The ECOWAS Commission is deploying action to strengthen its fight against crime. Through its Early Warning Directorate (EWD), the ECOWAS Commission is hosting a Human Security Thematic Workshop on Crime and Criminality in Dakar, Senegal on the 21st to 24th of October, 2025.

The workshop aims to equip the crime and criminality experts supported by NCCRM Its with advanced skills to identify, analyse, and mitigate the growing threats of personal safety, transnational organized crime including trafficking in Persons, drugs and arms trafficking, and gender-based sexual violence. It also aims to introduce participants to the use of AI. These criminal activities pose a significant threat to peace, stability, and economic development within ECOWAS Member states.

H.E. Madam Damtien L. TCHINTCHIBIDJA, Vice President of the Commission represented by Ambassador Zelma Nobre FASSINOU ECOWAS Resident Representative in Senegal stated that regular crime assessments reveal strong growth in the illicit economies in almost all countries in the region. It also show that criminal actors have gained a foothold in a constantly changing environment, largely characterised by new conflicts, political instability and growing economic inequalities. The porosity of borders and the transnational nature of organised crime further complicate the situation.

While opening offically the workshop, Mr Babacar BA, Director of African Integration and Panafricanism represented by Mr Mamadou Moustapha SECK, Deputy Coordinator of ECOWAS National Office highlighted the importance of alert and response mechanisms in anticipating and preventing human insecurity and lessen post conflict reactions in Member states and the ECOWAS region at large. He took the opportunity to emphasize that Senegal is on the right track and will soon open its National Center.

Participants include representatives from National Centres for Early Warning and Response Mechanisms, the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), relevant ECOWAS departments, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).

The workshop further includes a comprehensive curriculum divided into nine (9) modules that cover topics such as the nexus between crime and conflict, the challenges of combating crime sustainably, geo-spatial analysis, mapping of transnational organized crime typologies, the use of AI in Early Warning and brainstorming sessions on joint analytical products and the role of National Centres for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanisms.

The workshop emphasizes practical learning through discussions, simulations, and group exercises. It is designed to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange for a more coordinated regional approach to crime prevention and response.