Let’s talk Counterterrorism – Building a Network to defeat a Network

Given the steady increase in terrorism-related violence in West Africa, the cross-border nature of the threat and the destabilizing effects on the entire region, no one country can tackle terrorist threats alone. What we need is trustful and strong international cooperation – and Germany is playing an active part in that.

The terrorist threat in West Africa has escalated significantly over the past decade, with violent extremism and terrorism expanding rapidly across the region. From 2019 to 2023, there was a 114% increase in security incidents, primarily due to terrorist attacks, resulting in a sharp rise in civilian casualties. This surge in terrorism not only disrupts local economies and displaces populations but it also undermines regional political stability and cross-border cooperation.

Against this backdrop, Germany and Algeria have been co-chairing the West Africa Capacity Building Working Group (WA WG) within the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) since 2019. Here, the co-chairs provide a venue to identify capacity building needs specific to the West African region and focus on the criminal justice responses to terrorism, thereby creating impact while observing human rights and the rule of law.

The strategy is inclusive and builds on a bottom-up approach with strong regional ownership. This means Germany listens closely to its West African partners during the theme-specific regional meetings, engages in discussions as well as thorough analysis regarding capacity needs. The results of these meetings are fed directly into the UNODC implemented support program, which includes tailormade trainings for practitioners. Through this inclusive approach, the regional identification with the support program – especially on a community level – has proven to be successful in preventing and countering violent extremism. 

The overall objective remains: defeating the menace of terrorism together. In other words, in order to defeat a network, one must first build a network.