Dakar is preparing to host, on Thursday January 15, 2026, an unprecedented event dedicated to the scientific and operational analysis of organized crime on the African continent. This is the First Conference on Operational Research on Organized Crime in Africa, organized by the NGO Alliance Against Organized Crime in Africa (ACCA) headed by President Ngouda Fall Kane. The meeting will be held at the Azalaï Hotel, on the West Corniche, in the Senegalese capital.
According to the organizers, these meetings aim to create a space for reflection and production of knowledge around the dynamics of organized crime in Africa, by combining academic, institutional and operational approaches. The event is intended to be a high-level meeting, bringing together experts, researchers and actors involved in the fight against transnational criminal networks.
Access to the meeting is strictly reserved for invited people. Participants will have to present their invitation card at reception to access the work, a measure which demonstrates the targeted and specialized nature of these meetings.
A framework for applied scientific thinking
The meetings are part of an operational research logic, a discipline which aims to transform scientific analyzes into concrete decision-making tools. In the context of organized crime, this approach makes it possible to study the operating methods of criminal networks, their financial circuits, their cross-border ramifications and their capacity to adapt to public policies and security systems.
In Africa, organized crime covers multiple realities: drug trafficking, human trafficking, cybercrime, smuggling, illegal exploitation of natural resources and even money laundering. These are all phenomena that weaken States, fuel insecurity and hinder economic and social development.
Through these first meetings, the organizers aim to promote dialogue between the world of research and practitioners, in order to better understand these phenomena and propose responses based on reliable data and rigorous analyses.
The NGO ACCA, an actor committed against organized crime
The Alliance Against Organized Crime in Africa (ACCA) is a non-governmental organization that works to strengthen the fight against organized crime on the African continent. It is based on a multidisciplinary approach combining research, advocacy, training and cooperation between public and private actors.
The NGO’s mission is to produce and disseminate strategic knowledge, to support initiatives aimed at improving policies for the prevention and repression of organized crime, and to promote strengthened regional and international cooperation. ACCA works in particular with researchers, state institutions, civil society organizations and technical partners involved in security and governance issues.
By organizing these first meetings, the NGO intends to lay the foundations of a lasting framework of applied scientific reflection, capable of supporting African States in understanding and combating increasingly complex and globalized criminal phenomena.
