Photo: (from left to right), Prof. Rachid ID YASSINE (LASPAD), Prof. Mame Penda BA (LASPAD), Mr. Holger GRIMM (FES PSCC), Mr. Alfred GOMIS (WANEP Senegal)
Fragile countries with uneven political developments, extroverted and poorly redistributive economies despite strong growth potential, Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau face hybrid insecurities and diverse known and emerging threats. These are particularly acute in cross-border areas and spread from one country to another, playing on weaknesses of all kinds. Whether it is drug trafficking, trafficking in persons (especially children, women and migrants), the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, environmental crimes, terrorism, etc., we are dealing with cross-cutting and common issues that make multilateral cooperation the sine qua non for efficient treatment. Indeed, taken in isolation, these three countries are struggling to resolve these issues effectively and sustainably. Thus, the workshop aimed to set up a group of experts to produce a relevant, useful and innovative research programme centred on citizen control of public security action in the Senegalese region.
This meeting was attended by some thirty experts from Senegal, Gambia, Morocco, Tunisia and France. The latter were representatives of non-state and international institutions (NGOs and CSOs), members of the defence and security forces, as well as thematic experts and academics. They discussed and shared their experiences on the common security challenges facing these three countries, with a focus on strengthening the citizen dimension of security sector governance.
The debates that followed allowed for constructive and fruitful exchanges. Indeed, among the recommendations, the following were highlighted:
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