IOM launched two projects to strengthen border management in Mali and Niger along the Labezzanga-Kongo Kire Corridor with funding from the governments of Canada and Germany. Both projects are a continuation of activities implemented by IOM’s Border Management Unit (IBM) in Niger that has supported the Government of Niger in the development of its operational, technical, and institutional capacities regarding border management.

The cross-border projects aim to contribute to securing and stabilizing the border area between Niger and Mali, which falls within the Tillabéri region in Niger and Gao region in Mali. The movements in this Liptako-Gourma region (also known as the “tri-border region”, which cover parts of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso), are increasingly characterized by transnational crime, including and trafficking in arms and illicit goods. The region has also seen a spike in attacks against security and defense forces as well as civilians, rendering the region extremely insecure.

With these two projects, IOM and its partners will carry out activities to foster stronger community engagement and increased communication and trust between local populations, security and defence forces and the local authorities. In addition, IOM will carry out activities to encourage social cohesion through community-based activities to strengthen the resilience of populations on both sides of the border.

The project will also include infrastructure support to border communities in Mali and Niger, such as the construction of police stations on both sides of the Mali-Niger border, the installation of the Migration Data Registration and Analysis System (MIDAS), the rehabilitation of the Tillabéri Regional Police Headquarters, and training of the security and defense forces to strengthen the operational, institutional, and technical capacities of the services and structures responsible for border management.

At the launch event, which took place on May 27 in the town of Tillabery, M. Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella the Governor of the Tillabéri region in his opening speech said “the management of our borders is a key issue for the governments of the sub-region, particularly the Liptako-Gourma area”.

Peter Kioy, Senior Programme and Policy Coordinator for IOM Niger, emphasized that “effective border and immigration management policies and structures not only promote the orderly management of border movements and prevent irregular migration and protect travellers, but also allow for the detection and appropriate management of suspicious cases and incidents that present a security, health or humanitarian threat to the territory.”