The african union counter terrorism framework african. The idea is not to go over the role of ecowas with a finetooth comb but to focus attention on the themes that have emanated from its different efforts to address the problem.
Ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan. The nigerian counter terrorism strategy recognised that force alone was not enough to combat violent extremist elements in nigeria and that a multifaceted approach was required to counter the. Pdf assessing the responses of ecowas to the recurring. Willem heerbaart, ecowas headquarters, lome, togo, cc by 2. Ecowas political declaration and common position against terrorism ecowas political declaration and common position against terrorism we, the heads of state and government of the economic community of west african states ecowas. Analysis and reports ecowas counter terrorism strategy. The ecowas commission should urgently operationalise the counter terrorism coordination unit and set up a monitoring mechanism, including log frames to keep track of states implementation of the.
In response to the challenges of terrorism west africa is facing, ecowas developed the counter terrorism strategy and implementation plan. Ecowas counter terrorism strategy tracker countering. On 27 and 28 february 20 this vow was embodied in the political declaration on a common position against terrorism, which included a counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan, adopted by the authority of heads of state and government of the economic community of west african states ecowas. This resulted in the ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan. Draft ecowas counterterrorism strategy and implementation plan. On 27 and 28 february 20 this vow was embodied in the political declaration. In this brief it was argued that terrorism in west africa poses a potential regional security predicament.
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