The West Africa Coast Initiative is an attempt from the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
to combat the fight against drug trafficking and
transnational organized crime
Transnational organized crime (TOC) is organized crime coordinated transnational crime, across national borders, involving groups or markets of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures. In ord ...
in West Africa. Initially,
* ,
*,
*
* and
Côte d’Ivoire,
where $1 billion worth of cocaine is trafficked annually, are the first to accept and join the initiative; perhaps {{flag, Guinea will join later. In some nations in the area, which are amongst the poorest in the world, drug trafficking profits actually outweigh the GDP. The Initiative will cover law enforcement, intelligence gathering, border management and corruption, among other crime prevention elements.
Plans
The initiative will address and resolve poorly defined national boundaries, and attempt to stop corruption, as both of these conditions make it easy for traffickers to smuggle their goods. Other items covered by the initiative include the stop of illegal toxic waste exports from Europe. The revenue from 45,000,000 fake anti-malarial pills, worth nearly $450 million, is greater than Guinea-Bissau’s GDP, while profits generated by cigarette smuggling, with a $775 million price tag, are more than
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
’s entire GDP.
The UN has appealed for short-term technical and financial assistance to West Africa to help the region regain control of its air, sea and land space, and views long-term development assistance as the best safeguard against narcotics-trafficking and the creation of drug-dependent economies. Oil theft, or “bunkering”, in the
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...
is a key driver of pollution, as well as political instability, and the West Africa Coast Initiative will provide technical assistance to address it. In
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, 55 million barrels of oil a year (a tenth of their entire production) are lost through theft and smuggling. Oil bunkering is a source of pollution, corruption, and revenue for insurgents and criminal groups, particularly in the Niger Delta.
Partner organizations
The West Africa Coast Initiative is a collaboration of the
*UN Office on Drugs and Crime (
UNODC
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
)
*The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (
DPKO
The Department of Peace Operations (DPO) (French: ''Département des opérations de maintien de la paix'') is a department of the United Nations charged with the planning, preparation, management and direction of UN peacekeeping operations. Pre ...
)
*The UN Department of Political Affairs/UN Office for West Africa (
DPA/UNOWA)
*
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political union, political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an ...
(ECOWAS) and
*Interpol.
Other information
According to the UNODC, organized crime in West Africa is beginning to subside.
![Drugtrade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Drugtrade.png)
Only the major trading routes are shown, but there are many more in different areas in the world for different drugs. This map only shows the trading routes of cocaine, the most frequently trafficked drug in West Africa.
References
UNmultimediaAnother UN press release
Crime in Africa
Drug control law
Drug control law enforcement agencies
2009 in Africa
21st-century crimes in Africa