Publication:

Communiqué of the 1279th Meeting of the Peace and Security Council, held on 14 May 2025: Discussion on Organized Transnational Crime, Peace and Security in the Sahel.

At its 1279th meeting on 14 May 2025, the AU Peace and Security Council discussed organized transnational crime in the Sahel. The Council expressed grave concern over the growing sophistication of criminal networks exploiting governance gaps and porous borders. It commended AFRIPOL for rolling out AFSECOM, forensic labs, and the Central Criminal Intelligence Analysis Unit. PSC urged member states to integrate AFRIPOL intelligence, strengthen national enforcement, and ratify relevant legal instruments. It called for coordinated responses with CISSA, INTERPOL, and UNODC, and proposed a continental mechanism to track and analyze criminal flows. Addressing root causes like poverty and governance deficits was emphasized, and a joint AU study on Sahel crime dynamics was requested. The PSC remains actively seized of the matter.