Counter-Terrorism and Border Management in Africa

Despite the efforts of Member States in Africa to strengthen border security, a number of countries continue to face challenges. With terrorism and violent extremism spreading across parts of the African continent, including through the movement of foreign terrorist fighters, the United Nations Security Council has emphasized the need for stronger border security and management.

Between 2018 and 2023, CTED conducted assessment visits on behalf of the Counter-Terrorism Committee in 15 African Member States: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.

These, and other assessment visits, offer an essential tool for the Counter-Terrorism Committee to remain in open dialogue with Member States, particularly as terrorism threats evolve. The Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) conducts these visits on the Committee’s behalf to assess Member States’ counter-terrorism efforts, including progress made, remaining shortfalls, and priority areas for technical assistance needs, as well as to identify terrorism-related trends and challenges and good practices employed in the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.

Based on the reports from these 15 assessment visits CTED today published two new interlinked Trends Alerts, each summarizing key challenges and recommendations related to border management in Africa.