The Senegalese government and the European Union (EU) launched, Thursday in Dakar, phase 2 of the “Joint Operational Partnership” (POC 2) program aimed at consolidating the fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking. human being.
“In its thematic approach, POC 2 thus covers a broad spectrum of actions and activities affecting various areas of transnational organized crime, but modeled on the security needs of Senegal,” declared the Senegalese Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Jean Baptiste Tine, during the launching ceremony of this program, held in the presence of the EU Ambassador to Dakar, Jean Marc Pisani, and security officials.
He added that the security challenges facing Senegal today are multiple and multifaceted, emphasizing the prevention and fight against terrorism, the fight against irregular migration, the fight against drug trafficking, fight against human trafficking, border protection and the fight against all other types of illicit trafficking (medicines, circulation of small arms and light weapons, money laundering, etc.)
Faced with these multiple challenges, Senegal has adopted “the strategy of prevention and anticipation” which, until now, has made it possible to curb the effects and undesirable manifestations of all these scourges, said the official, urging the defense and security forces to be fully involved in all activities planned under POC 2.
POC 2 will be implemented until November 2026 and will focus on three areas, namely “strengthening the skills of specialized security forces or those stationed on the borders in the detection of trafficking, cross-border intelligence and the securing of border areas”, declared the EU ambassador to Dakar, Jean Marc Pisani.
The program plans to “consolidate the capacities of the Security Forces and institutional actors in the fight against migrant trafficking, human trafficking and the consideration of victims in Senegal,” he explained.
It also aims to “support the criminal justice system in Senegal by supporting the training of magistrates and judicial police officers in the areas of terrorism and organized crime”, among others.
”Fighting migrant smuggling and human trafficking is of paramount importance for several reasons. First, it helps protect the fundamental rights of individuals, particularly the most vulnerable, who are often exploited and mistreated by criminal networks. Then, this fight contributes to maintaining the security and stability of societies by reducing transnational criminal activities, taking into account the context of insecurity which prevails in the sub-region,” said the EU ambassador.
By putting an end to these practices, the EU wants to promote legal and orderly migratory flows, beneficial for the economic and social development of countries of origin, transit and destination, noted Jean-Marc Pisani.
