Overview: Burkina Faso showed an increase in its overall willingness to expand its involvement in regional counterterrorism and stability operations, enabled by approximately US $10 million that has been provided to its security forces through Africa Contingency Operations Training & Assistance, the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, and National Defense Authorization Act Section 1206 funding initiatives.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Burkina Faso's Terrorism Suppression Law of 2009, modeled after French law, criminalizes a wide range of terrorist-related activities, and imposes criminal punishment of up to life in prison.

Several officials, including Burkina Faso's Director General of Internal Security, expressed concern that Burkina Faso's security forces lacked interagency coordination and incident command structure, and asked for assistance in this area. During a 2014 assessment of host country needs and capabilities, the U.S. Department of State determined that incident command structure is one of the most pressing needs of Burkinabe security forces. Further complicating this issue is the problem of overlapping areas of jurisdiction faced by the police and gendarmerie – which has led to confusion over which force would have primary responsibility in the event of a terrorist incident.

Burkinabe security forces actively have sought and received training from the United States on key areas requiring technical assistance. In 2014, Burkinabe law enforcement and judicial officials received training on cross-border security, criminal justice procedures, and prosecution of terrorists through the Global Counterterrorism Forum and the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law. The Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program provided trainings and equipment related to managing terrorist incidents, forensic examination of terrorist crime scenes, and post-blast investigation. Burkina Faso adopted the Terrorist Interdiction Program's Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) in 2013 in an effort to secure borders and identify fraudulent travel documents. Burkina Faso has the capability to conduct biographic screening at multiple land and air ports of entry.

Burkina Faso's Counterterrorism Strategy, Mission de Securitization du Nord, strives to eliminate the possibility of terrorist activities along its northern border.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Burkina Faso is a member of the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa, a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style body that is part of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS). Burkinabe law enforcement has the will to improve its ability to counter terrorist financing, but lacks resources and experience. In recent years, the Burkinabe government put in place a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance. This unit is a task force composed of magistrates, police, gendarmerie, and financial experts. The FIU continued to work on developing database connectivity with regional neighbors and other international parties, such as the United States. There are some laws in place that help the unit carry out its mission, such as a requirement for local banks to report large deposits. Other laws and customs, however, complicate their mandate. For example, Burkina Faso is a cash society, making money difficult to track. Also, an agreement between West African countries for the free movement of people and goods allows individuals from those countries uninhibited entry to and exit from Burkina Faso with any amount of money.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Burkina Faso was active in regional organizations and international bodies, including the UN, AU, ECOWAS, and the GCTF. Burkina Faso is a member of the G-5 Sahel group that was created in February 2014 to enable regional collaboration.

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