The Greater Sahel region is faced with major problems of instability, marked by intercommunity violence, Jihadist insurgencies and growing frustration among people who suffer from limited access to basic services.
The permeability of borders contributes to this security situation and facilitates the expansion of terrorist and organised crime networks based on human trafficking and the trafficking of many goods (weapons, medicines, drugs). Combating these forms of transnational crime requires an effective and coordinated judicial response. In a context where suspects, victims, evidence, witnesses, experts and the proceeds of crime are to be found across borders, it is essential to develop and strengthen legal cooperation mechanisms.
With the BEPI Sahel project, Expertise France, with financing from Agence Française de Développement and at the request of its partners, is assisting the Ministries of Justice and operators involved in the cooperation process for criminal matters in six countries in the region (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal).
The crimes and offences committed in the Sahel often involve suspects, victims or witnesses of different nationalities, as well as long and complex investigations covering several countries.
The first stage of the BEPI Sahel project involves strengthening the services and operators responsible for international legal cooperation in each of the six countries. The objective is to improve the handling of criminal affairs with an international dimension. It currently involves establishing the technical and legal basis for sustainable cooperation structures for criminal matters in each country, called Offices of International Cooperation on Criminal Matters (OICCM).
Based on the recommendations and action plans developed by national working groups, the project team is working on specifying the organisation of these entities, prior to supporting their operationalisation. The services will be equipped and appropriate tools will be developed (database of national, regional and international texts, handbooks and practical guides). The members of these newly institutionalised services will receive training and ongoing support to manage the change.
The project will subsequently focus on creating links between all these structures in order to facilitate regional cooperation and develop a real dynamic between the operators. This requires having a good understanding of the offices in the other countries and trusting interpersonal relationships.
The activities developed will aim to create these links by organising regional meetings and discussion seminars and will propose ways of interconnecting the services. Extensive awareness-raising campaigns will also be conducted for the general public on the importance of legal cooperation and the role of victims and witnesses in the fight against impunity.
