Joint GIABA–EGDC Forum Report: Women, Human Trafficking, and Organized Crime in West Africa
The Joint GIABA–EGDC Regional Forum on Women and Transnational Organized Crime: Human Trafficking Risks in West Africa was held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 17–19 December 2025. The forum was jointly organised by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) and the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC). It brought together representatives from government ministries and agencies, Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), law enforcement bodies, civil society organisations, gender experts, and regional institutions across ECOWAS Member States.
The forum provided a strategic platform to examine the interlinkages between human trafficking, money laundering (ML), and terrorist financing (TF), with a strong emphasis on the gender dimensions of transnational organised crime in West Africa.
The overall objective of the regional roundtable workshop is to discuss and create awareness of the human trafficking risks associated with transnational organized crime.
The specific objectives are to assess and document human trafficking in West Africa, identify risk factors for prevention, highlight recent incidents including digital trafficking, strengthen regional cooperation among ECOWAS states, law enforcement, and civil society, and develop actionable recommendations for policy, capacity building, and victim protection.