African security body announces plan to tackle illegal immigration

KHARTOUM, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Committee of Intelligence and Security Services in Africa (CISSA) has announced a cooperation plan with the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to deal with illegal migration and human trafficking networks in the region.

CISSA Consultative Meetings kicked off sessions Monday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum with participation of 17 African intelligence organizations and officials of AU Commission to discuss the illegal migration and human trafficking crimes.

CISSA's Executive Secretary Shimelis Woldesemayat addressed the opening session of the meeting, saying that "human trafficking has become the second biggest crime at the global level."

He said 24 million immigrants are subjected to human trafficking, half of them children and the majority are African girls between five and 15 years old.

"The plan depends on cooperation with the AU, the UN and the European Union as a tripartite team, and at the strategic, coordinative and operational levels in relation to how to confront human trafficking and illegal immigration," he added.

Jalal-Eddin Al-Sheikh Al-Tayyib, deputy director of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), said that "Khartoum's meeting discusses how to find practical solutions to the illegal immigration phenomenon."

"The rapid developments in the African countries have created challenges for joint cooperation and coordination as well as exchange of information for achieving peace and democracy, posing risks and threats to the continent and developing solutions to address in cooperation with the AU Commission," he noted.

The CISSA was established in 2005, to effectively address the security challenges confronting Africa. It comprises 51 African intelligence bodies. Enditem