Cross Border Crimes and the Need for Effective Engagement with Women and Youth at the Border-Communities
African Young People Support Centre / African Smart Cities Innovation Foundation / AU-ECOSOCC Workshop
Tuesday 25th April 2023 : 9:30am – 12:30pm
The African Young People Support Centre (AYPSC) and African Smart Cities Innovation Foundation (ASCIF) are both Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) registered and in Nigeria with aims objectives of supporting and promoting economic growth and sustainable development in Nigeria and across Africa continent.
A large percent of cross-border traders, especially those engaged in informal trade, are women. Understanding their needs and giving them a platform to speak at this Side-Event is incredibly important. The youth are Africa’s largest composite of human capital. As the youngest continent, Africa needs to invest in ensuring that its youth have credible pathways to engage in productive activities so that they may reap the promise of their dreams and become architects of their own prosperity rather than committing crimes at the borders.
The Workshop will be highly interactive and will be centred on a meaningful dialogue between policy/decision makers, agencies of government, civil society members, and stakeholders active at the forefront of addressing Border and Communities development.
We will examine the high rate of people, especially the young, who engage in the border crimes and illegal trades, likewise the resultant effect of this crimes on their immediate community and society at large, while focusing especially on how if affects children and women who are most at the receiving end of the negative impact.
This Workshop will further look at the challenges of appropriate mechanism in the West Africa sub-region to monitor cross border crimes within the region. Some of these criminal activities manifest in the form of illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons/ammunitions, trafficking in human beings especially women and children, smuggling of drugs, cattle rustling, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed robbery, ‘419’ activities, and attack by the Boko Haram insurgents. The existence of these criminal activities poses serious challenges for countries in the sub-region. Such challenges include lapses in national security apparatuses and the criminal justice system, uncoordinated state security agencies, weak collaborative efforts, and legal regulatory frameworks.
The Workshop will also engage on what the AfCFTA means to Africa’s women and youth exporters and how they can be best supported to utilise opportunities in intra-African trade in reducing illegal trading and crime at the border. It will also address the informality of regional trade which is dominated by women and youth that face significant barriers to trading across borders.
Workshop Time
Tuesday 25th April 2023 : 9.30am – 12:30pm
Delegates of the World Border Security Congress are entitled to participate in this African Young People Support Centre (AYPSC) and African Smart Cities Innovation Foundation (ASCIF) Workshop.
Register online at www.world-border-congress.com/registration