Starting with a powerful foreword by Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin KC (Hons), Regents Professor & Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism and Human Rights, this report provides detailed evidence showing how the enforcement of a wide range of security laws—especially counterterrorism regimes and measures—in the 16 West African countries are causing constrictions on the civic space and enabling massive infringements on civil liberties. West Africa has witnessed a surge in terrorist activities, resulting in over 23,322 deaths as of 2022. In response, countries in the region have established dedicated counter-terrorism units and laws. Although enacted with the aim of fortifying territories against external threats and addressing critical internal security challenges, the enforcement of these laws are producing significant intended and unintended consequences, and in some cases, deviated wholly from the core objective of security strengthening. In many cases, the definition of “security” has been stretched to alarming levels, threatening fundamental human rights and freedoms. International pressures, technological advancements, and economic disparities have contributed to this expansion, often justifying human rights violations in the name of security.
The report looks back at history, spotlighting how colonial and post-colonial governance systems designed to exploit and plunder, have shaped the current security architecture in the subregion, thereby laying the bedrock of the contemporary crisis of security abuses in West Africa. The report documents how global counterterrorism frameworks are providing autocratic governments around the world, including in West Africa, with new arsenals and impetus to expand and overreach their policing powers, revealing widespread securitization, militarisation, impunity, and fragmented security structures with weak coordination. While recognizing that judicial systems offer a glimmer of hope for accountability, the report emphasizes the urgent need for legal reforms, particularly calling for human rights and international humanitarian law to be at the center of counterterrorism strategies.
