Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Thank you for coming to this High-Level Donor Conference.
Your presence confirms the commitment of the international community to supporting security and stability in West Africa, based on our shared responsibility.
Not a day goes by without fresh evidence of how organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism harm and hinder the lives and future of people in West Africa.
The appalling kidnappings in Chibok and relentless terrorist attacks in the region are a wake-up call and a call to action.
The pledge by West African leaders at the Paris Summit last weekend to join forces to combat the threat posed by Boko Haram is a very important step.
UNODC fully supports the efforts of the Secretary General's High-Level Representative, Said Djinnit, to provide integrated UN assistance for Nigeria.
But we must do more.
As a matter of urgency, we must tackle the nefarious links between organized crime and terrorism.
Criminal networks are providing significant support to terrorist activities, and West Africa and the Sahel are no exception.
A number of research initiatives are underway to explore the links between organized crime and terrorism in the region.
West Africa remains vulnerable to these threats due to a number of complex and inter-linked challenges, including political instability, corruption, porous borders, and overstretched law enforcement and criminal justice systems.
These vulnerabilities can be exploited as opportunities by terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, the criminals are fuelling corruption and obstructing progress, despite strong economic growth and the hard-won achievements of democratically elected governments.
This is why we cannot hope to promote the security and development of the region without confronting the nexus of drugs, crime and terrorism.
First and foremost, West Africa remains a critical region in the global drug trade.
The flow of cocaine through the region from Latin America to Europe remains a significant threat.
The amount of heroin trafficked into West Africa is also on the rise.
Only recently, Pakistani authorities seized some 126 kilos of heroin destined for West Africa.
Crystalline methamphetamine seized in East Asia has been found to have originated in West Africa.
Production in the region is thriving, with 1,250 kilos of amphetamine seized in Côte d'Ivoire in 2013, and 227 kilos seized in Nigeria between June 2012 and July 2013.
Trafficking of ephedrine, a chemical precursor for making methamphetamine, is a further source of concern.
Liberia and Benin reported 870 kilos of seizures in 2013 and 2014. Moreover, substantial quantities of legally imported ephedrine are suspected of being diverted .
Pharmaceuticals are also being diverted for illicit use. Tramadol abuse is believed to have skyrocketed, particularly in the Sahel region, where it is easily accessible on the black market for little money.
The increase in local drug use - cannabis, but also crack cocaine, heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants - threatens public health and safety, with the number of new HIV infections attributed to injecting drug use on the rise.
The prevalence of fraudulent medicines in the region also poses a serious health threat.
Furthermore, we are seeing increasing incidences of migrant smuggling, trafficking in persons, firearms, wildlife and flora, cigarettes and gasoline; illegal fishing and maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
UNODC, DPKO, DPA/UNOWA and INTERPOL launched the West Africa Coast Initiative in 2009 to support national and regional efforts to address these threats.
In coordination with ECOWAS, WACI aims to support the most vulnerable West African countries, namely Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone, through multi-agency Transnational Crime Units.
The TCUs help to enhance national enforcement and justice institutions, and improve national, regional and international cooperation.
In Liberia and Sierra Leone, TCUs are fully operational and have helped to increase seizures as well as arrests and convictions of criminals.
The TCU in Guinea Bissau is being built up, and in Côte d'Ivoire, WACI partners are supporting the national authorities in establishing a legal basis for the creation of a TCU in the country.
Ladies and gentlemen,
WACI has proven effective in helping to address the threats of illicit drug trafficking and organized crime. We need your further support to build on this progress.
Among the States and partners represented today, a number have already offered significant contributions. I would like to express our collective appreciation for your help.
The total budget of the newly streamlined WACI regional project is USD 13.7 million, of which USD 11.9 million remain to be raised.
I hope we can count on your further mobilization and generous support in this important effort.
We simply cannot afford to stand by while drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism devastate this already vulnerable region, and threaten international peace and security.
Thank you.