West Africa Ivory Coast, and a succession of military coups in Ghana and Burkina Faso. Since the end of colonialism, the region has been the stage for some brutal conflicts, including: The Economic Community of West African States, established in May 1975, has defined the region of West Africa since 1999 as including the following 15 states: Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Western Africa includes the preceding states with the addition of Mauritania (which withdrew from ECOWAS in 1999), comprising an area of approximately 6.1 million square km. The UN region also includes the island of Saint Helena, a British overseas
West Africa Coast Initiative West Africa Coast Initiative The West Africa Coast Initiative is an attempt from the United Nations to combat the fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime in West Africa. Initially, where $1 billion worth of cocaine is trafficked annually, are the first to accept and join the initiative; perhaps will join later. In some nations in the area, which are amongst the poorest in the world, drug trafficking profits actually outweigh the GDP. The Initiative will cover law enforcement, intelligence gathering, border management and corruption, among other crime prevention elements. The initiative will address and resolve poorly defined national