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Viewing cable 08NIAMEY1133, NIGER: NOVEMBER 25-27, 2008 REGIONAL SEMINAR ON TERRORISM

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08NIAMEY1133 2008-12-03 11:28 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Niamey
VZCZCXRO7452
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHNM #1133/01 3381128
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031128Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4724
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0743
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0203
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 1739
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3460
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 NIAMEY 001133 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE FOR AF/W (DENNISON) and AF/RSA 
 
Paris for AF Watcher 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER SMIG SNAR PHUM ASEC MCAP KTFN NG XY
 
SUBJECT: NIGER: NOVEMBER 25-27, 2008 REGIONAL SEMINAR ON TERRORISM 
AND TRAFFICKING 
 
NIAMEY 00001133  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
1. Summary.  The Government of Niger (GON), in cooperation with the 
Government of France (GOF), hosted in Niamey a regional seminar on 
terrorism and trafficking from November 25-27, 2008.  The GON 
Minister of Justice (MOJ) and French Ambassador delivered opening 
and closing remarks at the seminar, with the GON Minister of Defense 
also in attendance.  (Note: The GON Ministers of Interior and 
Foreign Affairs, out of the country, were in Paris attending an 
Africa-European Union conference on migration.  End note.)  The nine 
additional West African nations participating in the seminar were: 
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, 
Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.  The Economic Community of West African 
States (ECOWAS), INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and 
Crime (UNODC) and the GOF offered technical assistance for the 
seminar.  A few diplomatic missions (United States, the European 
Community, Egypt, Algeria) and UN System organizations (UN 
Development Program, the UN Population Fund) were observers.  Five 
workshops over the course of the three-day seminar covered the 
following themes: illegal migration, terrorism and trafficking, 
police and security force training, customs training and magistrate 
training.  The seminar participants called for more regional 
collaboration and stressed the need for donor partners to provide 
more training and equipment to countries in the sub-region to help 
stem trans-regional criminal and terrorist activity.  UNODC stressed 
that the traffickers are the offenders, as opposed to victims of 
trafficking.  (Note: Embassy Niamey coverage of the three-day 
conference was shared by Ambassador Allen, Acting Defense Attache 
Pognon (civilian) and Foreign Service National Investigator Djibo.) 
End summary. 
 
2. Trafficking and Terrorism Workshops.  Participants spoke of a 
nexus between trafficking and terrorism, such as how funds from drug 
or arms trafficking can be and are used to support terrorism. 
Nigerien speakers described Niger as a transit point for 
traffickers, with drugs originating from Latin America arriving in 
Mauritania and subsequently being transported across corridors in 
the Sahel.  Cannabis was identified as the primary drug trafficked 
in Niger, and small quantities of cocaine (no figures were provided) 
were reported to have entered Niger via third country nationals and 
Nigeriens returning from overseas.  Participants praised Niger's Pan 
Sahel Initiative (PSI) company for its success against traffickers, 
though Nigerien officials admitted that the PSI was only involved 
coincidentally since preventing trafficking is not the unit's 
primary mission.  Poverty and unemployment were cited as primary 
causes for illegal migration, with thousands yearly passing through 
Niger primarily to Magreb countries, often bearing false documents 
for onward travel to Europe and the United States.  Participants 
raised concerns about the criminality associated with illegal 
immigration, notably trafficking of arms, drugs, explosives and 
people.  The Nigerien hosts recommended that governments revise 
certain juridical texts with an eye to harmonization of laws within 
the region, that all ports of entry be equipped with computers and 
other technology to improve databases, that border control posts be 
juxtaposed for better collaboration. 
 
3.  Participants viewed Al-Qaeda in the Magreb (AQIM) as the primary 
threat in the region.  Most participants agreed that the rebellion 
in Mali was different from that in Niger.  Nigerien participants 
stated that the Mouvement Nigeriens Pour la Justice (MNJ) is more 
than a group of rebels and drug traffickers, citing examples of 
landmines being placed by MNJ rebels in northern Niger that have 
indiscriminately killed many innocent civilians and stressing that 
such an act would be considered terrorism elsewhere.  Materials 
seized after a GON military skirmish this past October with the MNJ 
were flagged as evidence the MNJ continues to be a serious security 
threat with access to lethal weapons.  Finally, the Nigerien 
presenters concluded that other groups that began with indigenous 
rebellion, in time, transitioned to becoming terrorist groups by 
committing terrorist acts and that MNJ potentially could do the 
same.  Information sharing and capacity building were deemed 
essential for security services and military forces to effectively 
combat trafficking and terrorism in the region. 
 
4. In the country by country presentations, most representatives 
reported concerns similar to those of their Nigerien counterparts. 
However, with regard to trafficking in persons (TIP), Benin and Togo 
participants indicated their respective countries face less of a 
 
NIAMEY 00001133  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
problem than its neighbors.  Further, a Cote d'Ivoire participant 
noted his country ceased being a magnet for TIP as a result of years 
of conflict/unrest. 
A Senegal representative raised concerns of maritime TIP, notably to 
Spain and the United States. 
 
5. The UNODC speaker emphasized that the seminar was not about 
criminalizing clandestine immigration, but rather about developing a 
strategy to combat the problem.  She stressed that the traffickers 
are the offenders, that they should be pursued and their networks 
dismantled, as opposed to punishing the victims of trafficking.  She 
suggested more training for law enforcement officers to ensure that 
distinction is made.  Perpetrators cited for targeting were 
recruiters, transporters, lodgers, false document providers and 
trafficking ring leaders.  There was consensus that more needs to be 
done to prevent tragic endings for trafficking victims. 
 
6. Police, military and security force workshops. Recommendations 
were made for training in each of the represented countries for 
police, military and security forces on crisis management, 
cybercrime investigation and use of technical equipment such as 
global positioning systems (GPS) and border control management. 
Participants expressed the need for more cross-border information 
and intelligence sharing to enhance cooperation between law 
enforcement officials and to combat international organized crime 
and trafficking (arms, drugs, persons).  It was recognized that more 
needs to be done to build good relationships with local INTERPOL 
offices within host countries.  The French Attache made a specific 
recommendation for more training and equipment for the Nigerien, 
Malian and Mauritanian militaries. 
 
7. In the magistrates session, specialized training in the 
anti-terrorism protocols was deemed lacking in many countries. 
There was a call for updated technology and materials and it was 
suggested that law enforcement experts be made available during 
military anti-terrorism operations to collect finger prints and 
other evidence to support convictions.  Building relationships and 
improving collaboration among judicial bodies within the region is 
viewed as key to creating an environment conducive to enhancing the 
magistrates' efforts to fight terrorism. 
 
8. Customs officers also noted the need for capacity building and 
more information sharing among customs services in the subregion. 
There was a suggestion to conduct joint operations and a call to 
computerize customs check points.  Training and material support for 
customs officials was highlighted as being  insufficient. 
 
9. GON MOJ Dagra Mamadou's opening remarks.  MOJ Dagra described the 
MNJ rebels as terrorists that use land mines that have killed 
innocent civilians, grieving the victims' families.  A translation 
of his remarks follows. 
 
Begin text. 
 
Honorable guests, let me begin by thanking you for the honor of your 
participation in this seminar's opening ceremony.  I'm pleased to 
welcome to Niger our invitees, experts and participants who want to 
accompany us in our efforts for this type of meeting.  It's my 
privilege to transmit to the Government of the Republic of France 
all the appreciation of the Nigerien Government for the decisive 
support that has made this seminar possible. 
 
Mr. Ambassador, as you know, since the 17th session of the UN 
Commission for the Prevention of Crime and the Penal Code in Vienna 
in April 2008, the State Minister of Interior, Public Security and 
Decentralization (SMI/PS/D), who represented the President of the 
Republic, the SMI/PS/D) made a vow to organize in Niamey an 
international conference on security in the Sahelo-Saharan region. 
 
France had an attentive ear to this matter and volunteered to 
provide its assistance for the organization of this regional 
seminar.  This act is illustrative, among many others, of the 
excellent, strong Franco-Nigerien relationship, and I want, Mr. 
Ambassador, to enthusiastically make special note of this. 
 
Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen, the seminar that opens this 
morning and that will take place November 25, 26 and 27, 2008, is 
 
NIAMEY 00001133  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
directed at the fight against terrorism and illegal trafficking of 
arms, drugs, migrants and money laundering. 
 
It is a regional seminar gathering some 100 participants from ten 
West African nations.  It includes magistrates, military officers, 
security officers, the police, customs officials from Benin, Burkina 
Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, 
Senegal, Togo together with their Nigerien counterparts. 
 
The seminar themes deal with the fight against terrorism, the fight 
against illegal trafficking, the penal system in the face of 
terrorism and trafficking, clandestine migration, and training for 
police and military forces. 
 
The anticipated results are as follows: 
 
first, to reinforce the national capacities to respond to illegal 
trafficking and terrorism and improve regional cooperation in this 
domain; 
 
second, and this is a strong desire of the GON, that following this 
seminar, that the donor partners create conditions for multi-faceted 
assistance to African states represented here, to maintain a 
continuous fight against terrorism and trafficking. 
 
Our regional seminar will reach all its objectives if, over the 
course of our session, beyond the exchanges among the participants, 
and beyond our West African regional cooperation, some tracks are 
explored and mechanisms identified with an eye to supporting the 
states in the Sahelo-Saharan region in their crusade against the 
demon of terrorism and the illicit trafficking that feeds it. 
 
That is the major concern that we express to the French Republic and 
all our development partners present here, and as we await the 
Bamako Conference, next December, that will be consecrated, we hope, 
to supporting our states. 
 
Honorable guests, dear participants, this current seminar concerns 
the fight against terrorism and all illicit trafficking (arms, 
drugs, migrants, children and money laundering) that in general 
feeds and maintains this planetary scourge.  Because, in fact, 
terrorism and trafficking spares no region or nation in the world, 
it seems unnecessary for me to list the general developments about 
these two phenomena. 
 
On the other hand, please allow me to inform you about the acts that 
Niger has taken in this domain and the concerns that equally hold 
true for other states in West Africa, notably the Sahelo-Saharan 
corridor. 
 
Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen, Niger, like other member 
states in the international community engages in the Global War on 
Terrorism. 
 
Before, as well as after, the adoption of UN Security Council 
Resolution (UNSC) 1373 of September 28, 2001, my country honored its 
international engagements with regard to the fight against terrorism 
and illegal trafficking.  I will note a few among many actions 
taken: 
 
a. with regard to the ratification of international judicial 
instruments, with the exception of one, Niger has ratified the 
collective universal instruments in the fight against terrorism; 
 
b. these same instruments have been incorporated in our penal code, 
with specific measures relative to terrorism and financing 
terrorism; 
 
c. a National Committee charged with following measures relative to 
the fight against terrorism has been in place since 2002 and its 
last report addressed to the UNSC Anti-terrorism Committee dates 
from 2007; 
 
d. from February 11-15, 2007, Niger received a delegation  from the 
UNSC Anti-terrorism Committee, a delegation that positively rated 
our country's efforts in its obligations following UNSC Resolution 
1373 (2001); 
 
NIAMEY 00001133  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
e. in the area of money laundering, a National Unit on Financial 
Information Sharing (CENTIF) was established since 2004 in the 
Ministry of the Economy and Finance and it takes on the tasks in 
accordance with the dispositions of Statute No. 2004-41 of June 8, 
2004; 
 
f. in the matter of the fight against clandestine immigration, Niger 
participates in the "Across Sahara" project financed by the European 
Union that contributes to implementing policies to prevent and 
combat illegal migration, as well as contraband and trafficking in 
persons; 
 
g. in that which concerns trafficking and illicit use of drugs, our 
laws are extremely severe.  In that regard, defense and security 
forces, in general, our national army, in particular, have made some 
seizures of important quantities of drugs, that were destroyed on 26 
June 2008, on the International Day in the Fight Against Drugs; 
 
h. from November 12-14, 2007, and from November 18-21, 2008, with 
the support of the UNODC, Niger organized respectively for Nigerien 
magistrates, then for Malian and Nigerien magistrates, two training 
sessions on the "mechanics of international cooperation on penal 
matters in the fight against terrorism." 
 
Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen, those are some of the acts 
of Niger in the fight against terrorism and trafficking, phenomena 
that one cannot say enough, constitute a constant menace to peace 
and international security.  I want to now share with you the 
concerns of my country in this regard. 
 
Does terrorism have the same meaning in the North as in the South? 
Is it seen in the same manner?  Is there no equivalent definition 
for terrorism? 
 
In any case, for the Government of Niger, terrorism is one thing, 
whomever the victims, whether it refers to foreign tourists killed 
in the Saharan desert or civilians cut down by mines in the roads of 
Agadez to Arlit, in Maradi, Niamey or Tahoua. 
 
Honorable guests, ladies and gentlemen, in recalling the situation 
of insecurity that prevails since February 2007, in the northern 
region of our country, I want, following the President of the 
Republic and the Prime Minister, to say and repeat to the 
representatives from the nations and international community here 
today, that this situation was created, without any good reason, by 
our brothers who took up arms against the state. 
 
Even worse, those responsible for this insecurity take part today in 
planting mines on the different main roads in the zone, grieving 
many families, destroying diverse goods and services.  The victims 
of the mines are not elements of our valiant defense and security 
forces that one claims to combat: the victims of these many mines, 
planted in a criminal manner along the roads, are the innocent, 
defenseless civilians. 
 
Ladies and gentlemen, there is no more terrorist act than this. 
 
As with any terrorist act, in causing fear and sowing panic and 
desolation among the people, one believes it can constrain the State 
to negotiate. 
 
Always, and especially after September 11, 2001, the international 
community has strongly and resolutely decided that terrorism will 
not be permitted. 
 
The Government of Niger equally says that terrorism will not be 
permitted, God willing. 
 
That is the reason for which, in his name, I take you as witness, 
ladies and gentlemen, to state that the planting of mines in the 
northern region of our country constitutes terrorists acts of the 
worst kind.  They participate in the worst form of terrorism, the 
same kind against which one fights today in Afghanistan and 
elsewhere, with a determination rarely equaled. 
 
Ladies and gentlemen, dear participants, the Government of Niger 
 
NIAMEY 00001133  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
would like the entire world to know that these are terrorist acts 
that are perpetrated daily in the northern part of our country. 
There is no better context for me to declare open this regional 
seminar on terrorism and trafficking, in wishing complete success in 
your work. 
 
I thank you for your kind attention. 
 
End text. 
 
10. Minimize considered for Tripoli. 
 
ALLEN