Bobo-Dioulasso – From 20 to 25 February 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) supported the Burkina Faso Community Policing Directorate (Direction de la Police de proximité) in the establishment of four new Community Security Coordination structures in the Hauts Bassins region. These will contribute to ensuring a stable security environment, promoting dialogue and community engagement to foster community safety and security. This will also lead to more efficient and transparent border management.

Members of the Community Security Coordination will actively participate in identifying community issues and seeking peaceful solutions in consultation with border management stakeholders.

Within this framework, capacity-building workshops were held for 120 participants, including administrative authorities and community leaders (religious and customary authorities, women, youth, civil society). These workshops facilitated a better explanation of the community policing policy through the establishment of Community Security Coordination structures. Experiences with respect to design, implementation and monitoring & evaluation were shared and led to the development of communal plans for community engagement in security.

“The workshops conducted were successful as they enabled us to develop a strategy for the periodic programming of organizational, budgetary and material resources for the benefit of the Communal Security Coordination structures that we have just put in place,” declared Mrs OUOBA NIGNAN Anès, Director of the Community Policing Department.

All actors agreed and expressed their motivation to ensure the proper functioning and sustainability of the Communal Security Coordination structures. Mr Traore, President of the “Binkadi” Association, Coordinator of the women and participant in the workshop stated: “As a result of these two days of training, I am ready to play my part fully. I am convinced that the contribution of women I represent will be very important because we are social regulators.”

For more information, please contact Idelki FAMILIA, Programme Coordinator, ifamilia@iom.int and Abdoulaye Mamadou SOUKOUNA, Regional Communication Officer, asoukouna@iom.int.