African Member States continue to encounter persistent and critical challenges with detecting and interdicting the movement of terrorists and other individuals involved in serious crimes across the continent who exploit gaps and vulnerabilities in operational capabilities including decentralized and non-interoperable border management systems, as well as limited regional integration and cooperation which has enabled adversaries to attack transport infrastructure, transport illicit good across national borders and establish vast supply chain networks to facilitate terrorist or serious criminal activities across the continent.
Leveraging the ‘All-of-UN’ expertise, methodologies, achievements and complimenting existing programmatic activity, the new and innovative Countering Terrorism in Travel and Transport in Africa Project seeks to create synergies to comprehensively address the entire spectrum of threats to and through transport systems to support Member States at the national and regional levels to address existing vulnerabilities across the spectrum of travel and transportation security.
Over a five-year period, timeline, the Project will:
- Expand the existing regional IWG network in Africa to include the establishment of an Informal Working Group (IWG) for East Africa Member States respectively, focused on bringing together the Heads of PIUs and National Coordinators; expansion and growth of IWG network will include support for both virtual and in-person meetings.
- Support to expand the scope of the established IWGs in Africa to enable awareness-raising activities on threat assessments for aviation as well as addressing threats within other modes (maritime, land/road, rail).
- Establishment of a Continent Wide (CW) IWG for addressing terrorist threats to travel and transport, to include a high-level summit/meeting in coordination with the African Union
The Project will develop and strengthen the capacity of Member States across Africa to comply with international obligations relating to API/PNR, aviation security and international cooperation to counter terrorism. The IWGs will effectively serve as a platform for experts to share best practices, work collectively towards a safer and more secure travel and transportation ecosystem by addressing the entire spectrum of threats with a specific focus on preventing and countering terrorist travel.
- IWG Member States in Africa are able to strengthen their national, regional and continental capacity to identify and prevent terrorists and organized criminal groups move across borders undetected; understand the complexity of establishing operational API and PNR systems; and to enhance the capacities to identify and proactively address emerging trends in criminal or extremist activity
- Participating Member States in Africa will have mechanisms in place for systematic inter-agency cooperation, as well as international cooperation; and
- Ultimately, participating Member States in Africa will establish sustainable capacities to efficiently detect and prevent terrorist movements and threats as well as serious crimes across borders and against aviation, maritime, road, and rail modes.