The European Union, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Gambian national stakeholders validated the Maritime Crime Legal Assessment Report at a two-day workshop in Banjul on 30 July 2026, aiming to close gaps in prosecuting offenses at sea and to define technical assistance for national agencies. The workshop, held at the OceanBay Hotel, is part of the €20 million EU-funded Safe Seas for Africa program, which targets maritime legal frameworks, drug and arms smuggling, and piracy across West and Central Africa. The initiative directly affects The Gambia's territorial waters, its blue economy, and its exposure to transnational crime, with EU Deputy Head of Mission Raphaël Brigandi warning that the coastline is a tempting route for drugs bound for Europe and for illegal migration toward the Canary Islands. UNODC Head of Programme Office Coumba Diop stressed that the goal is to map and optimize assistance, while Deputy National Security Adviser Saikou Ceesay reaffirmed the government's commitment to implementing the assessment's outcomes.
The workshop builds on The Gambia's 2025 criminal law amendments, which had already begun to address maritime offenses, and it follows earlier EU support under the SWAIMS framework, as noted by Ceesay. The Safe Seas for Africa program, launched by the EU, has been delivering concrete operational support, including joint regional sea patrols, specialized technical training, and the recent delivery of two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats to the Gambian Navy. The validation workshop is a step toward ensuring that arrests at sea hold up in court, as Brigandi emphasized, noting that the criminal justice chain must function for maritime enforcement to be effective. The assessment report, once finalized, is expected to guide legislative and institutional reforms, with the EU and UNODC continuing to provide technical assistance. The partnership reflects a broader EU strategy to secure West African maritime routes, which are critical for trade and stability, and to counter transnational crime that also affects European borders. The workshop's outcomes will likely shape future EU funding priorities under Safe Seas for Africa, with a focus on strengthening prosecution capacity and inter-agency coordination in The Gambia.