The West Africa Security Project (WASP), a collaborative effort between the World Customs Organization (WCO) Secretariat and six West African Customs administrations, is set to conclude on 31 December 2024. The initiative, which has focused on enhancing security capacity in the region, is drawing to a close after several years of impactful work.
Launched on 15 March 2021, WASP is a two-phase project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office’s Enable and Enhance Initiative (E2I), with support from the German Central Customs Authority. The E2I is part of Germany’s broader commitment to supporting security sector reform in partner countries.
The WASP initially partnered with the Member Customs administrations of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo, in two project components focused on security and gender equality and diversity (GED). Following a six-month diagnostic phase conducted in 2021, which identified the activities to be delivered during the Project, the delivery phase commenced in October 2022. It was subsequently extended by 12-months from 1 January 2024 and expanded to include the Customs administrations of Benin and Nigeria, with the Gambia also being included in the GED component.
The security component of the project focused on the risks associated with the significant volumes of sea cargo moving through the Gulf of Guinea ports, including goods that are subsequently shipped in transit to hinterland countries. The Project adopted a holistic approach to building capacity in the risk assessment and inspection processes for the detection of specific goods that may create a security threat. There was a particular focus on precursor chemicals and components used to manufacture Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) and their parts.
The Project also aimed to enhance the Members’ capability to maintain effective border controls in fragile and conflict-affected border areas, with an activity to develop capability to use Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) to identify and treat the risks from trade that occurs through unofficial or illegal border crossings. The GEOINT activity, which is also a part of the WCO Fragile Borders Action Plan, was jointly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and delivered in conjunction with the WCO/JICA Joint Project.
The GED component of the WASP focused on the implementation of gender responsive and inclusive policies and practices, and how this can be promoted both in Customs internal policies related to human resource management, as well as in external policies with a specific focus on security matters in border operations and in relations with stakeholders.
The activities delivered under both components of the WASP were designed to deliver sustainable capability improvements through the inclusion of training material into national curricula, the accreditation and recognition of experts and the adoption of GED action plans. The two components of the Project also collaborated with partners to ensure that capacity building activities funded by other donors in the beneficiary countries were aligned and complementary.
The beneficiary Customs administrations actively participated in evaluation meetings with the Project team and the donor on 28 and 29 November 2024. They noted that the Project had achieved its goals of increasing their Administrations’ overall security capability and increased awareness among their officials of their role in relation to security. They also noted the increased recognition of the importance of gender equality and diversity as a means of enhancing Customs overall capacities and effectiveness as a direct result of the Project.
The outcomes achieved by the WASP would not have been possible without the strong support of the donor and the engagement and active participation of the participating Member Customs administrations. They will also have broader benefits, as the tools and training material developed during the Project will be available to support other Members of the WCO.
The WCO Secretariat looks forward to continuing the excellent collaboration that has achieved these outcomes and continuing to support Members in strengthening their capability in the important areas of security and GED. For more information, please contact wcosecurityprogramme(at)wcoomd.org or capacity.building(at)wcoomd.org.