Igad in fresh push to combat rise of transnational organised crime

Igad Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu (left) and First Councilor of political affairs for Igad at Somalia Embassy in Djibouti, Ahmed Mohamed Khaire during high-level Igad regional forum in Mombasa, on December 17, 2024. [Omondi Onyango,Standard]

Kenya is yet to domesticate a statute against rising transnational security threats in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) states.

Ethiopia and Djibouti have ratified the statute to operationalise the Regional Cooperation and Coordination Mechanism (RCCM) against Transnational Security Threats (TSTs).

Igad Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu Wednesday said the growing prevalence of organised crime, with reported incidents rising by 30 per cent in recent years, was a stark reminder of what was at stake.

Speaking during a high level regional forum on the Igad RCCM against TSTs statute and operationalisation at a hotel in Mombasa county, Mr Gebeyehu noted that the annual cybersecurity report estimates that the global cybercrime economy is valued at USD 9.5 trillion dollars a year, about USD 793 billion a month, in 2024, highlighting the scale of the challenges that the region must confront together.

“As we move toward operationalising the RCCM against TSTs, I urge every member state to act swiftly in ratifying and domesticating the statute,” Gebeyehu said, adding:

“We are no strangers to the threats of terrorism, human trafficking, cybercrime, and the illegal arms trade. These are threats that have disrupted lives, weakened economies, and tested the resilience of our nations.”

The meeting was attended by ambassadors and top security officers from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, countries that are Igad member states.

Kenya’s ambassador to Djibouti George Macgoye expressed the country’s commitment to establishment a regional mechanism of fighting transnational crime which he said was complex.

“Transnational crime cannot be effectively addressed by one country and hence the need to have a regional approach to counter it,” Mr Macgoye said.

Djibouti Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary and chairman of the forum Mohamed Ali Hassan said member countries were prepared to counter cybercrime and other security threats that use technology to pose a threat to the region.

“Member states are in agreement that we counter all forms of crime as a region and we are moving towards that direction despite some challenges,” he said.

But Gebeyehu noted that member states must also acknowledge the obstacles the region face, which include the need to ratify the Igad Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition conventions.

He said Igad’s conventions on Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition, though awaiting broader ratification, have set the groundwork for legal coordination across borders.

Meanwhile, only Ethiopia and Djibouti have ratified the two conventions since they were adopted in 2009 by member states following the need for the regional mechanism to combat crime.

On Wednesday, sources in the meeting said Igad cannot operationalise the instruments unless at least one more member state ratifies and domesticate these conventions, holding up implementation of RCCM on TSTs.

It was noted that the planned establishment of the Igad Criminal Information System (ICIS) promises to revolutionise how we collect and share intelligence, making the region’s responses faster and more effective.