The President of Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says Ghana has signed and ratified a number of international instruments in aid of the global call to action against terrorism and violent extremism.
According to President Akufo-Addo, the contents of these instruments have also served as guides in the formulation of our Counter Terrorism Policy, which seeks to prevent acts of terrorism in the country.
“The Counter Terrorism Policy has led to the setting up of a Counter Terrorism Unit, within the National Security Council Secretariat, to lead and co-ordinate our efforts in the fight,” he said.
The President continued, “Ghana has adopted a well-coordinated Inter Agency Approach, which encourages the timely sharing of information and intelligence, operational coordination and joint strategy formulation, and has proved essential towards ensuring the efficient execution of the country’s Counter Terrorism Policy.”
President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 4th September 2019, when he delivered a speech at the Kofi Annan Peace and Security Forum, on the theme “Peace Operations in the Context of Violent Extremism in Africa.”
West Africa, in recent years, has become a hotbed of terrorist and extremist activities, as a result of greater activism of groups operating in the North East of Nigeria, the Lake Chad Basin, Mali and the Greater Sahel.
Endemic poverty and widespread disillusionment amongst youth in Africa, the President explained, are not only providing fertile breeding grounds for those who want to cross the Sahara Desert on foot, and the Mediterranean Sea in rickety boats, in the hope of finding a better future in Europe, but also for a new generation of terrorists and violent extremists.
“Despite being a beacon of peace, stability and democracy in a region that is plagued by the activities..,
