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Technological Race and Maritime Border (In) Security

About This Webinar

In collaboration with UNCCT Border Security & Management

African states have been struggling to keep up with the development and implementation of the technological solutions to the security of the maritime borders, often lacking adequate surveillance equipment, cybersecurity measures, or effective screening technologies. Simultaneously, terrorist groups in Africa are using the technological deficit of states’ infrastructures and progressively improve their own technological capabilities (from the acquisition of (armed) drones to the use of cyber tactics to attack civilian or state infrastructure). These groups have also used technological capabilities in their maritime operations as tactical support and to evade surveillance or border security.

In this webinar, we discuss the current state of the technological race in the maritime domain in Africa and explore the different ways in which new technologies are crucial to understand the current and future dynamics of maritime (in)security in the region. We examine which technological solutions can bring best value to African states in the detection and prevention of maritime terrorist travel, while observing international human rights law.

Who can view: Everyone
Webinar Price: Free
Featured Presenters
Webinar hosting presenter
Editor Border Security Report / World Security Report
Editor of World Security Report, Border Security Report and Director of the World Border Security Congress
Webinar hosting presenter
Legal and Policy Advisor, National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), Kenya
Robert Kibor is a legal and policy advisor at the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) and a member of the National Taskforce on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing (NTCT) in Kenya. He has a long-standing career and experience in providing training on counterterrorism and countering violent extremism. He is also a member with the National Legal Aid Service, the Technical Committee of the National Council on the Administration of Justice, and the Critical Infrastructure Committee in Kenya.
Webinar hosting presenter
Researcher, Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
Denys Reva is a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Before joining the maritime team in 2018, he was a research consultant working on terrorism and violent extremism in Africa. His current areas of interest include maritime security, cyber security, piracy, and organised crime. He has a Master’s degree in security studies from the University of Pretoria.
Webinar hosting presenter
Head Border Security and Management Unit, United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT)
Rocco Messina is currently heading the Border Security and Management Unit at the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) within the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT). In this tenure, he is managing a multi-year global programme mandated to support the inclusion of the counter-terrorism elements in the UN Member States' border security strategies through technical assistance and capacity-building activities.

Prior to this appointment, from 2011 to 2017, Mr. Messina served as Head of the Border Management Section at the United Nations Department of Peace Keeping Operations (DPKO) United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) implementing a capacity-building portfolio to design a comprehensive on Haitian national border national policy. His leadership and matter expertise were instrumental to the creation of the Haitian Technical Border Commission, the Customs Police, as well as a specialized branch of the Haitian National Police in charge of securing the land borders. Mr. Messina started his professional career in 1990 after a two-year military police academy training with the Counter-terrorism branch of the Italian Guardia di Finanza (Italian Military Police).

During his 25-year long career, he was deployed to several field missions, at both national and international levels, focusing mainly on counter-terrorism and border security matters. He was bestowed with several national and international medals and awards for the successful completion of his high-risk duties. Between September 2006 and May 2007, Mr. Messina was deployed in Herat Afghanistan with NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Mission as Training Programme Officer, where he developed a training programme for the Afghan Border Police.

Mr.Messina holds a master’s degree in literature and a degree in international law and he speaks fluently English, Spanish and French.
Webinar hosting presenter
BSM Expert, UNOCT
Dr Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi is a UN OCT BSM Expert and Lecturerin International Law and Security at the University of Manchester. She holds a PhD from the European University Institution and the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi is the Managing Editor of the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, an Associate Fellow at the T.M.C. Asser Institute, and a Research Fellow at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism. Rebecca is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War.
Webinar hosting presenter
Executive Director, Centre for Maritime Law and Security Africa
Dr. Kamal-Deen Ali (Capt Navy Rtd) is the Executive Director of the Centre for Maritime Law and Security Africa. He was previously the Director of Legal Affairs of the Ghana Navy and the Director of Research of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. He has since 2003 been engaged in ocean governance capacity building and maritime security policy shaping at the national, regional and global levels. He has participated in several global initiatives, regularly providing expert input/support to the activities of international partners in the sub-region, including the Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Abidjan Convention Secretariat and the UN Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA). He served as a technical expert to the Global High-Panel on Sustainable Ocean Economy and co-authored Blue Paper 16 (2020) – “Transnational Organized Crime in the Fisheries Sector,” which is part of a series of high level policy papers commissioned by the Panel.
He holds a PhD in Law, Master of Laws and Master of Arts in International Relations. He is a Fellow of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security and an Associate of both the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy, United Kingdom, and the Africa Security Sector Network (ASSN). He has published extensively and his book “Maritime Security Cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea: Prospects and Challenges" (Brill/Martinus Nijhoff 2015) is rated as a cutting-edge contribution to knowledge and research in maritime studies.
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