The 24th forum of ministers in charge of security issues in Central Africa has ended in Yaounde and adopted a series of recommendations.
The recommendations emerged after four days of discussions in technical sub-committees to respond to cross-border crime within Central Africa.
The various stakeholders agreed to undertake a collective effort against transnational crime. In this regard, the Minister of State, Secretary-General of the Republic Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, urged CEMAC’s security services to enhance information sharing. “It is now up to the concerned states, in a spirit of solidarity, to actively work towards implementing the resolutions adopted today,” he stated during his closing speech.
The ministers responsible for security in Central Africa formulated numerous resolutions, including, establishing a sub-regional strategy to combat crime, providing copies of Article 3 of the Common Immigration Policy Regulation and Border Protection, signed on April 1, 2019, at all border posts. According to this article, any citizen with updated identification documents has the right to move freely or reside in another CEMAC member country for a period not exceeding three months.
The recommendations aim to address insecurity in all its forms, including enhancing control and monitoring of the unloading of internationally controlled drugs in coastal areas as per the 1971 convention, inviting Central African countries to register in the drug analysis database through Interpol, systematically transmitting drug seizure statistics to the Central Africa regional office of Interpol and the Permanent Secretariat of the Central Africa Police Chiefs Committee, encouraging member states to promote the extension of the I-CEMAC system in the fight against drugs, organizing simultaneous police operations to combat the proliferation of counterfeit medicines and vehicle theft.
The focus is on implementing these resolutions and recommendations within the CEMAC area. The Permanent Secretariat of the Central Africa Police Chiefs Committee, inaugurated on September 20th in Yaoundé, will play a crucial role in realizing these objectives.
The Central African Republic will host the 5th session of the Central Africa Police Chiefs Council (CCPAC) and the 25th forum of ministers responsible for security issues in 2025.
In the meantime, the delegate for National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguele, serves as the president of the CCPAC for a one-year term, succeeding Gabon’s General Serge Hervé Ngoma.
Che Tembuck
