African leaders work on unified plan to fighting terrorism, crime

2009-06-18

Security experts from 53 African countries are meeting in Algiers to develop a continent-wide approach to fighting terrorism, organised crime and human trafficking.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 18/06/09

[File] African leaders are meeting in Algiers to lay out an action plan to combat terrorist financing.

In the coming weeks, African heads of state are expected to sign an agreement to ban the financing of terrorism, particularly through ransom payments made to terrorist groups holding hostages. This new measure should add to the legal weaponry put in place by the African Union to fight terrorism.

The African Centre for Studies and Research on Terrorism (CAERT) kicked off a three-day meeting in Algiers on Wednesday (June 17th) to prepare a 2010-2013 action plan, in the presence of the UN anti-terrorism co-ordinator, the European co-ordinator, and Algerian accredited military attachés.

The conference comes in the wake of the slaying of British hostage Edwin Dyer by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), an act condemned by both the Maghreb and international communities.

Terrorism is the primary threat to the African continent's security and stability, said CAERT Director Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, ever since the GSPC allied itself with al-Qaeda and deployed across the Sahel countries.

Then there is drug trafficking, which has transformed the region from a transit area into a consumer market. Other issues include piracy in Somalia, and also in the Gulf of Guinea and the Niger Delta, in addition to recurrent conflicts in Darfur, North Kivu and Somalia. The problems connected with the proliferation of small arms and people trafficking were also raised.

"The continent wants to find an answer to these threats, by setting up an alert system and laying the foundations for peace and security," said Diarra. "The Algiers meeting will be an opportunity to examine... the difficulties they have encountered on the ground, with a view to preparing the 2010-2013 action plan."

Gilles de Kerchove, counter-terrorism co-ordinator with the European Union, reiterated the EU's support for the efforts made by the African Union in the fight against terrorism. He reminded attendees that his organisation has already contributed one million euros to help the CAERT, and will help further once the institution states its precise mission and requirements.

De Kerchove also outlined the European strategy for stamping out terrorism, a legal approach founded on the rule of law and respect for human rights.

He also mentioned the problems of getting the various security services involved in the fight against terrorism to work together.

His counterpart at the United Nations, Mike Smith, said that 24 UN agencies aid in the fight against terrorism, and not only in providing equipment or training police officers. Its first aim is to establish a worldview that defines and delegitimizes terrorism.

Since terrorism is a cross-border phenomenon, Smith continued, it can best be tackled through international agreements. He said the UN is ready to lend support in the form of technical expertise, and expressed his wish to see relations between his own institution and the CAERT strengthened.

Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, Peace and Security Commissioner for the African Union, recalled how the African heads of state met in Algiers in 1999 to adopt the anti-terrorism convention. He said that a draft bill on preventing terrorist financing will be put before a meeting of member states in a few months' time.

Lamamra said the AU adopted a treaty declaring Africa a nuclear weapon-free zone, to dissuade terrorist groups from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Similarly, he reminded those present that Africa had signed up to the convention on chemical weapons.

Algerian presidential adviser Rezzag Bara shared some of his country's experiences in fighting terrorism.

"Algeria has built up its own experience and in-depth knowledge of the problem," he said, "[equipping] itself with the political and operational means needed to reduce terrorism's capacity to cause harm."

Despite these efforts, Rezzag said, "terrorism is still able to adapt".

He described the need for a global need for reconciliation, which he called "the political dimension of the fight against terrorism".

"The ideological dimension, represented by indoctrination and the manipulation of religious teaching in order to recruit more terrorists, must be stamped out," he concluded.