The Intergovernmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa in partnership with the ECOWAS Center for Gender Development (CCDG) are organizing the 3rd Joint GIABA/CCDG Regional Workshop on Gender and Youth Dimensions financial and Cross-Border crime in WestAfrica, from December 5 to 7, 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
For a long time, financial crimes and their ramifications, including money laundering, terrorist financing, violent extremism, radicalism, drug trafficking and cybercrime, have been exclusively male-dominated domains.
However, in recent years, women and young people have become increasingly involved in financial criminal activities, both as active participants and as victims.
This new situation makes transnational organized economic and financial crime, which has become widespread, more complex.
In response to this emerging issue and in accordance with their respective mandates, GIABA and the CCDG have decided to join their efforts in a synergy of action to tackle the gender and youth dimensions of transnational organized economic and financial crime in the ECOWAS region.
These include money laundering, radicalism, violent extremism, cybercrime, drug and human trafficking.
This workshop follows two (2) joint GIABA CCDG regional workshops on the same theme organized in Accra, Ghana, from August 28 to 30, 2017 and in Saly- Portudal, Senegal, from December 17 to 19, 2018.
The first two workshops led to relevant results:
The adoption of a communiqué with recommendations to the governments and authorities of the Member States as well as to the ECOWAS Commission, with a view to taking the political, legislative and regulatory measures needed to combat the growing threat of transnational organized economic and financial crime in West Africa, a critical analysis of the progress made in the fight against transnational organized economic and financial crime in West Africa, the challenges encountered in the said process and to the necessary measures to be taken to considerably reduce the growing trend of economic and financial crime in the region.
It also launched the process of developing an action plan that will provide the framework for a more comprehensive and sustainable approach to addressing the complexities of the gender and youth dimensions of transnational organized economic and financial crime in the region.
Thus, this Abidjan workshop will bring together representatives of the relevant sectoral ministries of the 15 ECOWAS Member States, including the Ministries of Gender, Finance, Justice and Security/Interior, Civil Society Organizations, ECOWAS institutions/agencies and development partners.
It will contribute to defining a comprehensive framework for integrating gender and youth perspectives in the fight against transnational organized economic and financial crime and related issues in the ECOWAS zone.
The workshop will also facilitate, among other things:
(i) the sharing of knowledge, experiences and good practices on the integration of gender and youth issues in policies, strategies and programs aimed at combating economic and financial crime and related issues,
(ii) build consensus on perspectives in defining key strategic and operational gender and youth issues and mechanisms that are relevant to the fight againsteconomic and financialcrime and related issuesinthe areaECOWAS; and (iii) adopt aregional action plan on mainstreaming gender and youth perspectives in the fight against economic and financial crime in West Africa, including money laundering, radicalism, violent extremism and cyber fraud.
It is expected from this meeting in Abidjan, the adoption of a regional action plan on the integration of gender and youth perspectives in the fight against transnational economic and financial crime in West Africa.
For more information contact: abidjan@giaba.org or (+225)0707933338/ (+225)0758177749
