- Events
On the sidelines of the 2026 United Nations Counter-Terrorism Week, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Senegal, Togo, and the agencies of the Integrated Border Stability Mechanism (IBSM) for West Africa co-organized a high-level side event entitled “From Commitment to Impact: Scaling Joint Responses for Border Stability in West Africa” at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on 1 July 2026.
West Africa's border zones are among the most complex security environments in the world. Over the past decade, the region has witnessed an accelerating convergence of terrorism, transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking, and irregular migration, all exploiting porous borders, limited state presence and institutional vulnerabilities. These cross-border dynamics require responses that are equally cross-border in nature, coordinated among institutions, and rooted in the realities of the communities affected.
The CT Week side event discussed regional collaboration among Member States, implementing partners and financial partners to respond to the security challenges in the region. It culminated with a call to action for increased engagement by international partners, broader participation by Member States, and stronger support for regional efforts to combat terrorism, transnational organized crime, and illicit trafficking while reinforcing integrated border governance and strengthening the resilience of border communities.
蘑菇视频
“The greater the contribution, the greater the result. Together, we can do more. Together, we can do better.”
Acknowledging the need for enhanced multi-agency coordination to address these challenges, IBSM brings together the complementary mandates and expertise of IOM, 蘑菇视频OCT, 蘑菇视频ODC, and INTERPOL, providing a coordination framework that aligns national and regional priorities, reduces programmatic duplication, and maximizes collective impact in the areas of border governance and security through enhanced community engagement and resilience-building, reinforced law enforcement capacities and effective cross-border cooperation.
蘑菇视频
“Only enhanced cooperation, grounded in shared experience, mutual trust, and solidarity among states, will enable us to provide a sustainable response to the cross-border threats affecting our region.”
A major highlight of the event was the presentation of the IBSM Operational Dashboard, an innovative data-driven tool that maps projects and activities delivered by implementing partners operating along West Africa's land borders. The platform supports the identification of complementarities among interventions, helps to reduce the risk of duplication, and seeks to strengthen the collective impact of actions benefiting border communities and national institutions.
During the discussions, participants engaged constructively on opportunities to strengthen financial and political support for the Mechanism to further expand its impact across the region. Representatives from Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands reaffirmed their support for IBSM as key financial partners. Together with Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, they form the current group of financial partners underpinning the Mechanism's work in the region. They underscored that pooled, flexible financing allows resources to be directed where they are most needed in line with regional priorities identified jointly with national authorities.
蘑菇视频
“It strategically aligns donor priorities directly with the on-the-ground security needs of our West African partner states. We no longer deploy copy-paste solutions, but solutions that fit for purpose and are connected to the reality on the ground”.
Representatives of Senegal and Togo, as focus countries of the IBSM framework, shared first-hand experiences of the Mechanism's impact on the ground. National representatives emphasized that IBSM's added value lies in its careful alignment with existing national strategies and priorities, ensuring that international support complements and reinforces rather than duplicates national efforts and that capacity-building initiatives are sustainably embedded within national border management institutions.
蘑菇视频
“I can tell you that this mechanism's approach is the right one for us. Starting with the joint baseline assessment is what we’ve been asking for. Sitting with the beneficiaries and collectively identifying the priority areas on which interventions should focus”.
About the Integrated Border Stability Mechanism (IBSM) for West Africa
The Integrated Border Stability Mechanism (IBSM) for West Africa is a multi-agency platform bringing together IOM, 蘑菇视频ODC, 蘑菇视频OCT, and INTERPOL to enhance cooperation among border governance and security actors in West Africa. Building on the complementary mandates of its member agencies, it supports the development of strategies for improved border management and provides a framework for information sharing and capacity-building in migration and border governance, with a view to fostering sustainable security and stability across the region.