20 November 2025
West Africa persists as the region most severely affected by terrorism in the world. Whether inland or coastal, West African states are increasingly threatened by insecurity and the spillover of terrorist activities, greatly impacting communities through misinformation and coercion. All segments of society including women, men, children, and displaced and marginalized populations are thus vulnerable to terrorist threats, victims of exploited narratives of injustice, ostracization, and intercommunal tensions.
Enhancing community awareness and resilience is therefore essential to preventing involuntary involvement and radicalization. To strengthen local capacities to resist such violent extremism conducive to terrorism, the West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group (WA WG) – co-chaired by Algeria and Germany – and supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, organized an in-person meeting in Accra, Ghana. Bringing together government officials, civil society organizations, regional and international partners, and other subject matter experts, the meeting addressed how to foster safe and inclusive community engagement efforts to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in the region.
Building on the outcomes of previous WA WG regional meetings, participants identified enduring gaps, emerging challenges, and opportunities for collaboration. By gathering input on lessons learned and successful locally driven initiatives, the meeting generated actionable recommendations to support the localization of GCTF Framework Documents, promote and scale homegrown initiatives, and bolster collaboration between communities and authorities.
Community engagement, particularly the inclusion of women, youth, and human rights perspectives, was identified as a priority area of the WA WG’s 2024-2026 Work Plan. Under the Algeria-Germany mandate, the co-chairs aim to continue promoting inclusive approaches that foster trust between communities and institutions to effectively prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism in West Africa.