
In a report released on Friday, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) emphasized the critical need for immediate measures to dismantle drug trafficking networks exacerbating instability across Africa’s Sahel region.
The UNODC highlighted the concerning situation in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where military governance prevails and armed factions hold significant territorial control. According to the report, the prevalent weak enforcement of law facilitates the expansion of the drug trade, thereby furnishing financial support for sustaining or escalating conflicts.
Leonardo Santos Simao, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, stressed the imperative for regional states and the international community to collaborate urgently and comprehensively in dismantling entrenched drug trafficking networks embedded within local governments and elites.
The porous borders in these nations serve as primary transit routes for narcotics originating from the Gulf of Guinea ports, traversing the trans-Saharan corridor towards the Mediterranean and Europe. Additionally, recent years have witnessed an emergence of drug consumption within the region.
The UNODC identified a broad spectrum of individuals, including political figures, community leaders, and armed group leaders, as facilitators of drug trafficking. This involvement enables armed factions to sustain their participation in conflicts, particularly through arms procurement.
Moreover, the UNODC noted that traffickers utilize their profits to infiltrate various levels of governmental structures, effectively shielding themselves from prosecution.
Cannabis resin constitutes the most intercepted drug in Sahel countries, followed by cocaine and pharmaceutical opioids. Notably, cocaine seizures experienced a significant surge in 2022, as highlighted by the UNODC.
The UN underscored the diverse involvement of armed criminal groups, separatists, jihadists, or regime affiliates in drug trafficking across the Sahel region.