Within a few years, cyberthreats have become a major geopolitical issue and a growing concern for many States. However, the West African context and the pressing threats to territorial integrity in the Sahel region have delayed the awareness in the sub-region, so that the policy concerns have been mostly limited to the fight against cybercrime. In the context of the rapid digital growth in West African States, this note analyses the diverse implications of cyberspace in terms of security and sovereignty. This work is partially based on interviews and fieldworks conducted in Senegal, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger.

Crédit photo : câbles sous-marins en Afrique (Creative Commons)

This quarterly monitoring, published by GRIP since 2011, aims to monitor the security situation in West Africa with a focus on Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal. It examines in particular broad internal security issues, regional tensions, and cross-border and transnational crimes.

Photo credit: ICRC vehicles convoy in the Tombuctu region - CC BY-NC-ND / CICR / Sidi B. Diarra

This quarterly monitoring, published by GRIP since 2011, aims to monitor the security situation in West Africa with a focus on Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal. It examines in particular broad internal security issues, regional tensions, and cross-border and transnational crimes.

Crédit photo : UN Photo/Gema Cortes

The prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is one of the fundamental rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 5). However, it is only recently that concrete measures have been taken in order to address the trade of torture or execution goods. This note traces recent developments regarding the measures to control the trade of this type of goods, and questions their relevance and effectiveness at the UN, European and Belgian levels.

Crédit photo : Omega Research Foundation

The Commission's proposal to create the European Defence Fund (EDF) in 2016 was greeted with contrasted reactions. A group of analysts strongly supports the EDF initiative and understands it as a step toward a more integrated European arms markets and defence policies, while another group fiercely opposes the EDF on the grounds of it is mainly a large subsidy to arms producers without a clear connection to the European integration project. In order to clarify the terms of the debate, this paper analyses the EDF governance. It claims that the main weakness of the Fund’s governance lies in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU which now should be now reformed.

Crédit photo : char Léopard au salon Eurosatory de l'armement terrestre à Paris (Benjamin Vokar/GRIP/2014)