Join us for the launch of a new report on the state of play on organized crime in Mali, Niger, Chad, western Sudan, southern Algeria and southern Libya, published by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, organized crime in the Maghreb-Sahel emerged as a major factor exacerbating violence, corrupting peace processes and undermining weak and fledgling states in the region. The Libyan revolution and its spill over effect in neighbouring territories all the way from Sudan to Chad, Niger and Mali is the clearest example. In Mali massive transfers of weapons and battle-hardened Tuareg fighters returning from the Libyan conflict ignited a war in the country’s north and created the conditions for a proliferation of trafficking trades, which the neighbouring Algerian state has been struggling to contain. Rebel and mercenary groups from Sudan, the north of Chad and Niger consolidated their power and reach through the acquisition of arms and territorial control, which in some cases they then leveraged to enter more forcefully in lucrative trafficking trades involving arms drugs and people.

In spite of this bird’s eye view picture, conflict and instability have also undermined criminal enterprise. The Trans-Saharan route moving South American narcotics all the way across the Sahara en route to Europe and Egypt declined over the past years and one of the primary culprits has been the instability caused by conflict and a proliferation of banditry at various points along this established trafficking route. This event will share insights from the report and facilitate a conversation with the panel and the audience on the dynamics of organized crime in the Sahel.

Panel: 

Mr. Mark Micallef, Senior Fellow, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Ms. Garima Bhatnagar, Inspector General of Police, Chief of Mission Management and Support Section, Police Division, OROLSI

Mr. Raouf Farrah, Senior Analyst, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

Chair:

Mr. Mark Shaw, Director, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime

RSVP: Theresa Hume theresa.hume@globalinitiative.net

Picture credits: UN Photo/Marco Dormino An aerial view of settlements in desert area surrounding Timbuktu, Mali.