ACCRA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The governments in West Africa and the Sahel region late Friday announced a multipronged approach to combating terrorism and violent extremism, which have become a major worry to their countries.
The governments said in a communique at the end of a two-day Consultative Conference on Regional Cooperation and Security held in Ghana that they are resolved to strengthen regional cooperation to address the evolving peace, security, and governance challenges to rebuild regional stability.
They also highlighted the need to shift toward a human security approach underpinned by regional solidarity, respect for sovereignty, and a people-centered, gender-responsive approach to peace-building, security, and counterterrorism.
Recognizing the inextricable link between transnational organized crimes and violent extremism, the countries also agreed to strengthen regular meetings of states in the region to review peace and security commitments and strengthen intelligence and information sharing to enhance surveillance to preempt these crimes.
Moreover, the West African nations also agreed to reinforce the harmonization of legal frameworks to enhance the cross-border prosecution of terrorism-related offenses while safeguarding human rights.
"This high-level conference is committed to considering adopting hot-pursuit bilateral and multilateral agreements to support the fight against transnational crimes," said the communique read by Ghana's Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Furthermore, member states agreed to design a foundational memorandum of understanding and protocols on cooperation and security within six calendar months after the high-level consultative conference to serve as the basis for further agreements. ■