Cross border criminality in West Africa: Framework and limits of regional strategies

In a changing regional context, facing multifaceted risks, West Africa has become one of the centers of the global organized crime. Taking advantage of the weakness of the rule of law and of an acute poverty in some countries, organized trafficking networks multiply illegal activities (arms and gems smuggling, drugs, etc.) in border areas poorly managed by the state apparatus. The countries of the subregion have yet developed in recent years a set of legal instruments and control strategies that could be relevant if they were properly implemented.