Atlantic Currents: Fragile States and Transnational Security Implications
The German Marshall Fund of the United States and the OCP Policy Center are co-organizing a presentation of one of the Atlantic Currents chapters. This presentation will take place on Wednesday 17th February in Brussels.
Since the beginning of the post-colonial period, illicit flows in fragile states in West and North Africa have undermined and eroded the already weak stability of the greater Sahara region. The existence of these illicit trafficking routes, together with historical grievances, are having widespread consequences on transatlantic security and making international engagement difficult and ineffective in finding sustainable, long-term solutions to it. Phenomena such as the Arab Spring and the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime have contributed to political instability and growth of extremism across the broader Sahel.
Drug trafficking and migrant smuggling are the main illicit flows across the Sahara that have a relevant impact not only on regional geopolitics but also on transatlantic relations as Europe and North America are the primary destination markets for the illicit flows in the Greater Sahara.These illicit flows have negative consequences on efforts made by the international community to put in place peacebuilding operations and state consolidation in the region and can contribute to extremist ideologies.
This roundtable discussion, featuring Tuesday Reitano of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, will bring together representatives and experts on the EU and Africa under Chatham House Rule to debate ongoing issues in the region, to explore ways to foster cooperation, and to discuss deepening multilateral collaboration to address global and regional issues.
About GMF
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) strengthens transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan.
GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship. More information can be found on GMF’s website
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Tuesday Reitano
Tuesday Reitano is the Head of the Global Initiative Secretariat and runs the Geneva office. She is also the Chief Editor of all the Global Initiative publications, including the Analyzing Organized Crime blog and the author of many of its publications. Tuesday has been working to bring the Global Initiative to fruition since 2012.
Previous to working full-time for the Global Initiative, Tuesday was an Associate Director in a dynamic global consulting company, STATT, working on issues of governance, security sector reform and aid effectiveness for fragile and transition states. She has a specialized focus in organized crime, and engaging both at the national and community level in seeking improved responses to mitigate the impact on human security and the rule of law. She provides both substantive expertise and programme management on a range of projects, including, among others, leading an assessment of the EU’s approach to countering terrorism and organized crime in the Sahel; a study of the impact of organised crime on governance in West Africa, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy; the design of funding instruments to support the development transition for Somaliland, and research with refugee communities from Syria in Lebanon.
Tuesday has twelve years of experience as a policy specialist in the UN System, including with the UN Development Programme, the UN Development Group and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, where she was the principal drafter of UNODC’s Thematic Programme on TOC. She is a Senior Research Associate at the Pretoria based Institute for Security Studies.
She has an MBA from McGill University, a Masters in Public Administration from New York University, and an MsC in International Development, Conflict and Security from University of Leicester’s Department for Criminology in the UK. Tuesday is currently based in Beirut.