Story by Dominic Hlordzi
The Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a specialised Institution of ECOWAS, is organising a 3-day Regional Sensitisation Workshop on Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, AML/CFT for Civil Society Organisations in West Africa from June 4 to 6, 2024, in Accra, Ghana.
The workshop will be used to sensitise civil society organisations to the experiences and knowledge on AML/CFT issues within the sub-region and empower them to take ownership of the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
The fight against money laundering and terrorist financing requires concerted efforts and collaboration among stakeholders. It is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders to protect the economies and financial systems of member States against these scourges.
GIABA acknowledges the contribution of civil society in the mobilisation and decision-making process, hence the need to build strategic partnerships with Civil Society Organisations in the global fight against economic and financial crimes.
Fundamentally, one of GIABA’s strategic goals is the promotion of strategic partnerships with the private sector, civil society, and other key stakeholders.
The workshop would build on the previous recommendations from the last session and come up with solutions on how to effectively convey the role of GIABA in assisting member states in implementing effective AML/CFT regime in line with international standards and reaffirm the collaboration of civil society in delivering sensitization to the public.
The involvement of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is crucial in the fight against ML/TF.
The workshop is expected to step up public awareness, effective and sustainable pressure, which are key driving forces in highlighting the efforts already deployed by GIABA in assisting its member States to address the problem of ML/TF.
In an environment where political leaders and decision-makers need to be sensitised and involved to fight against ML/TF, the Civil Society would be the backbone for such advocacy and change.
The seminar will deal with themes such as Trends of ML/TF in the region, Overview of Regional Initiatives on AML/CFT and GIABA’s mandate, Role of CSOs in the fight against ML/TF in the region, Forms of technical assistance for CSOs in the area of AML/CFT and Defining strategies to put in place a robust network of West African CSOs engaged in AML/CFT, amongst others.
The training will be delivered by experts from different countries and GIABA‘s team faculty, involving presentations, case studies, group work, and sharing sessions.
